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Release date: 9th October
2000
Featuring Steve and a distinguished line-up that includes Queen guitarist Brian May, Manfred Mann vocalist Chris Thompson, Bonnie Tyler and Marillion's Pete Trewavas (bass) and Ian Mosley (drums), Feedback 86 was recorded in 1986 but proved impossible to release at the time because of labyrinthine contractual problems. Thus it was consigned to the vaults where it has lain unheard and undisturbed until now. With this new release, the eighties' loss is definitely our gain and, far enough away from that decade to enjoy it once again, we can hear Feedback 86 for the terrific slice of melodic rock that it is. Pounding rock tunes such as "Cassandra", "Prizefighters", "Slot Machine" and the more expansive "The Gulf" point the way to what would have been on the second GTR album (GTR was the US chart-topping rock band co-founded by Steve and Steve Howe in the mid-80s) whilst "Stadiums of the Damned" and "Don't Fall" are more reminiscent of The Police and Eurythmics. The quieter "Oh How I Love You" and "Notre Dame Des Fleurs" on the other hand are timeless, introspective Hackett of the first order and could equally have been recorded yesterday or by Hackett-era mid-70s Genesis. As a considerable bonus the CD also contains 20 additional "Greatest Hits" tracks and video footage encoded as high quality mp3 computer sound files (the same kind of sound file currently in the news because of the furore surrounding Napster and other "Internet Jukeboxes"). These illustrate an interactive computer guide to the catalogue of Steve's "Camino" record label but can also be played independently by a computer or loaded into one of the new generation of mp3 Walkmans. Two albums in one, looking backwards and forwards at the same time, Feedback 86 is a typically innovative release from one of the UK's most adventurous musicians. |