Steve Hackett

Steve Hackett has long remained the only historic member of Genesis who still proudly flies the flag for the great classics of one of the most influential and popular bands on the progressive rock scene, the songs that marked the unstoppable rise of the English quintet in the first half of the Seventies. Peter Gabriel, who was the undisputed mind and voice of that experience, hasn't exactly disowned those songs, but has at the very least avoided singing them again, save for a handful of rare exceptions. Those who chose to keep the band's name going - Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford - from the Eighties onward instead preferred to focus on the more recent repertoire, usually relegating memories of that pioneering past to a meagre medley.

Hackett, on the other hand, despite a sizeable stash of well-crafted solo albums, continues to cash in on his old band's artistic legacy, thanks to tours that make the most of the most eagerly awaited anniversaries. Having already visited Italy just last summer, the English guitarist returns on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of “Foxtrot”, the album that in 1972 cemented Genesis's large-scale success. Six Italian dates are scheduled, the first of which was hosted in the evocative Auditorium Conciliazione in Rome. On stage with Hackett is his well-oiled band, featuring Roger King on keyboards, Craig Blundell on drums, Jonas Reingold on bass, Rob Townsend on sax, flute, clarinet and percussion, plus Nad Sylvan handling vocal duties — the one member of the sextet who inevitably suffers by comparison with the towering original versions.

The first part of the set shines a light on some of Hackett's finest solo compositions: three of the seven tracks are drawn from “Voyage Of The Acolyte”, his best work, released in 1975, when he was still the guitarist in Genesis. Two are taken from “Spectral Mornings” (1979), one from “Highly Strung” (1982), and one from the more recent “Surrender Of Silence”, recorded last year. Songs well known to fans, highlighting structural complexity alongside an innate feel for melody, with the added touch of a few successful jazzy digressions. What stands out above all is the formidable crescendo that lends great emphasis to “Shadow Of The Hierophant”, placed, not by chance, at the close of the first hour of the show. After a ten-minute break, the musicians return to perform “Foxtrot” in full, one of the most important and successful albums in the entire saga of British progressive rock.

The entire tracklist is performed faithfully and respectfully, preserving the flute parts that in post-Gabriel Genesis live versions disappeared entirely, replaced by synth lines. In this context, the two songs that have always remained more in the shadows, “Time Table” and “Can-Utility And The Coastliners”, gain visibility — harmonic, romantic little gems, sandwiched between the other giants populating the album: the keyboard incipit of “Watcher Of The Skies”, the property speculation read through a surreal lens in “Get 'em Out By Friday”, the crystalline elegance of “Horizons”, and above all the long unfolding of the encyclopedic “Supper's Ready”, the moment most anticipated by the crowd packing the Auditorium, those 25 minutes of sacredness that reach their apotheosis in the keyboard solo crystallized in “Apocalypse In 9/8”.

This is followed by the first standing ovation, and then by encores featuring two absolute classics: “Firth Of Fifth” (from “Selling England By The Pound”, 1973) and “Los Endos” (from “A Trick Of The Tail”, 1976, the first surprising work without Peter Gabriel). Over two hours of a performance as generous as it is respectful of history. An extraordinary band, Steve in great form, an eternal boy of classic rock, who thanks to those six memorable years of active service (from 1971 to 1977) has secured artistic immortality and an unwavering veneration.

At the merch stand, his autographed records are snapped up in no time, and for the not-so-young fans it hardly matters that the shows of fifty years ago were an entirely different thing, with a Peter Gabriel whose talent and inventiveness were simply unmatchable. The full immersion will continue over the coming days with sold-out shows in Bologna, Turin, Milan, Padua and Legnano.

(photo by Claudio Lancia)

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