14-04-2017, 10:09
The Night Siren ~ Steve Hackett (released 24 March 2017)
![[Image: 220px-Steve_Hackett_-_The_Night_Siren_cover.jpg]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e3/Steve_Hackett_-_The_Night_Siren_cover.jpg/220px-Steve_Hackett_-_The_Night_Siren_cover.jpg)
Finally tracked down the entire album to listen to â Iâve been waiting for this one, with a fair amount of reservation, and a little trepidation, it must be said, based on the teasers, âThe Skeleton Galleryâ particularly. Not that thereâs anything wrong with it ⦠I was just hoping that it wouldnât be representative of the whole, and Iâm glad to say, itâs not; I had feared a form of rock opera!
This is his 25th studio album and it has all the trademark Hackett features, i.e. keening guitar, a fusion of instruments from across the globe, strong textures and a fair amount of bombast, thankfully interspersed with adequate relief. There are no long proggie epics here and there are two instrumental tracks - âEl Niñoâ and the epilogue, so to speak, which works beautifully to close the album. I'm happy to say there are enough instrumental passages within the body of the work for it to be a satisfying mix for my taste.
I can see why, from a conservative musical standpoint, this might be considered a bit of a mishmash, but I found myself getting to grips with (and quite enjoying) the unorthodox sonic pairings on offer. For the purposes of comparison, I prefer it to his previous release, Wolflight, but would take Beyond the Shrouded Horizon over this. It's a big meal though, and will take time to digest!
Mr Hackettâs been working on his voice; thatâs the first thing that struck me, unless heâs using other means, but I donât think thatâs the case â could be mistaken. Never a strong vocalist, I still wouldnât say heâs fantastic, but contrary to what one might expect, he seems to have got better with age (and coaching?), rather than having declined, added to which he's incorporated other lovely harmonies and voices.
Track listing:
âBehind the Smokeâ, the opener makes a strong first impression, pulling out all the stops by contrast with the second,
âMartian Seaâ, which one can take or leave IMHO - may need to listen again.
âFifty Miles from the North Poleâ on the other hand is pretty groovy, luminous, shimmering, speaks of curtains of light which the sounds evoke. Choral voices with some grounding dirty guitar ⦠fab strings, didge?, drumming is prominent throughout and it sounded a little bit âpaganâ to me, kinda eerie, so it was gratifying to see something of that interpretation on the video clip which I found later.
âEl Niñoâ is a turbulent piece, heavy on wailing guitar and persistent tribal drumming; I swear I could hear shades of War of the Worlds on this ⦠âwe saw tripods wading up the Thamesâ sort of thing ...
âThe Other Side of the Wallâ is more hymnal than ballad, Iâd say ⦠gorgeous big swathes of harmony and no bombast here.
âAnything But Loveâ ⦠starts out with some acoustic Flamenco style work then moves into pop inspired rhyming and is finished off with the big guitar gun, almost getting blue ⦠now this a hodgepodge of styles!
âInca Terraâ with Nad Sylvan on vocal duty ⦠a song of bewitchment which moves from lilting into almost a dance and then goes back out again into charming light harmonies followed by didgeridoo and the ever present strings.
âIn Another Lifeâ is very much like a dance, loaded with Celtic influences and sound ⦠goodness, the Uilleann Pipes (Iâm assuming thatâs what they are) are so mournful.
âThe Skeleton Galleryâ has an almost marching sound which is a recurring theme that comes through in Hackettâs work, and this album, quite a bit now that I think of it ⦠lots of drama.
âWest to Eastâ is a grand sweeping song, heavily âorchestratedâ ⦠I could imagine an audience swaying in unison and holding up their lighters.
âThe Giftâ ⦠a sweet ending which leaves that manâs guitar notes singing in your ears.
The full album ⦠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEtfAD1dD9M
This is lifted from Steve Hackettâs website â¦
"This latest waxing represents a bird's eye view of the world of a musical migrant ignoring borders and celebrating our common ancestry with a unity of spirit, featuring musicians, singers and instruments from all over the world. From territorial frontiers to walled-up gateways, boundaries often hold back the tide. But while the night siren wails, music breaches all defences. To quote Plato, 'When the music changes, the walls of the city shake'."
The album features: Steve Hackett (guitar & vocals), Roger King (keyboards & programming), Nad Sylvan (vocals on Inca Terra), Rob Townsend (all things wind), John Hackett (flute), Amanda Lehmann (vocals), Gary O'Toole (drums), and Benedict Fenner (additional keyboards & programming). Also featured are singers Kobi and Mira (Israeli and Palestinian), Nick D'Virgilio (drums) from the USA, Malik Mansurov (Tar) from Azerbaijan & Gulli Breim (drums & percussion) from Iceland. Additional musicians who add to the rich flavour of the album are Christine Townsend (violin & viola), Dick Driver (double bass), Troy Donockley (Celtic Uilleann) and Leslie Bennett (keyboards on The Gift).
âFifty Miles from the North Poleâ â¦
[video=youtube;BjW6JLXu7wQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjW6JLXu7wQ[/video]
Finally tracked down the entire album to listen to â Iâve been waiting for this one, with a fair amount of reservation, and a little trepidation, it must be said, based on the teasers, âThe Skeleton Galleryâ particularly. Not that thereâs anything wrong with it ⦠I was just hoping that it wouldnât be representative of the whole, and Iâm glad to say, itâs not; I had feared a form of rock opera!
This is his 25th studio album and it has all the trademark Hackett features, i.e. keening guitar, a fusion of instruments from across the globe, strong textures and a fair amount of bombast, thankfully interspersed with adequate relief. There are no long proggie epics here and there are two instrumental tracks - âEl Niñoâ and the epilogue, so to speak, which works beautifully to close the album. I'm happy to say there are enough instrumental passages within the body of the work for it to be a satisfying mix for my taste.
I can see why, from a conservative musical standpoint, this might be considered a bit of a mishmash, but I found myself getting to grips with (and quite enjoying) the unorthodox sonic pairings on offer. For the purposes of comparison, I prefer it to his previous release, Wolflight, but would take Beyond the Shrouded Horizon over this. It's a big meal though, and will take time to digest!
Mr Hackettâs been working on his voice; thatâs the first thing that struck me, unless heâs using other means, but I donât think thatâs the case â could be mistaken. Never a strong vocalist, I still wouldnât say heâs fantastic, but contrary to what one might expect, he seems to have got better with age (and coaching?), rather than having declined, added to which he's incorporated other lovely harmonies and voices.
Track listing:
âBehind the Smokeâ, the opener makes a strong first impression, pulling out all the stops by contrast with the second,
âMartian Seaâ, which one can take or leave IMHO - may need to listen again.
âFifty Miles from the North Poleâ on the other hand is pretty groovy, luminous, shimmering, speaks of curtains of light which the sounds evoke. Choral voices with some grounding dirty guitar ⦠fab strings, didge?, drumming is prominent throughout and it sounded a little bit âpaganâ to me, kinda eerie, so it was gratifying to see something of that interpretation on the video clip which I found later.
âEl Niñoâ is a turbulent piece, heavy on wailing guitar and persistent tribal drumming; I swear I could hear shades of War of the Worlds on this ⦠âwe saw tripods wading up the Thamesâ sort of thing ...
âThe Other Side of the Wallâ is more hymnal than ballad, Iâd say ⦠gorgeous big swathes of harmony and no bombast here.
âAnything But Loveâ ⦠starts out with some acoustic Flamenco style work then moves into pop inspired rhyming and is finished off with the big guitar gun, almost getting blue ⦠now this a hodgepodge of styles!
âInca Terraâ with Nad Sylvan on vocal duty ⦠a song of bewitchment which moves from lilting into almost a dance and then goes back out again into charming light harmonies followed by didgeridoo and the ever present strings.
âIn Another Lifeâ is very much like a dance, loaded with Celtic influences and sound ⦠goodness, the Uilleann Pipes (Iâm assuming thatâs what they are) are so mournful.
âThe Skeleton Galleryâ has an almost marching sound which is a recurring theme that comes through in Hackettâs work, and this album, quite a bit now that I think of it ⦠lots of drama.
âWest to Eastâ is a grand sweeping song, heavily âorchestratedâ ⦠I could imagine an audience swaying in unison and holding up their lighters.
âThe Giftâ ⦠a sweet ending which leaves that manâs guitar notes singing in your ears.
The full album ⦠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEtfAD1dD9M
This is lifted from Steve Hackettâs website â¦
"This latest waxing represents a bird's eye view of the world of a musical migrant ignoring borders and celebrating our common ancestry with a unity of spirit, featuring musicians, singers and instruments from all over the world. From territorial frontiers to walled-up gateways, boundaries often hold back the tide. But while the night siren wails, music breaches all defences. To quote Plato, 'When the music changes, the walls of the city shake'."
The album features: Steve Hackett (guitar & vocals), Roger King (keyboards & programming), Nad Sylvan (vocals on Inca Terra), Rob Townsend (all things wind), John Hackett (flute), Amanda Lehmann (vocals), Gary O'Toole (drums), and Benedict Fenner (additional keyboards & programming). Also featured are singers Kobi and Mira (Israeli and Palestinian), Nick D'Virgilio (drums) from the USA, Malik Mansurov (Tar) from Azerbaijan & Gulli Breim (drums & percussion) from Iceland. Additional musicians who add to the rich flavour of the album are Christine Townsend (violin & viola), Dick Driver (double bass), Troy Donockley (Celtic Uilleann) and Leslie Bennett (keyboards on The Gift).
âFifty Miles from the North Poleâ â¦
[video=youtube;BjW6JLXu7wQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjW6JLXu7wQ[/video]
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson