Hackett's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
reviewed by Doug Melbourne

Date: 23 Mar 97 06:36:26 EST
From: Doug Melbourne <100570.3706@compuserve.com>
Subject: A Midsummer Nights Dream

Dear all,

I was lucky enough to have a meeting with Billy Budis (Steve Hacketts management) yesterday, and he gave us some promotional copies of Steve Hackett's new album which I believe is released on Monday. So I thought I'd write a quick review.

'A Midsummer Night's Dream', is, as you might guess, a series of pieces inspired by the play. In style, it's similar to his acoustic albums like 'Bay of Kings' - quite Baroque in style. However, this time the pieces have been orchestrated and played by the London Philharmonic. Very beautiful stuff.

Most of the pieces are structured around the guitar, with some passages where the Orchestra takes the lead. It's an interesting way of arranging the music, and it works very well. Steve's playing is absolutely superb as you would expect - always refined and tasteful, and demonstrating a classical acoustic technique unmatched by any other rock artist I know of. He's one of the very few Seventies icons who has actually improved his technique over time, rather than relying on a couple of tricks which made them famous.

Comparison to Genesis - yes, the influence is still there with the dense string harmonies moving over pedal bass notes, and the strong melody lines.

The album seems to have found acceptance in the classical community - it's been the classic FM album of the week, and they have played it without the 'Not bad for a Rock bloke' attitude you might expect.

I would recommend this album to anyone with an interest in Steve Hackett, acoustic guitars, Genesis, or Classical/Baroque music. Actually, I'd recommend it to anyone. It's quite a gentle album, but with enough variation in the music and passion in the guitar playing for you to never once miss any bombast or pomp. Buy it! My Dad's a big classical buff, and I will be buying him one for his birthday.

Incidentally, we gave Billy 2 promotional copies of ReGenesis Live, for him and Steve. I hope he enjoys our efforts!

All the best,

Doug (Keyboards, ReGenesis).