Steve Hackett - Royal Albert Hall, London 23/10/2024

The prestigious Royal Albert Hall is the perfect venue for an evening with Steve Hackett. Opened in 1871, by Queen Victoria no less, and with a capacity of over 5000, the hall seems to rise to the heavens, its multiple levels inducing vertigo even from my vantage point in the stalls – the building is actually 135ft tall trivia fans. There is something about the majesty of progressive rock that perfectly fits a venue that has hosted many great nights of classical music, and Steve has a long list of songs stretching back fifty years that are much loved by many to this day.

Steve Hackett is in town on the final night of his Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo UK tour, which is a bit of a poster-filling mouthful, but he is seemingly intent on ticking all those boxes during two lengthy sets. Opening with a trio of tracks from his most recent ‘The Circus and The Nightwhale’ album, Steve reminds us the creative juices are still flowing. ‘People of the Smoke’ is as gritty and punchy as the title suggests. Steve’s impressive guitar skills are to the fore as he demonstrates his unique light, feathery touch on the tremolo bar and two-handed tapping skills that have influenced many a guitarist.  Next up, the epic grandeur of ‘Circo Inferno' features one of many telling sax contributions from Rob Townsend. It’s incredibly frenzied stuff, so Steve slows things down for, as he puts it, the jazzy ‘These Passing Clouds’ a lovely floaty instrumental.

Things take a turn towards the dark and the gothic for ‘The Devil’s Cathedral’ as Roger King’s Phantom of the Opera keys add multiple layers of atmosphere, while Nad Sylvan does a fine job on vocals. ‘Every Day’ is lovely with its five-part harmonies and Amanda Lehmann doubling Steve’s guitar. Amanda looks to be having an absolute blast, throwing rock star shapes with abandon, a big smile permanently on her face. It’s a fantastic performance and definitely a highlight of the opening set. Steve and his excellent band continue to mix light and shade as he takes a seat and switches to nylon-strung acoustic for ‘Hands of the Priestess’ with his brother John guesting on flute before they embark on a trio of complex compositions; ‘A Tower Struck Down’, ‘Basic Instincts’ with an extended solo spot from bassist Jonas Reingold (The Flower Kings, Kaipa) and ‘Camino Royale’. The opening set concluded with Amanda Lehmann adding her vocal talents to ‘Shadow of the Hierophant’, allowing the band to reproduce the song that originally featured Sally Oldfield on the ‘Voyage of the Acolyte’ album back in 1975. A ten-minute epic ‘Shadow’ begins in a folky way that seems splendidly English with Amanda’s vocal joined by Rob’s flute and gently builds through a tapped guitar solo from Steve, quiets down (you could hear a pin drop in the attentive crowd) before building to a crescendo driven on by Craig Blundell’s drum fills. A great closer, and it’s only half-time.

Photo by Sam Holt

After a twenty-five-minute interval, Roger King’s keys introduce the opening of ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ to a great roar of appreciation. Nad Sylvan really comes into his own. The singer is an expressive performer with an expansive range, perfect for the material. During the Lamb highlights part of the set, Steve calls on a special guest or two. Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery ambles on stage for ‘Fly on a Windshield’ to engage in a protracted guitar duel, their guitars singing beautifully together before Rothery wanders back into the wings with no fuss whatsoever. Ray Wilson, a singer with a Genesis connection far removed from Steve’s time in the band, steps up for a superb ‘Carpet Crawlers’, his deep throaty delivery expanding effortlessly into a higher range at the song's conclusion. Steve switched to his Fernandes Gold Top (once owned by the late, great Gary Moore) for this track to deliver the intricate guitar lines while hunched over his wide range of effects pedals. Moving on from the Lamb material, there’s still plenty of time to revisit another revered part of the Genesis catalogue via ‘Selling England by The Pound’. ‘Dancing with the Moonlit Knight’, finds Roger King coaxing a wide range of sounds from his bank of keyboards, including some old-school noises that wouldn’t have been out of place on a BBC Radiophonic Workshop album (anyone remember those?). ‘The Cinema Show’ includes an opportunity for some gentle audience participation before ‘Aisle of Plenty’ reminds us to do a little late-night shopping on the way home.

There is still time for an encore and - I’m reliably informed by an old friend - that a Steve Hackett show without ‘Firth of Fifth’ and that guitar solo would be unimaginable. John Hackett returns for another brief flute cameo, and the band is firing on all cylinders. But it’s all about that gorgeous guitar solo, a masterpiece of phrasing thanks to immaculate tone and silky-smooth vibrato. The evening is near conclusion, but we still have time for Craig Blundell's drum solo. I might have tuned out at this point, but Craig is an excellent drummer, providing plenty of light and shade and lots of little percussive moments to keep things interesting. His sound is also huge, which helps, and perfectly sets up the riffy, jazzy cacophony of ‘Slogans / Los Endos’.

Tonight, was a bit of a revelation for me. As I mentioned earlier, Steve is a very influential guitarist with a unique style complimented by a band at the top of their game. This alone would make tonight worthwhile, but Steve continues to compose interesting new music while performing songs that have a special meaning for many people and a place in English musical history, which is to be applauded. Long may he continue.

Review by David Vousden.

Photo by Robert Sutton from the RAH