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| Steve Hackett - Darktown |
 Released: 1999 Label: Camino Cat. No.: Total Time: | |
Review courtesy John "Bo Bo" Bollenberg, March 2000 For those of you who still categorize all of Steve Hackett's solo output under the same label as Voyage Of The Acolyte, you have to agree that Hackett today has very little in common with the young virtuoso of days gone by. Like the title suggests, Darktown holds some dark coils grown inside the obstinate mind of Mr. Hackett himself. Helped out by ex-King Crimson stalwart Ian McDonald (onetime moneymaker with Foreigner, but also poor guy with Fruupp!) and the soul voice of Jim "I Won't Let You Down" Diamond (once half of the world famous PHd), Hackett delivers one hell of an album. The naive beginnings [of his solo career] have evolved through bluesy detours towards this mature, dark and autobiographical outlook on life. Listen to the heavy bass and the contemporary rhythms in "Omega Metallicus" which has Hackett on the same level as the current King Crimson. Like Andy Latimer [(Camel)], Steve Hackett isn't really a singer, so most of the time he restricts himself to some narration with a heavy voice like in the "Eastern rhythm meets free-jazz" of "Darktown." The love of simplicity and romance is expressed by the acoustic guitar in "Man Overboard," a song which, like so many others before, is based around the big love in Steve's life: Kim Poor. Having met the lady in question once I know that his wonderful music certainly is a personification of her beauty. Apparently her beauty has also been noticed by Jim Diamond who, during "Days Of Long Ago" sort of sings a musical ode to her. Also the Brazilian roots of Poor are apparent in the jazzy, bossa-nova like "Dreaming With Open Eyes" which is also the miraculous re-incarnation of brother John Hackett! The retro feeling goes once step further in "Rise Again" where I note a percussive "soundalike" as in "Los Endos." Final song "In Memoriam" is a soft, babbling, bluesy dirge backed by a huge mellotron and resulting in a song which could easily have been featured on the first King Crimson album. To emphasize that influence, some bass samples from John Wetton have been used. Sort of back to the beginning! With Darktown Steve Hackett delivers a very contemporary album where his virtuosity, his compositional skills, and his technical ability are highlighted. Without any doubt, the purest, most honest and most powerful Steve Hackett album of all time! [See also Keith's review -ed.] More about Darktown: Track Listing: Omega Metallicus (3:48) / Darktown (4:59) / Man Overboard (4:17) / The Golden Age Of Steam (4:09) / Days Of Long Ago (3:23) / Dreaming With Open Eyes (6:54) / Twice Around The Sun (7:15) / Rise Again (4:26) / Jane Austin's Door (6:13) / Darktown Riot (3:10) / In Memoriam (7:59) Sound Clips: www.stevehackett.com/darktown/samples.htm Musicians: Contact: Website: www.stevehackett.com Discography
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