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John and Steve Hackett - Sketches Of Satie
John and Steve Hackett - Sketches of Satie
Released: 2000
Label: Camino Records
Cat. No.:
Total Time: 47:09


Review courtesy John "Bo Bo" Bollenberg, July 2000

John (left) and Steve Hackett as youngsters
John (left) and Steve Hackett as youngsters (courtesy)
I remember being invited to witness a live concert by Steve Hackett and his band in order to promote his then brand-new album Defector. The gig was in Ipswich, England and that very same night I was driven back to my hotel in London by the band's manager. In the back of the car none other than Steve Hackett himself. I do remember that we discussed the possibility of a joint album between Steve and his younger brother John Hackett. Charisma records had expressed an interest and the tunes would probably be written in the forthcoming months.

Nearly twenty years later the first recorded collaboration between the two brothers finally hits the racks. Although the duo had discussed whether at all to include an orchestra for this one they decided that the music of Satie didn't need any extras and would be perfect just for the "stripped" sound of guitar and flute. Needless to say the album is more of a solo spot for John's flute playing as opposed to the accompanying acoustic guitar in the background. It's the flute that holds the melody and although at times Steve slightly follows the same scales it still is mainly a flute album.

The album consists of twenty rather short tracks selected from a wealth of Gnossiennes, Gymnopédies, Pièces froides, Avan dernières pensées and Nocturnes. Needless to say the most popular one has to be "Gymnopédie N° 1" not in the least because it has been used as the main theme for many TV-commercials about … cigars. In all Sketches of Satie is a very classical album because first of all you can only hear two "classical" instruments and also because the arrangements are very close to the originals. Those of you who know Steve's A Midsummer Night's Dream album know that Steve is not your everyday rock star. He knows his classics and apparently so does his brother John.

Sketches Of Satie has, apart from the well-known "Gymnopédie N° 1," not a standout track. All of the pieces sound rather similar, which is fine if you're into the mood of this kind of music, but it can understandably be a bit too much for some people. That's why the Hackett brothers had this great idea of including a couple of "guitar only" tracks in the middle of the album to sort of make a "bridge" between two guitar/flute parts. It strikes me how Steve has developed a very distinctive guitar sound because you only need to hear one chord to know it's him! It is certainly an ideal album to listen to if you had a stressful day at the office!

More about Sketches Of Satie:

Track Listing: Gnossienne No. 3 (2:24) / Gnossienne No. 2 (1:56) / Gnossienne No. 1 (3:18) / Gymnopédie No. 3 (2:36) / Gymnopédie No. 2 (2:52) / Gymnopédie No. 1 (3:55) / Pièces Froides No. 1 Airs ÀFaire Fuir I (2:46) / Pièces Froides No. 1 Airs ÀFaire Fuir II (1:36) / Pièces Froides No. 2 (2:05) / Avant Dernières Pensées Idylle ÀDebussy (0:57) / Avan Dernières Pensées Aubade ÀPaul Dukas (1:11) / Avan Dernières Pensées Méditation ÀAlbert Roussel (0:54) / Gnossienne No. 4 (2:41) / Gnossienne No. 5 (3:20) / Gnossienne No. 6 (1:41) / Nocturnes No. 1 (3:31) / Nocturnes No. 2 (2:14) / Nocturnes No. 3 (3:36) / Nocturnes No. 4 (2:49) / Nocturnes No. 5 (2:27)

Musicians:
John Hackett - flute
Steve Hackett - guitar

Contact:

Website: www.stevehackett.com
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Discography
    With GTR:
  • GTR (1986)


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Review © John Bollenberg