STEVE HACKETT : THE TOKYO TAPES

 

Disc One (55:14)

  1. Watcher Of The Skies
  2. Riding The Colossus
  3. Firth Of Fifth
  4. Battlelines
  5. Camino Royale
  6. The Court Of The Crimson King
  7. Horizons
  8. Walking Away From Rainbows
  9. Heat Of The Moment

Disc Two (64:04)

  1. In That Quiet Earth
  2. Vampyre With A Healthy Apetite
  3. I Talk To The Wind
  4. Shadow Of The Hierophant
  5. Los Endos
  6. Black Light
  7. The Steppes
  8. I Know What I Like
    Bonus (Studio Tracks) :
  9. Firewall
  10. The Dealer
  11. Los endos

Label : Camino Records

Venue : Koseinenkin Hall, Tokyo, Japan

Recording Date : December 16 - 17, 1997

Release Date : April 27, 1998

Review (Wikipedia) : The Tokyo Tapes is a live and studio album by English guitarist Steve Hackett, released in April 1998 by Camino Records. It documents two concerts performed by a supergroup line-up of Hackett, John Wetton, Chester Thompson, Ian McDonald and Julian Colbeck, in Tokyo, Japan in December 1996. The album includes two studio tracks recorded by Hackett. In 2001, a DVD of the concerts was released, with the same title.

Review (AllMusic) : Soon after completing work on Watcher of the Skies, Steve Hackett conceived of a series of concerts involving many of the musicians from the Genesis project, to be recorded for a special live release. This two-disc set from a December 1997 performance in Tokyo is the end result. The band personnel look like potential candidates for a Prog Rockers: Where Are They Now? TV special, with Hackett joined by John Wetton (formerly of Asia), Ian McDonald (King Crimson), and Chester Thompson and Julian Colbeck (touring alum of Genesis and Yes, respectively). The set list includes many Genesis songs, as well as several taken from Hackett's solo archive. Most of the songs differ considerably from their studio versions, either through vastly altered arrangements or extended instrumental sections. Wetton does a fine job on lead vocals, the one exception being his solo acoustic reworking of the Asia mega-hit "Heat of the Moment"; the new version with updated lyrics sounds embarrassingly frail. This is a minor misstep, however. Tokyo Tapes is easily the definitive Steve Hackett live collection available to date, and it's a welcome addition to any fan's collection.

Review (ProgArchives) : Following on from his "Genesis revisited" album Hackett took the show on the road to Japan, complete with some of the guests who had appeared on the studio recordings. The result is this rather eclectic mix of tracks from both Hackett's history, and that of his friends. The Genesis classics still tend to take pride of place, with excellent versions of "Watcher of the skies" and "Firth of fifth" (similar to but different from the "Revisited" versions). The additional freeform section before Hackett's guitar solo on "Firth of Fifth" may or may not be appropriate, but it does make that wonderful solo sound even better. "Los endos" is more of an acquired taste, but after several listens it's easier to "get". Hackett also reclaims "Horizons" (per Genesis tradition credited on "Foxtrot" as a band composition but clearly Hackett's baby), and "In that quiet earth" from "Wind and Wuthering". The latter is subject to an improvisational section, complete with sax! Ian MacDonald, manages to get two tracks from "In the court of the crimson king" included, sung superbly by fellow ex King Crimson man John Wetton (though Wetton was of course not in the band for their first album). Wetton himself contributes the excellent "Battlelines" from his solo work, plus "Heat of the moment" from his time with Asia. "Battlelines" is very much a Wetton led performance here, and is a highlight of this album. "Heat of the moment" is only recognisable from the melody, as it is transformed into a beautifully fragile acoustic ballad, essential listening for Asia fans. Ironically, it is Hackett's solo works which are the relatively (and I would emphasise the word relatively) weak tracks, perhaps due to a lack of familiarity both within the assembled players, and indeed some of the audience. Two new studio instrumental tracks round off the album, both of which are competent if unremarkable, "The dealer" being slightly the better. If you ignore the rather uninspired sleeve, and can forgive Hackett for not sharing the album credit more evenly, this is a fine double CD collection, with an enjoyable diversity of source material.