Steve Hackett: Genesis Revisited - Live at Hammersmith

With such a broad repertoire of classic progressive rock, it's a very good thing, indeed, that guitarist Steve Hackett—despite leaving the group on the cusp of far greater commercial success (but, alas, also compromising its progressive nature)—has kept the music of Peter Gabriel-era (and slightly beyond) Genesis alive since leaving the group in October, 1977. But while Hackett's post-Genesis live sets have, in the ensuing decades, almost always included selections from the group's songbook—beginning with his first appearance with the group formed by Charterhouse School mates Gabriel, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, 1971's Nursery Cryme, through to his final studio recording with the band, 1976's Wind & Wuthering (all on Charisma)—he's never dedicated an entire tour to replicating the music of Genesis. That changed this past year, when he hit the road around the world, focusing on music from the Genesis catalog that he'd re-recorded, first in 1997 withWatcher of the Skies: Genesis Revisited (Camino, 1996), but even more successfully on Genesis Revisited II (Inside Out, 2012). 

A whopping double-disc set co-produced with longtime musical partner, keyboardist Roger King, withGenesis Revisited II Hackett managed to be reverential to his source material while, at the same time, bringing some new elements (sometimes subtle other times more overt) to a set list ranging from classics like "The Musical Box" and epic "Supper's Ready" to lesser-known but no less compelling tracks including the unfairly overlooked "Can-Utility and the Coastliners," from Foxtrot (Charisma, 1972). GRII also included music, from Hackett's solo career, that the guitarist had originally written with Genesis in mind, like "Please Don't Touch," "A Tower Struck Down," and "Shadow of the Hierophant," the last co-written with Mike Rutherford for Hackett's first solo album, 1975's Voyage of the Acolyte (Charisma). 

GRII also featured a long list of guests. '80s pop star Nik Kershaw's "The Lamia," originally from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (Charisma, 1974), actually—and, perhaps, blasphemously—trumped Gabriel's version on the Genesis singer's swan song before leaving the group to embark on what would ultimately prove to be a far more successful solo career. '70s-era King Crimson alum John Wetton also joined in alongside new millennium progressive rock stars such as Steven Wilson,Jakko M. Jakszyk, Neal Morse and the Flower Kings' founder, guitarist and vocalist Roine Stolt. For the tour, however, Hackett had to find the perfect group to deliver his nearly three-hour sets with absolute authenticity while, at the same time, speaking with its own voice. 

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