Steve Hackett – Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo – The Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool – Wednesday 9th October 2024

Whilst the Collins/Banks/Rutherford outfit has left us with mixed feelings with a final farewell to the band as an ongoing live concern, the Genesis musical legacy rolls on in the capable hands of Steve Hackett. The man who’s carried the flame/flown the flag/held a torch for the classic Genesis era for the last dozen years and whose latest exploits see him creating a show that, in the finest tradition, highlights his solo work, a new solo album and a classic Genesis album.

To be fair, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is the only Genesis album which Hackett hasn’t thoroughly dissected in his decade plus of revisiting his part in the legacy, but first, and lest we should forget, it’s his almost fifty year solo career that takes a turn in the spotlight.

The gold top guitar which has been synonymous with Hackett in recent times is replaced by a jet black model – the former makes a brief appearance in the second half when the crawlers heed their callers as the band kick into the opening set. It’s one that opens with a selections from his The Circus And The Nightwhale album. An all too brief ten minute sequence from an album that, fingers crossed, we may see deservedly played in full one day, if not to give Amanda Lehmann the chance to reprise her operatic passage in Ghost Moon And Living Love. Not a phrase often associated with Steve Hackett, Circo Inferno is particularly vicious and devilishly heavy.

While we’re in the zone, Roger does his Phantom Of The Opera intro on Devil’s Cathedral. One that also pulls from the recent catalogue and with Steve alluding to its Genesis stylings, Nad Sylvan – himself not averse to heading into ‘vampirate’ territory n his solo work – steps up to play the vocal part to perfection.

Back to the early days though, with the amazingly fifty year old Voyage Of The Acolyte featuring strongly. A Tower Struck Down pumps away and leads into a Jonas Reingold bass solo slot that almost steers the evening into a soul show, before the instrumental quintet jazz out on Camino Royale. The opportunity to jazz out also sees Rob Townsend step to stage centre with his trusty sax; inches are given and miles are taken as they groove out with the Camino (da-da-da-daah) riff grinds on.

Almost as much a signature piece as the title track of the album on which it sits, Every Day has the Hackett/Lehmann/Reingold/Townsend lining the stage front for a nice photo opp as they share the riffs and lead lines. Someone somewhere must have done the stats but I’d wager that Every Day isHackett’s most played live track… The selection that climaxes with the might and majesty of Shadow Of The Hierophant; the soprano vocal by Amanda and Roger king’s glockenspiel sounds belying a fragile presence as the wave of power slowly rumbles and rolls into view. Maybe Liverpool was stretching its collective legs ready for the interval, but a standing ovation was fully deserved.

The second half sees the band strike up a selection from the expansive The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway album, currently celebrating it’s 50th anniversary. A milestone album (or a millstone album?) – Gabriel’s last and one that might have divided opinion at some point for various reasons including its legendary live tour, yet now is seen as a major work.

Hackett clearly has a soft spot for some of the tunes. Hairless Heart was in his set way back in the late noughties and he’s had previous drummer Gary O’Toole singing the Fly On A Windshield/Broadway Melody Of 1974 in his set prior to the Genesis Revisited period of touring. There’s no place for In The Cage or Back In NYC; guess you have to keep something up your sleeve and it would have been interesting to hear Roger King have a go at the intensely slippery solo on Riding The Scree – no doubt he would have nailed it as he has on all the Genesis material – as the sequence builds mainly on the first half of the album.

As Roger tickles out the famous cross handed piano intro, Nad becomes Rael; the concession to costume in his leather strides and a T shirt with leather jacket print that needs a second look to make sure it’s not a sleeveless leather jerkin. Unlike PG before him, he’s not shorn his locks for his art but nonetheless, he’s spot on with his delivery. The grandiose swagger of the Fly On A Windshield/Broadway Melody section and aggression of Lilywhite Lilith rivals some of the earlier intensity and by contrast, Chamber Of 32 Doors and The Lamia are more stately and resplendent, offering more subtlety than the rush of the It finale. The latter sees Nad strutting his stuff, not quite up front but in his usual vocal position at he great man’s right hand.

Would have been interesting to hear Roger King have a go at the intensely slippery solo on Riding The Scree – no doubt he would have nailed it as he has on all the Genesis material. Having said that, the current band is in a purple patch. Lights are spot on and it sounds wonderful, from the huge cresendos to the minutest subtleties.

A Selling England selection concludes the re-visitation after the mini tour of The Lamb. The soft spot for the Selling England By The Pound album proves a Hackett fave as is its opening track, Dancing With The Moonlit Knight. As withe the chorus of Carpet Crawl (where Steve acknowledges the rare chance to sing along) the crowd sing back the “selling England by the pound” refrain. Tonight Steve owns up to it being ‘the‘ favourite and having some degree of emotional association. He hopes he doesn’t mess it up! He doesn’t.

The Cinema Show is the last to highlight the multi-tasking talents of Jonas Reingold whose job in switching between bass, bass pedals twelve string double neck and guitar. It also sees Hackett himself as a fine rhythm guitarist as Jonas sticks with the bass part of the double neck, avoiding the more obvious upper 12 string to set the tempo.Both Selling England… tracks feature the slow and fragile codas from the album versions, Aisle Of Plenty in the case of the latter. Fine delicate notes, finely played.

The encore charts familiar territory. Spotlit, Roger King again masters the Firth Of Fifth piano intro before his boss launches into the iconic solo he must have performed so many times. the lyric, “he rides majestic” is never more apt. The bass pedals at the end of the solo before the vocal returns are particularly beefy and lest we forget, Craig blundell gets his solo spot, working his way around the kit before setting up the familiar rhythm that leads into a furious Los Endos.

Noting the significance of the date and location – it’s John Lennon’s birthday – Steve reminds us how the great man cited Genesis as an influence back in the day. Thanks to his dedication to the legacy, the music still shines brightly to this day.

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