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Steve Hackett: Bay of Kings

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Camino Records
Released: 1983
Time:
 44:17
52Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): Steve Hackett, John Acock
Rating: ******.... (6/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.hackettsongs.com
Appears with: Genesis, GTR, Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, Chris Squire, Steve Howe
Purchase date: 2001.01.06
Price in €: 14,99





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Bay of Kings (S.Hackett) - 4:56
[2] Journey (S.Hackett) - 4:14
[3] Kim (S.Hackett) - 2:25
[4] Marigold (S.Hackett) - 3:36
[5] St.Elmo's Fire (S.Hackett) - 3:08
[6] Petropolis (S.Hackett) - 2:45
[7] Second Chance (S.Hackett) - 1:58
[8] Cast Adrift (S.Hackett) - 2:15
[9] Horizons (S.Hackett) - 1:47
[10] Black Light (S.Hackett) - 2:31
[11] The Barren Land (S.Hackett) - 3:46
[12] Calmaria (S.Hackett) - 3:23
[13] Time Lapse at Milton Keynes (S.Hackett) - 3:56
[14] Tales of the Riverbank (S.Hackett) - 2:02
[15] Skye Boat Song (S.Hackett) - 1:35  

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l

 
Steve Hackett - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals

John Hackett - Flute, Keyboards
Nick Magnus - Synthesizer, Keyboards

John Acock - Recording, Mixing
Richard Buckland - Recording, Mixing
Ian Anderson - Mastering  

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


"The guitar is a small orchestra housing other instruments. Pianos, cellos and harps are hidden away within it." The remastered edition includes a 12-page booklet with Hackett's own commentary plus 3 bonus tracks - "Time Lapse at Milton Keynes" (new version), "Tales of the Riverbank" (new version) and "Skye Boat Song".

I count myself lucky that I was self taught - as I was never graded I was always allowed to love it. The nylon string guitar ranges from mellow to bright, from legato to percussive. In facts, it does a very good impersonation of many other instruments: cello, harpsichord, brass, harp, koto, violin, mandolin, drums, glockenspiel and, most of all, piano. When I first heard Segovia playing Bach I found it unbelievable that so much could be played in one pass. The independence of top lines and bass sounded like a miracle to me.

I really didn't think that you could do any more the Flamenco players had done, rattling off some fast notes with perhaps a trill on the top string for an encore. This was way beyond my comprehension at the age of fifteen. I was never able to approach pop music in the same way after that.

I hoped secretly that I would be good enough one day to do a whole acoustic album. You can never possess too much technique because the medium is much more demanding that the single lines of rock players. But, don't get me wrong, the bottom line is always the strength of melody no matter whether you play blues or Bach.


Bay of Kings
I had in mind a kind of slow motion dance; a galleon supported by water, rising and falling, the different speed immediately felt when you set forth on any sailboat.
The Journey
The pace is more stationary on this one. The rhythm is only suggested - the anchor remains fast.

Kim
This first appeared in 1978 on "Please Don't Touch". John, my brother, came up with the harmony flute line on this re-recorded version. As the title suggests, it's dedicated to a very special person.

Marigold
A steel strung guitar here for a brighter tone in keeping with the title. A six string with a harmonizer - don't attempt this sort of stuff on a 12-string, you'll wind up in traction!

St. Elmo's Fire
The sea at its most restless. Both E Strings tuned down to D to get unusual chord inversions - the most dissonant of all the progressions.

Petropolis
Written during a rainstorm in the place of the same name in Brazil. A homage to an emerald city in an Elizabethan style.

Second Chance
Originally written as a film theme at the request of my late friend, Ralph Bates, the actor. Beautiful elegiac playing from John on flute.

Cast Adrift
An atmospheric piece. Deliberately formless for the most part but always reminiscent of places by the sea such as St. Ives- Salt Kettle- smugglers' coves. Again, with an "early music" influence during the final fanfare.

Horizons
Originally written with a nod to John Renborn. His "Sir John A Lot Of" was a great record: the contemporary and the classical side by side - well done John! This was the first complete piece I wrote for unaccompanied guitar and it became the flagship for all the rest of my fleet of doodles.

Black Light
The shimmering sound of this was a return to an earlier style that was once described as "note clusters". Arpeggios and chords that seem to become top lines; liquids appearing like solids, me hearties!

The Barren Land
Travelling through the Basque territory many years ago en route to San Sebastian it seemed as if nothing could grow on the ashen landscape, yet the people were warm and friendly. Things seemed stopped in time. No buildings, just castles in the air.

Calmaria
A Portuguese word meaning the calm after the storm.

Time Lapse At Milton Keynes
This was written at about the same time we had a group reunion to help Peter Gabriel. It felt great to be part of a very good team. It felt like time had stood still when we were all on that same stage again - a very emotion-charged experience. There were no stiff upper lips backstage that night.

Tales Of The Riverbank
"Tales" was a childhood favorite TV show characterised by the wonderful voice of Johnny Morris with this lovely piece used as theme music. It's based on "Andante In C" by Giuliani and this is my own re-recorded and re-arranged version.

Skye Boat Song
This wistful melody does the same thing to me now as when I was a little lad playing it on the harmonica. A song that speaks of all the things that should have been - a lament, but also a rite-of-passage. Mother's favorite.

SteveHackett.com, Copyright © 1983



Since his days with Genesis, Steve Hackett had showcased his classical guitar skills on solo pieces like "Horizons." He had a strong affinity for such material and usually included one solo guitar piece on his own albums. By 1980-81, Hackett had amassed enough material to release an entire album of his classical work and pitched the idea to his label Charisma. The record company felt such a release wouldn't prove commercially viable - they saw Hackett as a "rock" artist - but the guitarist believed strongly in the project. To this end, he began recording tracks for it on his own time and with his own money. Even after the success of Steve's 1982 album Highly Strung and its hit single "Cell 151," Charisma still vetoed the idea. So Hackett left the label and took his project to a small label called Lamborghini, who released the album under the title Bay of Kings in 1983. It turned out to be one of the guitarist's strongest efforts ever, truly a labor of love, and sold in respectable quantities. Hackett had taken great care recording his guitar, and his efforts shone throughout this gorgeous-sounding album. The beautiful guitar work was complemented in places by strings and flute (the latter played by Steve's brother John). There were remakes of two of Steve's earlier pieces, "Horizons" (from the Genesis album Foxtrot) and "Kim" (from Steve's Please Don't Touch LP), both of which improved on the originals.

Robin Platts, All-Music Guide
 

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