A blues album by prog rocker and classically trained guitarist Steve Hackett? It may seem a bit of a surprise, but as Hackett himself explains, his first musical affinity was for the blues, and his first instrument of choice was the harmonica, not the guitar.
So he returns to his roots on this release, unknown as they are to most of his audience.
Most of the songs are original compositions, and the tunes are well written.
Hackett plays a mean harmonica throughout, and shines in particular on a couple of instrumental numbers, "A Blue Part of Town" and "Footloose" (mercifully not the Kenny Loggins song).
Hackett sings lead vocals on the other songs, and unfortunately his voice just doesn't lend much conviction to blues material, even though it's treated to sound much deeper and grittier.
Anyone who's heard Taj Mahal's version of the title track, a blues standard, will only smile at Hackett's weaker attempt.
Perhaps he should have called the album "Blues with No Feeling." Definitely for completists only.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Born in ChicagoNick Gravenites | Steve Hackett | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 2 | The StumbleFreddie King, Sonny Thompson | Steve Hackett | Play | 02:55 | 6 MB | 19 MB |
| 3 | Love of Another KindSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett | Play | 03:59 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 4 | Way Down SouthSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett | Play | 04:28 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 5 | A Blue Part of TownJulian Colbeck, Steve Hackett | Steve Hackett | Play | 03:04 | 7 MB | 15 MB |
| 6 | FootlooseSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett | Play | 02:30 | 5 MB | 17 MB |
| 7 | Tombstone RollerSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett | Play | 05:17 | 12 MB | 32 MB |
| 8 | Blues with a FeelingLittle Walter | Steve Hackett | Play | 04:22 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | Big Dallas SkyJulian Colbeck, Hugo Degenhardt, Steve Hackett, Doug Sinclair | Steve Hackett | Play | 04:47 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 10 | The 13th FloorSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett | Play | 03:29 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 11 | So Many RoadsMarshall Paul | Steve Hackett | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 12 | Solid GroundJulian Colbeck, Hugo Degenhardt, Steve Hackett, Doug Sinclair | Steve Hackett | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 46 mins | 107 MB | |||||
| 46 mins | 298 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dave "Taif" Ball | Bass |
| 2 | Adrian Bell | Photography |
| 3 | John Chapman | Sax (Baritone) |
| 4 | Paul Clark | Photography |
| 5 | Julian Colbeck | Composer, Keyboards |
| 6 | Chris Deam | Engineer, Mixing |
| 7 | Hugo Degenhardt | Composer, Drums |
| 8 | Matt Dunkley | Trumpet |
| 9 | Nick Gravenites | Composer |
| 10 | Steve Hackett | Composer, Guitar, Harmonica, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 11 | Freddie King | Composer |
| 12 | John Arthur Lee | Trumpet |
| 13 | Little Walter | Composer |
| 14 | Pete Long | Sax (Tenor) |
| 15 | Gerry O'Riordan | Engineer |
| 16 | Marshall Paul | Composer |
| 17 | Jerry Peal | Engineer, Mixing, Organ |
| 18 | Lippa Pearce | Design |
| 19 | Doug Sinclair | Bass, Composer, Guitar (Bass) |
| 20 | Sonny Thompson | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |