Over the course of 25 years and nearly 20 solo releases, Steve Hackett has acquired a vast amount of technical proficiency in the studio.
This album, which Hackett produced, is the best-sounding release of his career.
Most of the 11 tracks are more like soundscapes or aural impressions, than songs in the conventional sense; this is not necessarily a bad thing.
The tapestry of sounds on "The Golden Age of Steam" is perfectly suited to a rather intriguing lyric about a World War II child spy.
On "Rise Again" the hopeful lyrics are coupled with guitar playing that truly soars.
Most of the other songs, however, are simply not engaging enough to be memorable, even after repeated listenings.
In the liner notes, Hackett points out that "Twice Around the Sun" may have the longest sustained guitar note in the history of modern recording, and this points to the album's biggest problem: Hackett seems more concerned with form than substance, which will eventually prove tiring to even the most dedicated fans.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Omega MetallicusSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett | Play | 03:48 | 3 MB | 20 MB |
| 2 | DarktownSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett, Julian Colbeck, Roger King, Ian McDonald | Play | 04:59 | 11 MB | 26 MB |
| 3 | Man OverboardSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett | Play | 04:17 | 4 MB | 22 MB |
| 4 | The Golden Age of SteamSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett, Roger King, Jerry Peal | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 5 | Days of Long AgoJim Diamond, Steve Hackett | Steve Hackett, Billy Budis | Play | 03:23 | 3 MB | 18 MB |
| 6 | Dreaming With Open EyesSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett, John Hackett, Jerry Peal | Play | 06:54 | 15 MB | 36 MB |
| 7 | Twice Around the SunSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett, Ben Fenner, Roger King | Play | 07:15 | 16 MB | 40 MB |
| 8 | Rise AgainSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett, Billy Budis, Aron Friedman | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 9 | Jane Austen's DoorSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett, Roger King | Play | 06:13 | 14 MB | 32 MB |
| 10 | Darktown RiotSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett, Roger King | Play | 03:10 | 7 MB | 15 MB |
| 11 | In MemoriamSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett, Roger King | Play | 07:59 | 18 MB | 45 MB |
| 56 mins | 114 MB | |||||
| 56 mins | 309 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Buckland | Ambience, Engineer |
| 2 | Billy Budis | Cello, Engineer, Management, Mixing, Primary Artist |
| 3 | John Colbeck | Keyboards |
| 4 | Julian Colbeck | Keyboards, Primary Artist |
| 5 | Paul Cox | Photography, Portrait Photography |
| 6 | Hugo Degenhardt | Drums |
| 7 | Jim Diamond | Composer, Vocals |
| 8 | Ben Fenner | Ambience, Children's Choirmaster, Design, Drum Producer, Engineer, Guitar Technician, Mastering, Mellotron, Mixing, Post Production, Primary Artist, String Arrangements |
| 9 | Bob Fenner | Choir Coordinator, Design, Drum Programming, Guitar, Mixing, Post Production, Producer, Recorder, String Arrangements |
| 10 | Aron Friedman | Drum Producer, Keyboards, Piano, Primary Artist |
| 11 | John Hackett | Flute, Pan Pipes, Primary Artist |
| 12 | Steve Hackett | 12-String Bass Guitar, Ambience, Choir/Chorus, Composer, Guitar, Guitar (12 String), Guitar (Nylon String), Guitar Technician, Harmonica, Narrator, Orchestration, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Rainstick, Sequencing, Strings, Violin, Vocals, Voiceover, Woodwind |
| 13 | Roger King | Ambience, Bass, Conductor, Drums, Engineer, Flageolet, Guitar Engineer, Guitar Technician, Keyboards, Mixing, Post Production, Primary Artist, Rhythm Coordination, Rhythm Design, Wood, Woodwind |
| 14 | Ian McDonald | Guest Artist, Primary Artist, Saxophone |
| 15 | Jamie McKena | Choir Coordinator |
| 16 | Jerry Peal | Bells, Engineer, Mixing, Primary Artist, Strings, Woodwind, Woodwind Arrangement |
| 17 | Harry Pearce | Photography |
| 18 | Lippa Pearce | Design |
| 19 | Doug Sinclair | Bass, Fretless Bass |
| 20 | John Wetton | Bass Samples |
| 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). |