Steve Hackett's last release for Charisma Records in Britain is one of his strongest efforts.
Hackett once again handles all the lead vocals, but sounds more assured in the role than he did on Cured.
This album spawned Hackett's one and only solo hit single, "Cell 151," which charted in Britain.
(An extended version of "Cell 151" was released as a 12" single, and was later included on CD versions of Highly Strung.) With its heavily gated drum sound (an effect pioneered by Hackett's onetime bandmate Phil Collins), "Cell 151" had a hard-hitting, modern sound.
This production style ran through the whole album, but complemented Hackett's songs to great effect.
Strong up-tempo numbers like "Walking Through Walls" (which espoused the virtues of pushing your boundaries via a daily morning jog) alternated with ballads like "India Rubber Man," on which the guitarist returned to his first instrument, the harmonica.
Highly Strung is a fine example of Hackett's skills as an instrumentalist and composer.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Camino RoyaleSteve Hackett, Nick Magnus | Steve Hackett | Play | 05:25 | 12 MB | 35 MB |
| 2 | Cell 151Steve Hackett | Steve Hackett | Play | 06:25 | 14 MB | 39 MB |
| 3 | Always Somewhere ElseSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 4 | Walking Through WallsSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 5 | Give It AwaySteve Hackett | Steve Hackett | Play | 04:05 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 6 | WeightlessSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett | Play | 03:29 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 7 | Group TherapySteve Hackett | Steve Hackett | Play | 05:43 | 13 MB | 39 MB |
| 8 | India Rubber ManSteve Hackett | Steve Hackett | Play | 02:29 | 5 MB | 12 MB |
| 9 | Hackett to PiecesSteve Hackett, Nick Magnus | Steve Hackett | Play | 02:38 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 38 mins | 87 MB | |||||
| 38 mins | 237 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Acock | Producer |
| 2 | Nigel Green | Cello |
| 3 | Steve Hackett | Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 4 | Chris Laurence | Bass |
| 5 | Nick Magnus | Composer, Keyboards, Synthesizer |
| 6 | Ian Mosley | Drums, Percussion |
| 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). |