Steve Hackett
Wolflight

Aren’t wolves the most adorable creatures? Well, Steve Hackett seems to have found some that are, I love the cover on this album, it is really cool and I think I would have liked to meet those wolves myself – they seem very friendly. Idiot hunters and those with lower intellectual capacity claims that the wolves are the reason for the countryside loosing service here in Sweden, I guess they are the ones behind the internet retailers and the supermarkets and those other things that makes business on the countryside harder to maintain. Anyways, we have been waiting a while for a new Hackett album considering that the latest album Beyond the Shrouded Horizon was released in 2011 since then he has only been doing Genesis Revisited albums and live albums. So it wasn’t without expectations this album took place in the music-playing device.

From that device I noted that this album feels in a way like a logical sequel to the latest Hackett album, it is built on the same premise musically. Progressive rock infused with folkish music from around the world, with a dramatic atmosphere and an outstanding production. Musical landscape painted in sweeping brush strokes, a sense of drama and a magical atmosphere. Steve’s voice is perfect for this album and at his service he has some female voices and some excellent musicians are helping him with the instrumental parts of this album. Did I mention that the production is brilliant? and the soundscape? The album shows some great variation, over ten tracks and just short of the hour playing time. If you buy the special edition you get two bonus tracks and an extra blu-ray disc with some nice goodies.

And the album is very good, but what else was to expect from a guy who know to deliver some brilliant music. At the same time it is a bit too familiar, I think that it lacks a sense of novelty. There was a great sense of novelty on Beyond the Shrouded Horizon, this album feels more like a sequel to that album, a step forward but not a giant leap. So, I like it but I tend to want more novelty and a bit more imaginative thinking to bring out the book of superlatives that I have hidden amongst my other books of words. I have no doubt however, that fans of Genesis and of Hackett will find this album very impressive and exciting because it is quite exciting and good.

The best track is the title track Wolflight which I really like and then I also think that Love Song to a Vampire is another track worthy of mention. One thing that strikes me about this album though is how many of the tracks are a bit forgetful in comparison with what the man has done before. But nevertheless, it is a high quality album that I recommend that you take a closer look at as it is a brilliant album in many regards, not as good as its predecessor but still able to stand quite tall on its own feet. And if the music isn’t enough, why not buy it for the wolves on the cover, I like wolves and when they are done posing with musicians they could spend some time eating those wolf haters that live on the Swedish countryside – that would have been really brilliant. But while I wait for those people to be eaten I can always listen to this album because I think that it is quite enjoyable, 56 minutes of musical adventuring.

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