Fortunately, I don’t speak from my own experience, but I often hear and read that the feelings of people going through a big personal trauma like a divorce are in complete turmoil and jolted from here to there. The proof that this must be true is the new album of ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. After three decades, he recently ended his liaison with his wife Kim Poor. Out Of The Tunnel’s Mouth tells the story about his feelings and this radical change in his life. Best case is formed by two songs that are back to back on the album: Tubehead (track 4) is very aggressive and angry; it almost hurts the ears, while Sleepers (track 5) is quiet and resigned. This basically is the story of the whole album, the style of music changes in almost every song. From the excellent opener Fire On The Moon, with a Bolero kind of bass playing by Yes’ Chris Squire, via Emerald And Ash with nice twelve-string guitar work by Anthony Phillips, Hackett’s predecessor in Genesis, to an Eastern tune in the closing track Last Train To Istanbul, with brother John Hackett on flute. It’s said that artists create their best work in times of emotional distress and Out Of The Tunnel’s Mouth, which oozes melancholy, certainly belongs to Steve’s best work of the last decades. ****+ André de Waal (edited by Peter Willemsen) Where to buy? |
