Sunday, February 10, 2019

Steve Hackett & Friends - 1996-12-19 - Osaka, Japan - PRRP 0042A - A Friendly Fold

Steve Hackett & Friends
December 19, 1996
Osaka Kouseinenkin Hall, Osaka, Japan
(PRRP 0042A - A Friendly Fold)

Audience recording (remastered), Good quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Following his departure from GTR in late 1986, Steve Hackett went back to following his own musical directions (after GTR's brief brush with success and more mainstream rock). Steve's next album, Momentum (1988), was another full album of instrumental classical guitar pieces. Then Steve formed his own label, Camino Records, and released his first Live album, Time Lapse (1992). Next was Guitar Noir (1993), a mix of prog rock, classical, and atmospheric guitar with a darker tone. Next, Steve changed things up by releasing an entire album of Blues music, from traditional to his own brand of proggy-blues, Blues With A Feeling (1994). Then, for his next project, he went back to the music of Genesis, with a tribute to the music of his former band for Genesis Revisited (1996). The concept for this album came after talking with some fans, who assumed that he had turned his back on the music from his Genesis days (since he never played it in his concerts), and that he wanted nothing to do with it anymore. This bothered Steve, because he loved the music he had been a part of creating with Genesis in these days. So, he decided to do an album paying tribute to and inspired by some of the great old music from his Genesis days. He gathered other musicians with an affinity for such music, including former King Crimson, Yes, and Weather Report alums like John Wetton, Ian McDonald, Bill Bruford, and Chester Thompson to help out. The album consisted of several songs from his days in Genesis (from classics to more obscure gems), as well as some new ones inspired by that music, and one old previously unfinished song (by Peter Gabriel). The versions played on the album ranged from careful re-creations to new re-arrangements to fanciful re-imaginings, adding new chapters and variations to these classics. The album was very well-received by his fans. However, touring was another issue, as the schedules for most of his guest artists made it impossible for any extended tour. But, Steve was able to schedule 4 dates in Japan, with an all-star band of John Wetton, Ian McDonald, Julian Colbeck (Steve's current keyboard player, formerly with Zappa), and Chester Thompson. Those four shows were the only ones for that 1996 mini-tour, but what a show it was. The setlist mixed several of the Genesis Revisited tracks with various other of Steve's own songs, as well as some early King Crimson (For John and Ian) and even an Asia hit ('Heat of the Moment', but performed as an acoustic ballad). The First two nights (in Tokyo) were recorded and filmed, and were later released as both an album (The Tokyo Tapes, 1998) and a DVD. Certainly unique and memorable shows. The second two nights (in Osaka and Nagoya) became available as audience recordings. The PRRP (Progressive Rock Remasters Project) people remastered the available tapes and released them as PRRP 0042. I have included just the Osaka show here (because sound quality a bit better than Nagoya show, and the setlist was the same both nights), as it is representative. However, if there is interest in thwe Nagoya show (0042B), I can also post that.    

Tracklist:
Disc 1:
01 Watcher Of The Skies  9:26
02 Depth Charge  4:48
03 Firth Of Fifth  10:10
04 Battle Lines  6:56
05 Camino Royale  9:11
06 In The Court Of The Crimson King  7:51
07 Horizons  2:13
08 Walking Away From Rainbows  3:35
Total Time 54:10

Disc 2:
01 Heat Of The Moment  4:46
02 In That Quiet Earth  4:37
03 A Vampire (With A Healthy Appetite)  7:44
04 I Talk To The Wind  5:44
05 Shadow Of The Hierophant  4:21
06 Drum Solo  4:54
07 Los Endos  8:24
08 Blood On The Rooftops - Black Light  2:11
09 The Steppes  7:21
10 I Know What I Like  8:33
Total Time 58:35

Steve Hackett - Guitars, harmonica, Lead & backing Vocals
John Wetton - Bass, Guitar, Lead & Backing Vocals
Ian McDonald - Keyboards, Flute, Saxophone, Lead & Backing Vocals
Julian Colbeck - Keyboards & Backing Vocals
Chester Thompson - Drums & Percussion

FLAC - Steve Hackett_1996-12-19_Osaka_PRRP0042A_FLAC.rar

mp3 - Steve Hackett_1996-12-19_Osaka_PRRP0042A_mp3.rar
 


2 comments:

Julio said...

Thanks so much for post this disc.
can you upload the second night of this gig?

Thanks in advance

BBKron said...

Julio,

Just posted the final night show (1996-12-20 - Nagoya) for you. Enjoy.