What does it sound like?:
It’s a very long time since I last heard this album, which was originally released in 2012 and now comes as a cd plus bluray set. It’s a one off collaboration between Chris Squire and Steve Hackett, recorded over four years as they exchanged ideas as and when their busy schedules permitted. As you’d expect from these two prog heavyweights, the best pieces of music here fall firmly within that genre, The highlight for me is the title track, although Tall Ships and Storm Chaser also stand out, the latter being the only song that was ever performed in a live setting, being played by Hackett on his 2009 tour. Aliens is a song that was written for Yes and played by the band on their 2008/9 tour although it never made it onto an album. The rest of the album is okay, but for me doesn’t quite maintain the high standard set by these songs. The bluray has a 5.1 mix of the album, but sadly there’s no bonus content on either disc, the cupboard presumably being bare.
What does it all *mean*?
A one off curio by two very talented musicians that’s an interesting listen, but don’t expect a purely prog album as there are other influences on display here too.
Goes well with…
It’s a shame this was the only time the pair worked together and that there was nothing unreleased lurking in the archives to bolster the original set a little.
Release Date:
out now
Might suit people who like…
Yes, Genesis.
A brave listen. I recall hearing it 25 years ago, and it had a few good bits and some weak tracks too. Funny how often a supergroup doesn’t deliver as much as you’d think.
Pretty impressive as it was only released 12 years ago 🙂 but I take your point that the whole is sometimes less than the sum of the parts.