1975 found Genesis in a time of transition. After coming off a lengthy and technically difficult tour for their 1974 album The Lamb LIes Down On Broadway, most everyone was a little burned out. Peter Gabriel ended up leaving the band to embark on a solo career (one that would land him in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame) and the band were left with a lengthy audition process to replace him. Meanwhile, guitarist Steve Hackett had been accumulating music he'd written to keep him sane on the road during the difficult Lamb tour. But not only did Steve have pieces leftover from Genesis sessions, he'd begun to write pieces that might not make sense in the context of the band - acoustic pieces and songs written for a woman's voice. So while on a break from the band, he conjured up Voyage of the Acoylyte - his first solo record released on the same label as Genesis, Charisma.

To help Steve lay down these track, he enlisted the help of bandmates Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins (who would go onto replace Gabriel as the lead singer of Genesis after dozens of singers were deemed unworthy). The opening Ace of Wands is a real showcase for Steve's guitar playing - crisp tone with technique that creates a rich soundscape. And while he does do a bit of singing on the record, he leaves the vocals to more capable collaborators like Sally Oldfield on Shadow of the Hierophant and Phil Collins on Star of Sirius.

While some of this might have made sense on a Genesis album, some of the acoustic pieces or parts accompanied by his brother John Hackett on flute stand out as something different to what his band would usually produce. With a loose concept around the names of Tarot Cards, Voyage of the Acolyte takes you on a heroes journey with all sorts of incredible textures and sounds with Steve's guitar as the main focus. 50 years later, he still plays these songs live and they fit in very well with the classic Genesis songs that Steve still honors live.

Check www.hackettsongs.com for tour dates

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