Steve Hackett: Wuthering Nights: Live in Birmingham

Ryan Reed on April 25, 2018


The odds of a classic-era Genesis reunion are dwindling every day: Phil Collins is still sidelined from the drum throne, due to physical ailments; Peter Gabriel is largely disinterested in revisiting the 1970s; Tony Banks is now a full-blown classical composer; and Mike Rutherford remains in pop-rock mode with Mike + the Mechanics. Luckily, thanks to Steve Hackett, we don’t need the reunion anyway. The guitarist continues to reinvent the band’s prime progrock material onstage during his “Genesis Revisited” tours, revamping the arrangements with colorful new touches (like Rob Townsend’s saxophones and the theatrical howl of co-frontman Nad Sylvan). It’s probably the best possible scenario— instead of relishing in cheap nostalgia, Hackett is breathing new life into the catalog. CD/DVD package Wuthering Nights documents one such performance at the Birmingham Symphony Hall, as part of a trek celebrating the 40th anniversary of Wind & Wuthering (his final LP with his former band). Those songs in particular offer a vitality rarely associated with backward-glancing: Hackett’s violent tremolo bar solo and Townsend’s smooth-jazz sax highlight the fusion-styled instrumental “In That Quiet Earth,” and drummer Gary O’Toole brings a husky croon to the cinematic ballad “Blood on the Rooftops.” Elsewhere, Hackett highlights tunes from throughout his solo career—from the jovial prog-pop strut of 1979’s “Every Day” through the eerie, Middle Eastern-tinged rocker “Beh ind the Smoke” from his latest studio album, 2017’s The Night Siren . Come for the Genesis, stay for the Hackett.

Artist: Steve Hackett
Album: Wuthering Nights: Live in Birmingham
Label: INSIDE OUT MUSIC