Steve Hackett - 2024 - The Lamb Stands Up Live At The Royal Albert Hall

(146:00; Inside Out Music)

I have said it before, and will say it again, but my favourite period of Genesis was the one which contained Steve Hackett, and since his departure he has done much more to keep the original style alive than any of his ex-bandmates, even when they were still called Genesis. Anyone who has seen him perform in recent years will be comfortable with the way he spends roughly half the set performing songs from his solo albums, and the other playing Genesis material with which he was originally involved. There is no doubt it is always a magical night out, and he has been one of the few prog musicians to find Aoteaora on a map, so I have been fortunate enough to see him twice in the last decade or so. I would still like to hear him perform a complete set of his own songs, as when I first saw him some 30 years ago that was what he was concentrating on, but I fully understand why he feels he needs to keep the Genesis flame burning.

Captured at The Royal Albert Hall last year, he was accompanied by his regular band of Roger King (keyboards), Craig Blundell (drums), Nad Sylvan (vocals), Jonas Reingold (bass, variax, 12-string, vocals) and Rob Townsend (saxophone, woodwind, percussion, vocals, keyboards, bass pedals) along with contributions from a few guests in the shape of Steve Rothery, Ray Wilson, John Hackett and Amanda Lehman. For those thinking this might have been a full-blown reinterpretation of what is seen by many as Genesis’s finest album (I don’t), then you may be disappointed as there are only nine tracks from ‘Lamb’, with “In The Cage” being notable by its absence. But before we get to that we have songs from his own albums, starting with three from the then new release, ‘The Circus and the Nightwhale’. I was not a huge fan of that, but they sound much better in this environment so will probably go back and listen again, while songs such as “Every Day” and “Shadow of the Hierophant” are an absolute delight, with Amanda providing wonderful vocals on the latter, with the acoustic guitar giving way to the melodic lead we all know so well. 

When the introduction commences to “The Cinema Show” there is recognition from the audience which quickly subsides as everyone settles down ready to be treated and Nad comes to the stage to more applause. “Aisle of Plenty” follows to complete the first disc, and then we are onto the second, and as soon as the piano starts the crowd react to the title cut of their 1974 concept. I haven’t seen the film of this, but I can imagine Jonas with a huge smile on his face as he replicates the heavy-duty bassline. We may not get the full album, but given this disc also includes “Dancing With The Moonlit Knight”, “Firth of Fifth” and “Los Endos” no-one can really complain. 

Hackett shows no sign at all of slowing down, even though he is now well into his seventies, and we can only hope he long continues with both new studio albums and touring not only with his own music but with the classic cuts we all know so very well indeed. Indispensable. 

Kev Rowland, September 2025

Links:
https://www.hackettsongs.com/
https://www.insideoutmusic.com/