There Are Many Sides to the Night

Recorded at the end of Hackett's 1994 Italian tour, this is a live document of one of his classical guitar performances. Those who liked his releases Bay of Kings, Momentum, and A Midsummer Night's Dream will want to seek this out as well. Hackett is an accomplished classical guitarist, his work in the idiom going back to his days with progressive rock band Genesis. The song selection is all instrumental and pulls from various spots in his career, most liberally from the aforementioned Bay of Kings and Momentum. Most of the compositions are his own, but he also displays his sensitive touch on other tracks such as Vivaldi's "Concerto in D" and the love theme from the film Cinema Paradiso. The frenetic "Ace of Wands" (originally on Hackett's first solo release) is here, stripped down to only nylon-string guitar and keyboards, giving it an almost stately sound. As a change from the guitar-dominated set, the slow blues of "A Blue Part of Town" features Hackett on the harmonica -- an underutilized skill of his. ~ Rob Caldwell|