"A trip down memory lane" - Steve Hackett Live Magic at Trading Boundaries reviewed by Alan Hewitt.

Where to begin? Sadly I have yet to experience the magic of a Hackett acoustic show at this wonderful venue…I hope to put that right this year though! But what I do have are so many memories of Steve's previous acoustic shows.

Acoustic performances by Steve used to be regular staples of his live touring but as increasing demands have been placed on his time they are fewer and further between. However when you get a show in a venue such as this it makes it all worthwhile. How do you describe Trading Boundaries to anyone who hasn't visited it? I think Steve's description in the booklet that accompanies the CD is pretty accurate - an Aladdin’s Cave. East meets West in a caravanserai of delights. A perfect setting for an evening or in this case evenings as this recording is assembled from several of Steve's regular visits here. So skillfully edited that you can't see the join!

Here we have Steve in his natural habitat, armed with a brace of nylons! He is joined onstage by his brother and regular band mates Roger King and Rob Townsend and the delightfully talented Amanda Lehmann. The result is one of Steve's most satisfying albums in a while. The disc encapsulates elements of Steve's career from his days in Genesis onwards with excerpts from both Supper’s Ready and Blood On The Rooftops getting an airing along with the criminally underrated After The Ordeal which owes as much to Vaughan Williams and Elgar as it does to Genesis in terms of its melody and austerity. Steve's first acoustic outing is acknowledged by both The Barren Land and Black Light as well as The Journey and all shine like polished diamonds here - oh how I wish Steve would undertake another full acoustic tour!

Jacuzzi is a wonderful collaboration between Steve and his brother and the same goes for Jazz On A Summer’s Night both of which always feature highly in my Hackett highlights list. Walking Away From Rainbows from 1993’s Guitar Noir album features the marvellous keyboard playing of Roger King as does the extract from the Poulenc Organ Concerto which, in its jarring dissonance, is the only track that doesn't really fit here. Hands Of The Priestess and The Red Flower Of Taichi (spelt correctly at last!) are both equally impressive with the entire band putting in superb performances counterpointing each other and delightfully so throughout.

The inclusion of a brace of songs from Amanda Lehmann is a delight. Memory Lane is a painful listen - not in terms of any bum notes …no,no, no! But the subject matters is deeply personal to me - a superb song which describes it's subject matters as very few songs do. Only Happy When It Rains is a wonderfully wry skit on those who can't be happy …unless it rains! We all know someone like that, don't we?

Ace Of Wands is where the entire band are unleashed if you can say that about an acoustic gig? Rob Townsend is in fine form here.As a resume of what Steve is capable of coustically this is a superb effort and serves equally as a pocket history of some of his finest moments in and out of Genesis. Gigs like these live on in the memory of those who attend them, and now at last, the rest of us can share them - a wonderful album.