Neither Steve Hackett nor Steve Rothery need any introduction to fans of prog rock. Both are stellar guitarists, with assured places in the prog pantheon, who’ve left their mark on the genre with their respective bands. Rothery is still making his with Marillion, whereas the success of Hackett‘s Genesis Revisited albums and tours shows just how deep a mark he made in the band. Does anyone seriously believe Genesis Revisited would’ve achieved the same level of success had Mike Rutherford reprised it?
The Roaring Waves, almost a decade in the making as two very busy musicians attempt to find time in crowded schedules, is an album of seven instrumental tracks composed and put together by a pair of virtuoso musicians who’re masters of their craft. These are pieces of music that hover between being cinematic in scope, atmospheric in depth and intimate in feel, crafted with emotion and precision, infused with a haunting atmosphere and played supremely well. Take the climactic slow piece ‘The Black Sea’, which is the outcome of what happens when subtlety and melody take centre stage, rather than dozens of notes played at top speed. It’s a delightful piece from two musos who’ve nothing to prove to anybody when it comes to guitar work. Similarly, the very subtle, laid-back and understated ‘Sandsend’ features some gorgeous guitar work from both men, performed with a real touch of class.
Right the way through the album, there are no unnecessary displays of virtuoso playing. Neither man is interested in playing dozens of notes, as both know less can very often mean more, and each note can and should be made to count. Hackett says: “We didn’t do what guitar players usually do, which is to see who could play the fastest. We avoided the racetrack and went for the music and the atmosphere.” Meaning, they attempted to ‘paint pictures with sound’, and it’s paid off.
Title track ‘The Roaring Waves’, slow and dramatic, sees Steve Hackett demonstrate his mastery of acoustic guitar at the beginning of the piece with some fine fingerpicking dexterity, whereas ‘K-129’, based on the true story of a doomed submarine on its way to the bottom of the sea, could have been Tangerine Dream, as it features a metronomic electronic pulse playing behind the two men before, after six minutes, the piece reverts to a more guitar-oriented format. ‘Red Dragon’ begins and ends with Steve Hackett playing the hurdy-gurdy. There are occasional echoes of George Harrison, and this song shows the slightly rockier side of the collaboration. The real wild card, however, is ‘Pacific Coast Highway’, a full-on blustering jam which opens with Hackett showing his dexterity on the blues harp, tapping into his inner Little Walter and showing what the blues missed out on, with keyboard man Riccardo Romano finally getting a chance to step into the limelight.
The chemistry between the two guitarists is quite remarkable, with each happy to admit to having been influenced by the other, and both have just sat back and allowed the music to do the talking for them.
The Roaring Waves is released on 28th August through InsideOut Music.
