Scott's Song by Song #87: Hackett & Rothery - The Roaring Waves
Welcome to issue #87 of Scott’s Song By Song (#scottssongbysong).For more information about this series, click here:
https://www.facebook.com/share/Gc2VkwHQWGLdeaDd/?mibextid=oFDknk
The artists on today’s album require no introduction for most people who will be reading this. Steve Hackett & Steve Rothery have come together to create an album of instrumental music. Of course, most of you know that Steve Hackett is best known as the lead guitarist in Genesis from 1971-1977, and has had a prolific solo career since 1975, also collaborating with Steve Howe in 1986 in GTR and Chris Squire in “Squackett” in 2011-12. Steve Rothery has been the lead guitarist of Marillion on every album in their catalog plus his solo album “Ghosts of Pripyat” in 2014. Both guitarists are highly respected for their guitar skills and compositional abilities.
This album is a decade in the making, with the two coming together when they could at each of their home studios and a studio called The Racket Club. The theme of the album is “the elemental power of the sea”. Finally on August 28, 2026, “The Roaring Waves” will be released on InsideOut Records.
Rounding out the recordings are:
- Steve Hackett / guitar, harmonica
- Steve Rothery / guitar, bass, keyboards
- Riccardo Romano / keyboards, bass
- Daniele Pomo / drums (1-5)
- Leon Parr / drums (6,7)
I want to thank Oliver Bergmann from Oktober Promotions, and Sharon Chevin for directing me to Oliver. As always, I receive no further compensation, and I call it like I hear it. As per my usual method, this is a cold listen.
Time to check out the music!
Track 1 - The Storm (6:50)
The track fades in with ocean sounds, then a mellotron string part takes over. A lead guitar melody begins, and a bolero type of rhythm begins to emerge. At 2:17 there is the sound of thunder, and a guitar riff takes the spotlight. The drums and bass are tight. This is ominous, of course, as the track depicts a storm out at sea. The guitar solo at 3:40 sounds like Rothery to my ears, but I have no indication of who is playing what. I believe Hackett took over at around 4:25; but then again, I could be wrong. The guitarists then alternate licks. This is wonderful! At around 6:00 the storm seems to come to an end and things resolve peacefully. Awesome opener!
Track 2 - Sandsend (4:46)
After a note that fades in, there is a calm moderate tempoed rhythm with the guitarists alternating phrases on the melody. We are in calmer, gently rocking seas now. The synth gets the spotlight briefly at 1:50. This is a nice chill-out piece of music from these guitar masters. In the last minute or so of the track, however. The musical tension seems to build up a bit. Still, it stays pretty calm. Nice track!
Track 3 - Red Dragon (4:19)
This has a droning, bagpipe-like quality in the intro. When the rhythm section comes in, the tempo is slightly more upbeat. I like the use of controlled feedback. One of the players has a sitar-like tone on the arpeggiated tones. I like the soundscape on this. The tempo double-times at around 2 minutes, briefly. There are a wealth of interesting tones being utilized. The focus is on the music, not the players’ virtuosic abilities. Well done; an enjoyable track!
Track 4 - The Roaring Waves (7:11)
The title track is up next, and the name promises an exciting ride! Hackett (I assume) starts out with an impressive classical guitar bit. An ominous crescendo takes us to an orchestrated keyboard part that establishes the backdrop for the lead guitar. Not sure which one plays what, but I bet it was Steve. Obviously, both players have built a fine reputation for their abilities. The arrangement on this one is more involved than in the previous tracks. I love the crescendo at around 5:00. I like how the two are playing countermelodies at around 5:30. The classical guitar returns to close out this wonderful dynamic track. This one is my favorite, thus far.
Track 5 - K-129 (7:52)
According to the notes I was provided:
Cinematic is right. Songs like the claustrophobic K-129, which details a submarine’s
final voyage to the bottom of the seabed, dark waters swirling up around it as its crew
meet their doom.
“You’re trying to create an atmosphere”, says Rothery.
“I came up with the original sequenced sound, and then it's like painting a picture. You
have the rhythmical and the melodic and atmospheric elements that you try and
construct in such a way to take people on a journey. And it's a fascinating story.
Conspiracy theorists think this Russian submarine that went missing at the end of the
60s was trying to start a war between the States and China and that the captain
scuttled the ship rather than let them start World War III, incredible.”
The aforementioned sequence commences the track. Atmospheric guitar tones and occasional drums are peppered over the top. This one is a slow burn. Of course, there are some sonar sound effects along the way to evoke the atmosphere of a submarine. At around 4:14 a steady drum groove begins. The guitarists' lead-lines break some of the musical tension. The rhythm stops before 5:30. A new beat returns just after 6 minutes. The guitar parts are glorious! The track concludes with a single sonar tone. Terrific track.
Track 6 - The Black Sea (6:41)
According to the notes provided, the (actual) Black Sea is littered with the skeletons of more than 1,000 shipwrecks over the centuries. That will certainly inform the tone of this piece. It begins with a sense of foreboding. There are wonderful clean guitar tones intertwining in the first segment over a gentle 6-8 meter. A melody takes over at around 1:45. The tone of this track is very warm and melodic. There is a sense of forward motion throughout. The two play together at around 5:00 as the music reaches its climax. Afterwards, there is a peaceful resolution. File this under hauntingly beautiful. I love it!
Track 7 - Pacific Coast Highway (7:31)
Hackett kicks this one off with a bluesy harmonica riff that would make Huey Lewis smile. This one is a fun driving tune! There are even some wordless backing vocals. Hackett’s harmonica playing is a noteworthy feature of this track, as Rothery quipped in the info sheet:
“And Steve’s harmonica on that is so, so good. He said to me at one point, you know,
sometimes I think I should have been a harmonica player instead of (a) guitar player.”
There is still plenty of great guitar playing to be had, though. This one even reminds me, stylistically, of a Joe Satriani tune. This is the one where they cut loose and have some fun! And we as listeners reap the benefits! I like the syncopated riff starting around 5:15. They finally let some shredding licks loose at around 6:10. The final minute of the song has glorious choral music “aahhs”. Great ending to a great album.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:
I loved it! However, don’t expect a proggy flurry of odd-meters and flashy solos. No, this is about the music and creating sound pictures in a cinematic way. The compositions and arrangements are top notch. The production is immaculate. If you are looking for an immersive musical experience, this is the album for you! Of course, it’s fun to try to pick out which guitarist is playing what line, it’s probably better to forget all of that, and let the music wash over you. I’m giving this a 4.75 out of 5 stars (95%).
—
Thanks for reading. If you enjoy my content, please react, comment, share and follow my page.
Also, I have now compiled all of my reviews and spotlights going back to the 100 Greatest Prog Albums challenge on this Blogger site. I hope you’ll check it out while you are here:
Please SUBSCRIBE if you like what you see, and COMMENT on my posts there! If you really like what you see, then “Buy Me a Pizza” at the link on the left!
Prog On!
Scott
__
LINKS FOR LISTENING/BUYING:
There are videos for two songs on YouTube at present:
The Black Sea:
https://youtu.be/OIASJN57KlM?list=RDOIASJN57KlM
Red Dragon:
https://youtu.be/EKZQyycWenI?list=RDEKZQyycWenI
It can be pre-ordered on Bandcamp:
https://insideoutmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-roaring-waves-24-bit-hd-audio
The Century Media/InsideOut Store:
https://centurymedia.store/products/hackett-rothery-the-roaring-waves-cd-blu-ray-mediabook
And SIGNED copies can be obtained at:
Comments
Post a Comment