Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Hackett, Steve
Label: EMI Records
Release: 1983
Running time: 34:52
Rating: 3/5
Legendary guitar maestro Steve Hackett stumbled through the ’80s with wildly mixed studio results, often torn between his symphonic prog rock heritage, classical-acoustic excursions and AOR adventures. “Highly Strung” marks Hackett’s further move away from the prog rock legacy and Celtic mysticism that defined the early years of his solo career.
After the pretty pale album ”Cured” (1981), which set out this new direction that prog fans found rather unwelcome, the maestro came to his senses a bit and made some noticeable sonic improvements. First, he found a proper drummer in the excellent Ian Mosley (later of Marillion), which turned out to be a great move. Mosley, who had made his name earlier as a member of Darryl Way’s Wolf, brought the drumming dynamics and drive that Steve’s creations desperately needed. That helped give the record a noticeably fuller, rockier sound, pulling “Highly Strung” well away from the rather anemic “Cured”. The album’s weak spots are the archaic, plasticky synthetic production (especially the keyboard sound), which robs the compositions of life and flow, and more than a few obvious attempts to please the radio waves of the day.
Stylistically, the album could be described as a kind of compromise between melodic rock, a.k.a. AOR, which was already dominant on “Cured”, and his traditional symphonic arrangements with extensive switching between electric and acoustic guitar. Most of the compositions are a hybrid of pompous AOR and symphonic rock, marked by Steve’s mouth-watering solos, multi-part harmonies and clever riffs, laid over a refined backdrop of synth textures and a pulsing rhythm line.
Steve has always been a decent singer, by no means a top-tier one, but compared to most guitar virtuosos of his caliber, who usually inspire seriously mixed feelings behind the mic, he ranks in the upper tier on that count. His vocals, which have improved noticeably since the start of his solo career, boast real emotional warmth and drama. That comes across wonderfully in the various symphonic-esoteric moments of a Celtic nature, of which there are sadly extremely few on this record. On the other hand, he was never the most convincing AOR singer, and occasionally, usually when he tries to climb into the higher registers, he can sound badly off-key, if not downright self-parodying. His vehement insistence on recording a pop rock hit at all costs has produced some strange blooms on the album that don’t do him any particular credit.
All in all, “Highly Strung” is an album of wildly mixed quality, and the fruits could be split into two categories. Some of the songs, mostly the AOR-leaning ones, are below average and not much better than most of what you’ll find on “Cured”. It has to be said that even the two instrumentals (always Steve’s strongest suit) don’t reach any real heights. The rare moments of prog rock experimentalism are admirable enough, mostly thanks to his assorted guitar wizardry, but a long way from some of his past classics.
The first three tracks on the album are fairly promising and reasonably solid, then it’s all more or less slowly downhill, with a slight improvement at the end. The solid “Camino Royale”, with its dramatic opening, even sounds for a while like a hybrid of one of his early works and something by the cult prog rock band UK. This promising start is soon somewhat spoiled by Steve’s vocoder singing (a gadget he always loved to use), but the central symphonic arrangement is pretty successful. The energetic hard rock guitar passages and kinetic drum fills are also worth a mention. Of the AOR experiments, “Cell 151” fares best. It was even a minor hit on home turf in Britain, so it at least sort of satisfied Steve’s appetite for a hit. On it, he manages to nicely combine a central melodic rock motif with an interesting instrumental closing section.
“Always Somewhere Else” opens with a gentle guitar motif and ethereal piano accompaniment that’s a little reminiscent of Steve’s early years. Thanks to a great guitar solo and Mosley’s kinetic drum fills, mighty harmonies build up as it goes on, which puts it among the album’s highlights. The quality of “Highly Strung” drops sharply with below-average AOR experiments like “Walking Through Walls” and the anemic ballad “Weightless”, with Steve’s absurd vocal performances and rather anemic rhythmic backing. Not even his usually always interesting guitar embellishments help here, as they sound pretty repetitive in both cases.
“Give It Away” has solid potential as an AOR hit, since it has all the necessary instrumental ingredients, led by an anthemic chorus, but sadly Steve botches it again with his overly off-key and “sugary” singing. Someone like Max Bacon (ex-Nightwing, GTR) would have worked wonders here, which Steve probably figured out himself later with his short-lived AOR project GTR. That’s followed by the good instrumental “Group Therapy”, the most experimental piece on the album and also the most interesting. Thanks to electronic flourishes on the keyboards and a pile of crazy riffs and solos, it’ll especially thrill everyone who values Steve most as a prog rock musician.
“India Rubber Man”, which has no guitar, is a relatively lovely ballad. Once you subtract the pretty silly lyrics, it’s a bit reminiscent of some of the ballads from his early years. Steve backs a gentle piano melody with harmonica and a slightly off-key vocal performance, which in this case doesn’t come across as annoying. He even manages to hit a few high notes that he probably never believed himself he’d ever reach. The closing instrumental “Hackett to Pieces” (not to be confused with his later piece “Hackett to Bits” from the one and only GTR album), which reprises the central motif from “Camino Royale”, is nothing special, but if nothing else, it ends the album on a dramatic note.
“Highly Strung” is a typical product of its time, when the maestro Hackett was chasing the attention of a wider audience and eagerly experimenting with melodic rock. As such, it doesn’t stir up any dramatic feelings, but it successfully satisfies his loyal followers and music collectors. Compared to the dreadful “Cured”, it’s definitely a thorough step up. Steve managed to find an acceptable balance between AOR and symphonic rock. There’s nothing on it comparable to his first four albums, but plenty enough for a solid standing within his body of work. The album may also appeal to the less demanding fan of AOR and arena rock, who it was primarily aimed at in the first place, even though it didn’t achieve the commercial results it was hoping for.
Lineup
Steve Hackett – guitar, vocals, harmonica
John Acock – keyboards, producer, sound engineer
Nick Magnus – keyboards
Ian Mosley – drums
Chris Lawrence – double bass
Nigel Warren-Green – cello
Production
John Acock and Steve Hackett
Track list
1. Camino Royale
2. Cell 151
3. Always Somewhere Else
4. Walking Through Walls
5. Give It Away
6. Weightless
7. Group Therapy
8. India Rubber Man
9. Hackett to Pieces
