Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Hackett, Steve
Label: Virgin Records
Released: 1978
Rating: 4/5
Three years after the masterful debut “Voyage of the Acolyte” (1975), and a year after leaving Genesis, who no longer backed his innovative musical ideas, Steve Hackett decided to release “Please Don’t Touch”, his first real solo album, almost entirely free of the musical influence of the phenomenon known as Genesis. Sure, a bit of that influence is still there, but unlike on the debut, Steve no longer teams up with his former bandmates this time and instead serves up a completely his own musical approach. “Please Don’t Touch” is the next step in his solo career, firmly aimed at the future and fresh challenges. And of course, what would be the point of starting out on your own if you were still leaning on your old buddies?
In their place, Steve gets help from other superb musicians, from the prog rock world and beyond. Two stand out above all: Steve Walsh on vocals and Phil Ehart on drums (both of the American prog rock outfit Kansas). Steve’s choice of these two American prog players deserves a pat on the back, and anyone curious what you’d get by mixing some Genesis and Kansas elements will get their money’s worth here. The other musicians on the album (also mostly from the US) include Genesis live drummer (and former drummer for Weather Report and Frank Zappa) Chester Thompson, bassist Tom Fowler (ex-Frank Zappa), Steve’s brother John on flute and keyboards, American folk rock vocal icon (all the way back from the Woodstock days) Richie Havens, and rhythm & blues diva Randy Crawford. Some prog rock purists might wrinkle their noses at the choice of Havens and Crawford, but both picks turn out brilliantly.
From the very first listen to “Please Don’t Touch”, it’s clear the album is completely different from its predecessor, which was heavily marked by the Genesis influence. The American singers do the most to make that happen: with their different vocal colors and singing techniques, they bring a touch of pop, soul and rhythm & blues to traditional English symphonic prog rock. The orchestral Mellotron palettes that defined the predecessor have this time given way to sophisticated keyboards, which also add to the album’s different, more commercial and accessible sound. At the same time, the album is defined by Steve’s unmistakable guitar technique and a wealth of symphonic elements, created mostly by the ever-inventive interplay of melodic harmonies from guitar, flute and keyboards. “Please Don’t Touch” is an album that pulls the listener in very quickly, even though almost all the tracks are completely different from one another.
The opener “Narnia” starts with Steve’s protective acoustic guitar, joined by Walsh’s melodic and energetic vocals, and introduces a completely new approach to Steve’s music. The song successfully blends superb tightness and energy with intense melody. Add some violins and it could easily pass for a real Kansas song. As it is, Steve’s acoustic guitar “stands in” for the parts where the violins would otherwise be. “Narnia” is Steve’s heavier and more pompous take on prog rock and has become one of his beloved classics over the years. By the way, “Narnia” is inspired by the popular C.S. Lewis story, which was recently turned into a film. “Carry On Up The Vicarage” is an extremely witty creation, where special effects give us choir singing by little mischievous “gnomes”, belting out their tune while the keyboards lay down a great orchestral melody. With it, Steve proves that, besides Peter Gabriel, he was another former Genesis member with a wonderfully offbeat sense of (black) humor. “Racing In A”” is a track once again defined by Walsh’s excellent vocals, Ehart’s versatile drumming and Steve’s guitar, and it recalls Kansas, perhaps even a bit more than “Narnia” does. The track also stands out for its varied orchestral arrangements and Steve’s inventive acoustic guitar solos, which never let the intensity of the composition drop. Without a doubt, it’s among the best on the album. “Kim” is a really lovely instrumental, the fruit of a successful collaboration between the two Hackett brothers on flute and acoustic guitar, dedicated to Steve’s wife (who also designed most of his album covers). “How Can I?” is an acoustic ballad built on acoustic guitar and the bluesy vocals of Richie Havens, the Woodstock icon. This completely different approach from Steve surprisingly works, even though the track sounds quite American. A very solid union of talents from two musical icons. “Hope Love Will Last”, with Randy Crawford’s excellent soul vocals, is definitely the least typical track on the album and surely a special challenge for “progressive” ears, since at heart it’s a soul ballad. Still, thanks to Steve, it has enough symphonic and jazz elements not to water down into an ordinary pop ballad. Next up is the shorter instrumental “Land of Thousand Autumns”, which conjures a Celtic atmosphere through keyboards and acoustic guitar. In time it flows into the title track “Please Don’t Touch”, which is surely the album’s peak and will be pure delight and joy for every fan of traditional British symphonic prog rock, meaning most Hackett fans. Through the interplay of the excellent rhythm foundation of indestructible Chester Thompson’s drums and Tom Fowler’s bass with keyboards and guitar solos, it builds that mysterious, tense atmosphere so typical of most of prog rock’s best work. Of all the tracks on the album, it’s the one that most recalls Steve’s work with Genesis. Right after it comes “The Voice of Necam”, with extremely sophisticated keyboards that create an exceptionally astral atmosphere. It deepens further when Steve’s acoustic guitar joins in, carrying the track off into a whole other dimension. And closing the album is one of the best tracks of Steve’s career, “Icarus Descending”, where Havens shines again on vocals with an exceptionally deep delivery. It’s a track of incredible atmosphere and varied symphonic elements (especially the gorgeous harmonies between Steve’s solos and the keyboards in the instrumental section), in the vein of the unforgettable “Shadow of the Hierophant” from the previous album, adorning this mini epic about the tragedy of the mythological flyer.
The reissue released in 2005 also includes three bonus tracks. These are two different versions of “Narnia”. The first features John Perry on vocals (otherwise the guitarist of The Only Ones), while the second has the original Walsh vocals, just in a slightly different instrumental form. Besides those, there’s also a live version, or rather a medley, ”Land of Thousand Autumns/Please Don’t Touch”.
“Please Don’t Touch” is, in Steve’s best tradition, an extremely varied album, offering the listener a whole palette of inventive musical ideas, but this time (for the average listener) in a somewhat more accessible way. The album consistently and very successfully blends traditional British symphonic prog with elements of genres like rhythm & blues and pop rock. Steve thus proved he can make a good album outside the established sound he helped build with Genesis. That way he took an important step toward affirming his own solo musical path. Even though “Please Don’t Touch” somehow doesn’t quite match the timeless mastery and majestic atmosphere of the inimitable “Voyage of the Acolyte”, it’s still a very good album, tailor-made both for fans of classic symphonic prog from bands like Genesis and Kansas and for classic rock fans who also like a somewhat more “direct” approach to rock music, and so it ranks among Steve’s better works. Thanks to the commercial success of this album, Steve formed a backing band and started touring intensively with it, though it didn’t bring him as big a commercial success as it could have (after all, the album was still too complex for the masses, and in their eyes Steve was just too much of an “eccentric English musician”). Just as Steve never repeated the mastery of his debut album, “Please Don’t Touch” is likewise an unrepeatable album, one of the most mature albums by this great musician.
Line-up
Steve Hackett – guitar, vocals, keyboards, percussion
GUEST MUSICIANS:
John Hackett – flute, piccolo, bass pedals, keyboards
Steve Walsh – vocals
Richie Havens – vocals, percussion
Randy Crawford – vocals
Dave LeBolt – keyboards
John Acock – keyboards
Tom Fowler – bass guitar
Chester Thompson – drums, percussion
Phil Ehart – drums, percussion
James Bradley – percussion
Graham Smith – violin
Hugh Malloy – cello
Production
Steve Hackett and John Acock
Track list
1. Narnia (4:06)
2. Carry On Up the Vicarage (3:11)
3. Racing In A (5:07)
4. Kim (2:14)
5. How Can I? (4:40)
6. Hoping Love Will Last (4:09)
7. Land of a Thousand Autumns (1:57)
8. Please Don’t Touch (3:39)
9. The Voice of Necam (3:11)
10. Icarus Ascending (6:21)
Album length: 38:38
