A great pleasure has been bestowed upon me: to review the new live album of my favorite guitar player of all time: Steve Hackett.

In my book, Hackett deserves this title firstly and most importantly due to his unique quality of peacefulness and effortlessness in his playing. If there is something that I find inspiring and even a bit attractive about a musician is becoming one with his instrument and not showing off at all, yet being comfortably focused on his instrument and playing very complex music that is very demanding as if it was toast and butter for breakfast. The second thing I absolutely admire about Hackett's playing is his gall to not necessarily play "many notes" and still be absolutely interesting and captivating, this stands out particularly in his solos: they're so unique and depictive that no other guitar player can paint such a vibrant picture as Steve Hackett does.

Ever since I started reviewing albums I thought about whether at some point I'll get to listen to a new album that will sweep me off my feet like all the Prog era GENESIS albums have, but I never dreamed that I'd actually get a chance to review actual GENESIS material. So, needless to say, before hitting play for the first time I was absolutely ecstatic.

"Genesis Revisited Live at the Albert Hall" is a concert recording filled with special guests, including Ray Wilson (the last lead singer of GENESIS) in a couple of songs, and packed with all songs from Hackett's tenure with GENESIS.

The singer stepping inside the huge boots of the two mythological ex-lead singer giants of GENESIS, Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins, is Nad Sylvan. His most noted band history is with the band UNIFAUN that was influenced heavily by GENESIS and also AGENTS OF MERCY with Roine Stolt from THE FLOWER KINGS. No doubt he is a good choice: his voice incorporates a bit of Gabriel's eloquence and thickness and on the mid and higher registers quite a noticeable resemblance to Phil Collins. Yet surprisingly, to me he sounded a lot like Fish from MARILLION. Personally I believe he didn't manage to align himself with the same level as the familiar godly voices of Gabriel or Collins. It is probably a matter of taste though and I believe some other listeners might find him a fitting match to revisit the masterpieces that were performed that evening. Yet I felt that the incredible acting skill and meaning that Gabriel put into every word was missing and substituted by more simple mannerisms.

Nad Sylvan sang most of the songs that evening, but a few honorable guests gave their voices to a few other songs. Most notably was John Wetton, formerly of KING CRIMSON, on "Firth Of Fifth" which has been my peak of the evening. Unlike "Genesis Revisited: The Watcher of the Skies"'s version of "Firth of Fifth" (with Wetton as well) that traveled to much further realms than the original, this one remained faithful to the original version, much like the performers did for the rest of the show. However, for one brief moment, when Genesis Revisited band member Rob Townsend cleverly replaced the iconic flute solo with a saxophone solo, it was as if "Starless" by KING CRIMSON and "Firth Of Fifth" merged into one heavenly blissful song. Add to that the most amazing longest single note in Prog history being played live by Hackett's golden touch and you get an unforgettable live performance masterpiece.

Another vivid rendition was "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" with Roine Stolt as guest guitarist. His brilliant appearance was sharp and witty. His guitar solo wasn't following the strict GENESIS rules and made the epic facetious tale of the Heracleum Mantegazzianum another highlight of the evening.

I wish more of the performed songs had taken that kind of path, but unfortunately most of them stuck pretty religiously to the original version.

This live album and tour was intentionally made without the ambition to renew the immortal GENESIS songs. It was made clear to me by this quote from the promo kit: "This isn't about repetition, merely recreating these songs note for note, as people recall them from their own pasts. But rather making everyone aware of just what the compositions have come to mean by developing them to a point where they cease to belong to anyone. They are part of the fabric of experiences which have stayed in the souls of everyone who has been touched by the memorable artistry inherent in the songs. As a result, they mean different things to each one of us. So, while legally of course they all belong to the talents who came up with these tracks in the first place, nonetheless they now have a place in social history."

If this was the intention, I don't believe they succeeded completely. I think that the way these songs were played originally is so divine that performing them mostly in the same manner will not work unless all the original musicians are involved. Each original member added a certain kind of magic to the group, which made GENESIS a truly unforgettable band. Therefore, I thought it is a bit of a miss to not try and present a few different takes on the iconic songs (the same way PINK FLOYD did beautifully with their live album "Pulse"). A few lengthier altered solos or a slight change of orchestration would probably suffice in giving the breath of fresh air to the old classics.

Nonetheless, "Genesis Revisited Live at the Albert Hall" was a delight to listen to. I eagerly await to see the full DVD version of it.