Steve Hackett- A Tower Struck Down & Hands of the Priestess, Part II REACTION & REVIEW
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
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I see Mr Hackett and his band every time they come around. Which about once every year. And I am never disappointed. He is the master.
Yeah, and I always have to ask you to stop kicking the back of my chair. 😉
After seeing Sir Steve Hackett ( should be ) on the Foxtrot 50th anniversary tour at the end of last year in Manchester UK , have to say hands down for me I rank him my favourite Prog guitarist of all time !! Complete Legend. 😍
I absolutely love this album! It's very fun and artsy at parts, but also atmospheric and "vibey." This is why progressive rock is my favorite genre. Thanks for reacting: )
I love his brother John's flute playing... they did a classical guitar/flute album of Erik Satie compositions ("Sketches of Satie") that it just brilliant and beautiful.
btw The chant was 'Sieg, Heil!'..
This shows how much Steve embraced the chaos of things like "The Waiting Room" from The Lamb. He carried on with these more experimental ideas throughout the 70's, and echoes of it still occasionally creep into his albums.
...when that album came out (yes, I'm that old! :) I was for the first time happy about Steve leaving Genesis, and his next solo works confirmed that...
this is a concept album on the theme of the Tarot, and all song titles refer to cards of the deck (like the Priestess, the Hermit, the Star, the Ace of Wands...). 'A Tower struck down' refers to the archetypal journey of humanity (and individuals), where a point is reached, when all that we relied on as base of our existence falls apart, not to obliterate us, but to open us up to higher states of consciousness, and indeed existence...
there is by the way, another very interesting and sophisticated album with the same theme by Mike Batt: 'Tarot Suite'. ...you might enjoy in general to dig into his works as well!
You can "hear" his relieve from being freed to finally do what he really wants without having to bend his will to others. Thus a tower struck down for the best yet to come. Cheers!
It's 4/4 with accents on 1 and 4, then 3. So 1 x x 4 x x 3 x
Then it jumps into a 4/4, 5/4 in that weird interlude.
I was just thinking about how most songwriters try to take an atypical time signature, and make it sound conventional, but was wondering if any did the opposite, and Steve Hackett has done that here. Great piece of writing.
Steve is the king of a lot of things, but the slow build up and escalation, accompanied by little diversions to emphasis the point, is definitely one of them.
The previous song and these two really should be heard at one time as intended.
OK, I'll shut up soon, but Mr. Hackett is my very favourite artist and what a family. John is an amazing musician as well and Steve's mum who is often at the acoustic gigs is hilarious.
Mr. Hackett has a new live double album celebrating 50 years of Foxtrot and it's stellar. "A Tower Struck Down" is featured and stands as a highlight to this recent contribution.
And don't wish to boast but in one month it's Steve acoustic gig in a room of 100 people or so. One of the highlights of every year.
See you there
@@stewartclark6436 It will be a fun and hoping to meet some people I've only chatted to on twitter before so should be a good night all round. Great way to start the year.
Note that Steve quotes the riff we heard in "Ace Of Wands" at the end of "Priestess Part II"?
The wailing bit of guitar also sounds reminiscent of Firth of Fifth.
Wait until you get to "Set Your Compass". 😉
The chant of thousands is Zeig! Heil!
When the chant starts at the end i'm always hearing Cheeseburger Cheeseburger lol
Phil Collins had a busy year in 1975 - there was this album, with those quirky sounds in "A Tower Struck Down", and again on a various artists album Peter And The Wolf that same year, using similar effects and quick changes.
Mr Hackett is apparently a thoroughly nice guy, and Jethro Tull's 'Broadsword And The Beast' is a real favourite of his. Almost makes me feel guilty that i don't like his music!
@@Paul-Martin_67 Thanks. 👍
Fascism smashed in one glorious track. This album might be Hackett’s most cinematic… Still holds up beautifully today.
Just More Great "Classic Prog" from Steve Hackett's debut album Justin !! 🎶
In a way showing the then changing Genesis, "This is how it should be Lads !! 🤔🎼
One of my Very Favorite songs by Mr.Hackett Justin 👍🎶🎸🎹🥁🎤🎼✌
With the classic Genesis lineup, you had Tony Banks giving the prog aspect, Gabriel giving it viscera and amazing storytelling, and Hackett adding in the fantasy element. I feel like 'Selling England' is very Hackett dominated, since he really brought the pastel feeling. Once Hackett left, their entire sound had to shift.
Justin, Steve's solo work is just sublime....this album is essential listening imho.The beauty of the flute work,zmellotron...and Steve's acoustic playing. ...Genius butty.....❤❤❤.often wonder how if Steve had worked with Mr.Oldfield...mmm.
A Tower Struck Down refers to the Tarot card The Tower, which usually depicts a tower struck by lightning. All the tracks on Voyage of the Acolyte depict Tarot cards from the "Major Arcana" (the first 22 cards, which all have names and significant archetypal images, not just a number and a suit). The Priestess, The Hermit, The Tower, The Hierophant, The Star, and The Lover - these are all Major Arcana from the traditional Tarot. The one exception is The Ace of Wands, which is also a Tarot card, just not a Major. You should do an image search for variations on the depictions of these cards, and maybe even read a little - this will help illuminate the subject matter of Hackett's Acolyte on their Voyage. An Acolyte is an beginning initiate in a spiritual or mystery tradition, similar to the word Neophyte. A follower undergoing a journey of initiation, generally under some advanced practitioner, like a shaman, priest, or Hierophant.
Yes, excellent info for the people. I can tell your a Major Genesis/Hackett fan like myself to know these things !! I'm an Old Prog "Baaastard" from Boston 65' now and seen Genesis many times since 1973' with my older Brother & Friends. And of course "The Musical Box" Tribute band about 8 times for those who want to see what it was like back in the glory days, they do the exact tours, gear, stage, set lists from the (Nursery/Foxtrot/SEP/Lamb) tours just Amazing and they have been doing it over 20 years now !! 👍🎼🎶
I listened to this debut album by Steve Hackett quite a bit as well as the following ones several decades ago but I must say that over the years, his music no longer resonates much with me because I find that many of his pieces turn a bit empty. For me they are more clusters of ideas than real pieces. That's not to say it's bad but it's a far cry from Tony Banks' complete compositions for Genesis or his debut solo album A Curious Feeling. On the other hand I really like the following piece "The Hermit" on Voyage of the Acolyte but my favourite Steve Hackett albums remain Spectral Mornings and Highly Strung (and I must even say that I have a weakness for the much maligned and controversial Cured which is the album that Steve likes the least in his entire discography, including his fans! 😉).
'Highly Strung' was hardly a work of art.
@@Owlstretchingtime78 Did I say that? I said it was one of my few favourite Hackett albums but it doesn't have to be a work of art to be one of them ! Sometimes I prefer contoversial criticized albums to iconic and so-called essential albums. It's just a matter of purely subjective preference.😉
@a.k.1740 No you didn't, it was a personal observation! 🙂
The crowd you heard chanting were German soldiers yelling Zeke Heil to Hitler. ( the tower )
To me Hands of the priestess, a peaceful town with peaceful people. The tower struck down,the heavy music mimicking soldiers marching in, creating chaos-war. Then the tower struck down, the explosion. (Hitlers end). Then Hands of the priestess again. The towns people come out of the darkness and bathed in the light of peace once again. A truly amazing album for his first.
The "heavy bass" is the "Extra Bass" played by Percy Jones.
Fretless, of course.
Yes. That is Steve invoking Germany.
He teamed up with band mates Rutherford and Collins on this album. No Banks. Surprised? 😅
For me the changing beat is reminiscent of 'Apocalypse in 9/8' from 'Supper's Ready'.
Great track on a great album!
Trippin
Introducing Mr JustJp on air drums 🪘… 😅😂
I believe the chant is a Nazi rally but I've always taken that as an example of the principal, no matter how strong and fanatical, it will not last.
The Russell Morris hit song "The Real Thing" in 1969 also had a nazi rally as part of its sound effects.
It is indeed. I think it's from Hitler's Nuremberg rally speech.
Sounds like King Crimson, but with a sense of shameless fun.
Coming over the musical horizon is Star Of Sirius, the best song Genesis never did.
What you think JP?
That’s a tough call with Ace Of Wands and Shadow of the Hierophant on the same album. It’s a bummer that Justin already reviewed Shadow.
Edit: spelling
'What they were saying' isn't politically acceptable these days (well hopefully anyway). But the playing is, and what a track. Thankyou for doing this one.
Great album. Laid the ground for the break up with Genesis though. Because Banks said you are either in a band or out of a band. Which obviously some years later did not apply anymore when Collins started his stratospheric solo carreer which did not do any arm to the Genesis audience, let alone the large success of the Mike & the Mechanics project.
Please react to the song "Hoping Love Will Last" - featuring Randy Crawford.
Tower is in 4/4 they just mess with the rhythms a bit. And that's Percy Jones on bass.
The 3/4, 3/4, 2/4 rhythm does throw it off to the ear, for sure. I guess it could be more accurate to call it 8/4 time.
@@illegal_space_alien or 3/8 3/8 2/8. It reminds me of Apocalypse in 9/8 with one less beat. Haha.
@@illegal_space_alienyes definitely 8/4.
There are only a handful of Hackett albums that I would consider near perfection front to back - Voyage of the Acolyte, Spectral Mornings, Metamorpheus, Wild Orchids and Beyond the Shrouded Horizon. It’s all a matter of personal taste, of course. Outside those, there are many great songs even off the weaker albums. For example, Guitar Noir is not a great album despite half of the songs being good and one being amazing (There are Many Sides to the Night).
"The Tower" is a tarot card.
As a kid the long instrumental pieces always left me a little uneasy. I appreciate the technical aspects now, but the 2nd LP grabbed my heart completely. Diolch
Yeah more prog rock!
"Teamwork! Teamwork! Teamwork!" -- probably from a UK sports match.
Pretty sure it’s not that.
Not a fan of the history channel then :)
sigh hail?
I can see the trolls, orcs, and oliphants breaking the walls. While the people beseech their Priestess to save them from the fall. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!🎄🗞.🧙♂✌&❤