Prog Fans Rejoice As Steve Hackett and Chris Squire Partner in the Aptly Named 'Squackett'

Next Monday, fans of old school Yes and Genesis will have boners as the long-anticipated album from Yes bassist Chris Squire and Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett will hit the stands.

Much like the names Hoobastank and Chickenfoot, the band name started as a joke and sadly stuck. The group is called Squackett. Gah!

But the two songs available today on iTunes sound pretty cool. Or at least the 1:30 samples sound good - I am too cheap to buy them today and again next week.

I have to say I have always liked Chris Squire's songs. To me, he is the Ace Frehley of Yes. Meaning, he does not take the mic frequently but when he does, I usually like what comes out of his head.

His one solo album, Fish Out Of Water, is a prog rock classic must-have. Songs like Can You Imagine from Yes' Magnification, The More We Live/Let Go from Yes Union (the only good song on that piece of crap) and The Man You Always Wanted Me To Be from the new Fly From Here by the Anderson-less Yes are all great songs.

Also, dig Squire's first take at It Can Happen on the 90125 bonus tracks before Jon Anderson added his parts - very cool stuff indeed.

So finally another album of stuff piloted by Chris Squire - it got my interest right away.

Steve Hackett is another story. I love-love LOVE his work in Genesis. Some of the best, most tasteful and innovative playing from that era. But sadly I also have every one of his solo albums and there are A LOT of them. But aside from some stuff on Spectral Mornings, I can't Hack (cough) any of them.

Well, his last two releases are actually pretty good. One is a solo nylon string guitar album called Metamorpheus that is like a whole album of songs like the gorgeous Horizons from Foxtrot (waaaay early Genesis).

I also really dug his playing on the GTR album and have always been a fan of his style.

So maybe this will be the prog version of peanut butter and chocolate. Come Monday, we'll find out! For now, dig these short previews from Prog Magazine:

Firth of Fifth Steve Hackett Solo - Me

Have been pretty slammed at work so not much blog time. But I did get the chance to learn one of my all-time favorite solos, the end solo to Genesis Firth of Fifth. Steve Hackett's finest moment. While I get a proper blog post together, enjoy this:

 

Phish Rock Out Genesis Tune at Rock And Roll Hall of Fame

I have not watched the DVR'd Rock and Roll Hall of Fame show yet but I did check out the Genesis portion thanks to YouTube. No Peter Gabriel as expected, but Phish busted out a pretty cool version of Watcher of the Skies and it was nice to see Steve Hackett alongside the others for a change.

The shots of bemused suited attendees during the keyboard intro of Watcher are pretty priceless and underscore what I said last time, which is that the Hall is an exclusive club and that the Hall events are more about awards and less about performances, as much as the Time Life people want to tell you differently. And is probably one of the giant reasons they won't have KISS or Rush in yet -- their live shows would completely fry the attendees!

Anyway, check it out before they yank it down. It's pretty awesome, and I have always thought Trey was heavily influenced by Hackett. They do an incredible job and it's pretty cool to see all the Genesis guys checking out the performance. Was probably pretty emotional for them (and boring for everyone else - but it's prog rock so handle it!)

Peter Gabriel May Not Even Show Up to the R&R Hall of Fame

Well, this sucks balls. Peter Gabriel told Rolling Stone he has no intention of performing any songs with his former bandmates when Genesis is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Lame in March.

That's no shocker. But he also said he may not even show up. Now THAT would suck. Come on, Pete. You and the boys did some great things back in the 70s. Yeah you were kids, but you're getting a Goddam AWARD for it, so at least have the courtesy to show up for the speech and photo opp.

The short Rolling Stone article says:

In two months Genesis will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but fans hoping to see Peter Gabriel sing with his former band for the first time in nearly 30 years are probably in for a disappointment. “As far as I know, I’m definitely not going to sing,” Gabriel tells Rolling Stone. “I learned at our last reunion [in 1982] that you can’t just get up there. You have to rehearse.” Gabriel is actually not even positive he’ll be able to attend the March 15th induction ceremony in New York, since he’ll be in the midst of rehearsing for a European solo tour. “I’m trying to find a way to do it,” he says. “It’s not easy. If I can work it out, I’ll go.”

Five years ago Gabriel held a meeting with the classic Genesis lineup of Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Steve Hackett to discuss a possible staging of their 1974 prog-rock epic The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. “Initially I was open to it,” Gabriel says. “But then it seemed to be growing. I know what it’s like once you’re in it — these things tend to expand. I always describe it as going back to school, since this was a school group for me. It’s a fun place to visit and see your old friends, but its not a place you want to live.” Might he be open to a reunion show at some point in the future? “Phil has had trouble with his wrists and his back, so it’s pretty unlikely,” he says.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - Genesis In; KISS Out

While waiting to check out of the hospital today with our newborn, I was flipping through my Twitter feeds and noticed that there were a few Tweets announcing that KISS had been slighted by the Hall of Fame after being nominated for the first time this year.

I am not totally shocked. I was more shocked that they were nominated in the first place, because the R&R Hall is run by a group of 500 industry types. It's not a popularity contest or a popular vote that gets you in. It's a decision by an elite closed group, and that makes it fairly questionable IMO.

I thought the Rolling Stone coverage of the 25th anniversary shows in New York was glad-handingly self congratulatory. Many of the board members are RS editors and writers. But anyway, KISS didn't get in this year and ABBA did. Yeah, that makes sense. They totally rock.

But my next thought was, what about Genesis? I was equally pleasantly surprised that they had been nominated as well. The prospect of KISS or Genesis being inducted meant the possibility of reunions of the original members to accept the award and possibly perform.

KISS has done the reunion thing, so it's all good. They'll get in eventually and then the Hall in Cleveland can open a Hotter Than Hell wing with all the merch and costumes.

But the original five Genesis principals - Steve Hackett, Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Peter Gabriel - have not performed live since a one-off get-together in 1982.

So I poked around and lo and behold it was announced today that Genesis will be inducted into the Hall. So, I will be keeping an eye on that one. Peter Gabriel has been the guy who has been the most wishy washy about doing anything again with the others but maybe he could pull it together for just one night.

The one cool thing about the Hall events is that sometimes they do lead to full-bore reunion tours, or at least interesting onstage jamming. So, we shall see...

Maybe Peter could whip out some of his old costumes and they could blow our minds with Selling England By The Pound!

Prog Rock Makes Big Comeback

Next to 80s metal, prog rock is one of the most maligned music forms out there.

It’s easy to see why people slag the 80s metal bands – look at their promo shots. Even the greatest of these bands (Maiden, Priest etc – who really started in the 70s anyway) look a little silly in the leather/spandex/big hair gear that is a staple of the look.

Bands like Cinderella, Krokus, Ratt etc took the look to the extreme and made a lot of people disregard the bands before they even heard one note of the music. Which is too bad, because there are lots of great bands from that era. For an excellent and very funny overview of this genre, buy the book Fargo Rock City by Chuck Klosterman.

Progressive music has a bit of the same issue. Who can look at old photos of Rush, Genesis, Yes and ELP and not have a chuckle? Capes, silk blousy shirts, really bad porn moustaches, tight satin pants and the crazy unclassifiable “pieces” Emerson used to wear onstage. Ooof.

Only Pink Floyd seemed to buck the trend, seeming to wear whatever they woke up in to go onstage.

But many of these bands overcame the image issue and continued to make excellent, groundbreaking music for at least a couple of decades. Rush is still at it, as is various forms of Yes and once in a while, reunited Genesises and ELPs.

A BBC News article this week does a great job of tracking the prog genre to modern day, citing that Porcupine Tree and Muse’s new CDs debuted very high in the charts this month, despite the fact that these bands have been defined as ‘prog rock.’ Or because of it. Hell, look at Porcupine Tree – Not a single in sight on their new 55-minute opus The Incident, yet the CD broke through at number 23 on the UK charts. Muse, a bit more accessible to the average listener, debuted at #1.

The article tracks prog torch carriers Marillion and Dream Theater in the 80s, Radiohead in the 90s, and now Porcupine Tree and Muse. From the article: "To see someone like Muse and Porcupine Tree cracking the top 25 together shows the huge shift in terms of where people see progressive music is coming from, and also how popular it is becoming," says Jerry Ewing, editor of Classic Rock Prog Magazine.

This is great news, as this is great music. I remember hearing Radiohead for the first time. Sadly, aside from the song Creep, I had not listened to a Radiohead album until Kid A. But I loved that CD and would listen to it in the car all the way through on my way to work. Then I saw it was #1 in the charts and could not believe it. How did that many people embrace this very proggy, experimental album? Frankly, it gave me a lot of hope for the current state of music at the time.

Next up was The Mars Volta who I found utterly fascinating until they got too weird even for me. But for example, Rolling Stone loves that band, which I don’t understand but am grateful for. Maybe that is why RS finally did a proper article on Rush last year. Or why Genesis is finally a Hall of Fame nominee. These new bands (who don’t dress like elves) are bringing back legitimacy of the genre.

Record sales aside, these bands cling to one thing that is sadly lacking in the industry today, which is live performances that challenge the audience to pay attention and focus instead of using the show as an excuse to text on cell phones and yammer about anything except the event they are supposed to be attending. The Porcupine Tree show I saw last week is a case in point. Watching the band play The Incident all the way through was like going to see a great movie. We paid attention, let the artists deliver, and were moved (and rocked at the same time – bonus!).

So thank you Porcupine Tree, Muse, Riverside, Mars Volta and all the other torch carriers for music with artistic vision that moves people, pushes the boundaries, and fights upstream against the stagnation that has plagued the industry for a long, long time.

Check out the full BBC article here.

KISS, Genesis Nominated for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

What is that gross, watery sound? Oh, it’s the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame people slowly pulling their heads out of their own assholes.

Today among the announced nominees were KISS (who have sold more albums than anyone expect the Beatles), and Genesis, who deserve to be in there as much as many of the other nominees who were around many fewer decades, influenced far fewer people and wore less interesting costumes in the 70s.

Me? I think the whole notion of the Hall is bogus. Unlike awards that are voted on by fans and the general population, the HoF has always been run by a panel of various musicians, industry people, journalists etc. And while many of those are well respected and have good taste, it’s always been a bit of a private club. The only reason KISS is nominated is because you just cannot continue to ignore those record sales numbers forever. Which is why Rush will eventually make it in as well.

And no, I don’t really care. BUT, if Genesis were to win, we would hopefully finally see the original five guys reunited if just for one night (if Phil could pull himself out of retirement), and it would be a damn shame to not see all four original KISS guys kiss and make up for one night as well.

That, I would watch.

Amazon Offers Genesis Vinyl Set

Got an(other) email from Amazon.com today. Usually they say something like "Since you bought that Star Wars figure for your kid at Christmas, we thought you'd want to buy this Star Wars lawn dart set" or some shit. I usually delete these emails right away.

But today this was the offer:

As someone who has purchased or rated music by Genesis, you might like to know that 1970-1975 [6 LP 180g Vinyl] will be released on April 14, 2009. Following the upgrade of the Genesis catalog with three comprehensive boxed sets of their entire studio output (plus bonus DVDs), Rhino brings the legendary band's early era back to its vinyl origins in style. Presented on 180 gram audiophile vinyl, the six-LP boxed set GENESIS: 1970-1975 features five landmark albums from the group's seminal Peter Gabriel-fronted era: Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England By The Pound and the double concept LP The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway.

Collected in a handsome, protective slipcase box, each of the five albums comes in its own heavyweight gatefold sleeve featuring the classic cover art faithfully reproduced from its original source. The set contains some of the band s most adventurous albums and chronicles Gabriel's groundbreaking tenure as frontman for Genesis, one of the top-selling recording acts of all time.

I won't be ordering this because I already have all of these releases on vinyl but I thought it was cool that this is even being offered!

Chris Squire and Steve Hackett to team Up?

Since Yes' Jon Anderson griped on his Web site about being kept out of the loop on his bandmates replacing him with tribute band singer Benoit David, the Yes camp has been in spin mode.

Guitarist Steve Howe is begging tour attendees to not commit 'musical terrorism' by booing the band, and bassist Chris Squire has reiterated that as soon as Jon is all better, he is welcome to re-join.

Anderson removed his gripey post and it's even gone from the news archives on his site. Of course I re-printed the whole thing here.

But buried in one of those articles is this little nugget:

Squire reports that he's also started a new venture with former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett -- "We may call it Squackett," the bassist quips -- that will be released in early 2009, with European dates in the spring.

"We're nearly 75 percent done," Squire says. "It's real good. Steve Hackett is a very underrated writer and actually a very good singer. We're doing a lot of harmonizing, and some of it is almost in the Crosby, Stills & Nash vein."

Not so interested in hearing Squire and Hackett sing harmonies. But it could be musically very compelling as long as they are not trying to craft pop tunes a la GTR.

I have posted a version of this solo before but this is still one of my all time favorite musical passages. I think that is John Wetton on bass but imagine what Chris Squire might do with the part. Please excuse the hairstyles and keyboard player. This must be late 80s/early 90s!

Genesis - How About Something Positive?

I have been slagging Genesis so hard that I don't want anyone to be under the impression that they were not one of the best prog bands of the 70s. And look at this post-Genesis Steve Hackett live take on Fly On A Windshield from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Wow.

They would play much smaller halls but I really wish the five man Genesis would get back together for at least a one-off!

Genesis - In the Beginning They Were GOOD

Compare the VH1 Rock Honors version of Los Endos from the post I made a few days ago with this version I found on YouTube with Bill Bruford as second drummer and you will see what kind of a legacy the reunited Genesis is up against. Good luck! These guys were epic in their day.

Who Sucks More - Genesis or VH1?

I caught a bit of VH1's Rock Honors on the tube last night. Tuned in at the end of Heart doing "Crazy on You" and while Anne Wilson's girth is still remarkable, man can she sing!

But then I remembered the reunited Genesis threesome was supposed to be honored and lo and behold they were up next! Interesting... First up this band called Keane (who has no bass player - whatever) did the most uninspired version of the lamely cute "That's All." Yawn.

Then Robin Williams, who I usually find funny, did the dumbest longest intro ever, complete with limp Bible jokes (Genesis - get it?). But finally the fab three hobbled out with trusty backing monster drummer Chester Thompson and stellar guitarist Daryl Stuermer.

The familiar eighth note opening of Turn it on Again started chugging and I actually got a bit excited. But then Phil started singing and the years have left his voice too powerless to deliver the song properly. It was such a Vegas version (appropriate, because the lame show was in Vegas, which was obvious due to the numerous cuts to the inebriated vacuous attendees who'd clearly clap for anything at this point).

Turn it on Again is a cool tune but it needs Phil hollering in general and especially at the end to pass muster. The best part of that song was when he quit singing and got on the drum set for the end part. This is where things got good, as Chester and Phil drummed in unison like the good old days - Phil on his lefty kit mirroring Chester's righty kit. Very cool.

They followed it up with the very tepid No Son of Mine. Boring ass tune. Ugh. However, Phil did a good job singing this one and by the end of the song, I actually liked it better than Turn it on Again. That says a lot right there.

I flipped off the TV in disgust and tried to find out what else they played that VH1 decided not to air. You know what is was? Los Endos, a killer prog rock instrumental from Trick of the Tail. I found part of it bootlegged on YouTube (watch it above until it is pulled down) and OK it rocked!

Check out the video yourself but Stuermer is soloing his ass off and Mike Rutherford, who I generally despise, has whipped out the old double neck guitar - cool! The drumming is pummeling like it should be and that is all through the highly crappy audio from the YouTube clip. If VH1 posts the song, I will link to it stat.

That VH1 decided to run No Son of Mine over Los Endos is no surprise but really sucks because that would have redeemed it for me.

Phil and crew can be forgiven for wanting to make a bunch of money with this retarded reunion but if they are willing to dust off some gems like Los Endos, that makes me a bit happier about it. I'm still not going to see the show unless more than 60 percent of it is old shit like Los Endos (fat chance) but maybe I will rent the live DVD next year.

Eat it VH1 - you suck.

Reunion Roundup

2007 is shaping up to be the year of reunions. Or at least reunions I am actually interested in following - either because they are going to rock, or for the same reasons people like to watch air crashes and NASCAR spin outs. So without further ado, let's take a look at the many announced reunions of 2007:

The Police. A money grab? You bet. They are going to sock away tons of money. All the hooplah around this one is a constant reminder that there was no bigger band in the early 80s. Am I wrong? U2 is the only other band this big that comes to mind in the 80s but that was after Sting had said farewell and left the others in the dust. Maybe there were others. I dunno. Anyway, reunion tour stadium shows are selling out in seconds - blah blah blah. I got two Seattle show tickets for June 6 but had to buy them separately because Ticketmaster would not let me buy more than one at a time - at ANY PRICE LEVEL. That probably says more about TicketHitler than The Police, but nevertheless, they are selling out any venue they book. And per my earlier post, based on their Grammy performance, this tour is going to kick ass. Just the three Police men - no Sting solo tunes - no back up singers - hopefully no little round trampolines for Sting to leap on (remember the Synchronicity tour?). They will for sure re-work the classics and go outside the box with it. This tour is just a no miss because they all seem to be really sincerely into it - and it will probably never happen again. Enough said - 10 out of 10.

Van Halen. Money grab? Oh my God yes. But beyond that, this one is sort of sad to me. It could be SO great. I thought the choice of Eddie's son as new bass player was bad but at least typically weird for old Ed and I guess it made some kind of sense, consistency wise - three Van Halens - wow! But Eddie said Michael Anthony was out because he was playing with Hagar and "You can't be in two bands." Really? Huh. OK. But once I saw the photo of the 'new' Van Halen with Wolfie and Dave, I actually got a boner to see this show. A kid in the band (and Eddie's kid at that) might inject something really current and interesting into the mix. But then as soon as I got interested - bing - it's postponed indefinitely due to "contract issues." A friend who has a buddy in the Roth circle says it's due to Ed's health. If so, that is too bad. The guy has gone through a divorce, hip replacement, substance abuse and tongue cancer in the last ten years - that's a big load to deal with. If he's not fit to tour, OK - good idea to cancel. His health comes before my amusement. But if Ed's health is together, I am hoping this one happens after all. Probably more for the same reasons I wanted to see Britney's shaved head and new tattoo than the possibility of this being any good. I want to go to the circus and watch some clowns crash the little cars. 6 out of 10.

Black Sabbath with Dio. Called "Heaven and Hell" so no one gets confused. Money grab? I don't know. It looks to me like they all looked at each other and said "It's time." And then Ozzy freaked out and promised a new album of Oz-led Sabbath in 2008. Ha ha ha. That's worth it right there to see what THAT would sound like. The Dio led Sabbath has always been my favorite. They put out the most demonic heavy shit EVER with Dio. No dross. Just pure devil metal. I used to tune my guitar down a half step and play along to LiveEvil after dinner every night for a few months in high school. Beautiful. Like the Police reunion, they are talking about only Dio-era stuff (no Ozzy era songs or Dio solo, etc), so that would also keep it pure for me. The only trouble is they recorded three new songs for the upcoming Black Sabbath: The Dio Years CD. I heard one of the songs and it was a bit of a self parody. Called "The Devil Cried," it was pretty heavy and I tried to like it a lot but the lyrics were a little hackneyed. Dio even had a line where he says "FIRE" the way only Dio can say it - if you know Dio you know what I am talking about. This classic utterance either totally ruins it or redeems it, depending on my mood! Anyway, I will go see this show for sure. Not looking for a train wreck. Hoping it will be as true spirited as the Police reunion but worried it will be a bunch of metal elves way the hell past their prime. 8 out of 10.

Genesis. Money grab? Who gives a shit? My interest in this plummeted when I heard it would not include Steve Hackett or Peter Gabriel. My desire to see this will be directly proportionate to what songs they decide to play. Firth of Fifth, Carpet Crawlers, Dodo, Abacab and Supper's Ready? I may go. Invisible Touch, I Can't Dance, Jesus He Knows Me? FUCK no. These are talented mofos but they have toyed with their legacy so many times even THEY are probably struggling with what they ought to play. I saw them in the 80s and I have to say, from the hardcore proggers to the teeny boppers, no one was satisfied with their set list. It's was all over the place. They need to pick an era and stick with it. Maybe what will happen is they will do this stupid tour and THEN Gabriel and Hackett will join next year. I would go and see that for sure. And by the way, when did Peter Gabriel start looking like a baked Col. Sanders? 4 out of 10.

Asia. Oh man, I saved this one for last. I mean, look at this photo. It's like they hit the Glamour Shots in the mall. Money grab? Please - they would be lucky to play for free fish and chips and veggie burgers. So at least you know they are doing this because they WANT to. I have to say - I love the first Asia album. I love Steve Howe and Carl Palmer and their respective bands, Yes and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I have seen Howe on his own and with Yes a number of times and he is always a pro - always makes me want to cut my own hands off and sell all of my guitars. And I saw the Carl Palmer Band last year in the 650 seat Aladdin Theater and was so blown away. He has a bass player and guitar player who were probably born after ELP had already broken up for the first time, and they did incredibly incendiary ELP instrumentals all night - with no keyboards. Again, I considered chopping off my hands. But LOOK AT THE PHOTO. I have seen some clips of the reunion on YouTube and have read things and it seems like everything is going fine but this one just scares me. I want to like it so bad but I am just afraid I will see this and will vomit. I mean, there is NO question at least half of this band is so far past its prime. Maybe what I do is go see it, stand in the back and get really really drunk so I can pretend it's 1984 and the album just came out. A friend who books artists told me Asia will be coming to the Northwest this summer. Will I go? Yes, but with great fear.

OK, well, I know there are other reunions (Rage Against The Machine being one of the more interesting ones I am leaving out) but barring Pink Floyd touring with Waters, these five are my contenders for 2007. Love 'em or leave 'em.