Bay of Kings
His first album of classical guitar music, turned down by Charisma and released by a label owned by a carmaker.
Steve Hackett, 1983
- Released
- 28 October 1983
- Studio
- Berry Street Studio and The Town House, London
- Label
- Lamborghini
- Producer
- John Acock and Steve Hackett
- Length
- 36:50
Charisma declined the album as commercially unviable, and Hackett took it to Lamborghini Records, which Patrick Mimran, then the owner of the car company, had founded. During the sessions at The Town House he hurt himself walking into a glass door, and recorded the final take of the title track anyway. The sleeve is dedicated to Kim, who showed him the most beautiful place in the world; Kim on side one is a re-arranged version, and Second Chance comes from a television series starring Ralph Bates and Susannah York. The record reworks Horizons from Foxtrot as a solo piece.
Kim Poor's original cover was a nude painting; at her request a later reissue replaced it with a new painting of Hackett. The album reached 70 in Britain and AllMusic gave it four stars. Inside Out reissued it with Momentum on 180-gram vinyl and new CDs in August 2024.
Track listing
- Bay of Kings4:57
- The Journey4:15
- Kim2:25
- Marigold3:37
- St. Elmo's Fire3:08
- Petropolis2:46
- Second Chance1:59
- Cast Adrift2:15
- Horizons
- Black Light2:32
- The Barren Land3:46
- Calmaria3:23
Personnel
- Steve Hackett acoustic guitar, keyboards, strings
- Nick Magnus keyboards, strings, effects
- John Hackett flutes
- John Acock producer
- Kevin Metcalfe mastering
More from Steve Hackett
Foxtrot (1972), Spectral Mornings (1979)
Sources
- Bay of Kings, Wikipedia
- Bay of Kings (Lamborghini LMG LP 3000), Discogs
- Steve Hackett Recording Compendium, Part 4 (1983 to 1984), genesis-news.com
- Steve Hackett on Bay of Kings and Momentum reissues, Spill Magazine