Spectral Mornings
The first record by his own touring band, made in a frozen Hilversum and still his favourite of his solo albums.
Steve Hackett, 1979
- Released
- May 1979
- Recorded
- January to February 1979
- Studio
- Phonogram Studios, Hilversum, Netherlands
- Label
- Charisma
- Producer
- John Acock and Steve Hackett
- Length
- 39:03
The sessions in Hilversum were intense, with little sleep, in a winter Hackett remembered for frozen lakes and canals. Every title is credited to him, but the band helped arrange the songs: he called Nick Magnus the group's resident orchestra, and said Dik Cadbury, a trained countertenor, arranged the harmonies. It was his second album with the Roland GR-500 guitar synthesizer, and Kim Poor painted the cover.
It reached 22 in Britain, 30 in Sweden and 138 on the Billboard 200. A 2005 Virgin remaster added bonus tracks, including an alternative mix of Every Day, and Steven Wilson remixed it in stereo and 5.1 for the Premonitions box in 2015. For its fortieth anniversary in 2019 the band played most of it live, released as Selling England by the Pound & Spectral Mornings: Live at Hammersmith (2020).
Track listing
- Every Day6:14
- The Virgin and the Gypsy4:27
- The Red Flower of Tachai Blooms Everywhere2:05
- Clocks: The Angel of Mons4:17
- The Ballad of the Decomposing Man3:49
- Lost Time in Córdoba4:03
- Tigermoth7:35
- Spectral Mornings6:33
Personnel
- Steve Hackett guitars, Roland GR-500 guitar synthesizer, koto, harmonica, vocals
- Pete Hicks lead vocals on Every Day, The Virgin and the Gypsy and Tigermoth
- Dik Cadbury bass, Moog Taurus pedals, violin, vocals
- Nick Magnus keyboards
- John Hackett flutes, bass pedals
- John Shearer drums, percussion
- John Acock producer
More from Steve Hackett
Foxtrot (1972), Bay of Kings (1983)
Sources
- Spectral Mornings, Wikipedia
- Spectral Mornings (Charisma CDS 4017), Discogs
- Steve Hackett Recording Compendium, Part 2 (1978 to 1980), genesis-news.com
- Spectral Mornings, The Genesis Archive
- Steve Hackett on Genesis, Springsteen and psychedelia, Happy (2019-08-06)