Comments for Hackett, Steve, Please Don't Touch!

A wonderful album: quite accessible but showing the breadth ofSteve Hackett`s skills. The sounds range from the almost pop of "Narnia" (sung by Steve Walsh of Kansas), through the classical guitar and flute of "Kim," to vast soundscapes (the title track), and includes a few beautiful ballads, sung by Randy Crawford and Richie Havens. There are odd, indulgent moments such as the distorted vocals on "Carry On Up The Vicarage," but even these parts of the album are enjoyable. The songs all blend together well, with links for following tracks often set up in the second-halves of the ones preceding them. This technique makes the album compelling to listen to. If there is a thematic sub-text running throughout the whole thing, it`s probably to do with the illusion/hope of new relationships (bookended cleverly by the first and last tracks, but also important to "How Can I?"), the disillusion of tired relationships and the idealism of new ones (suggested even by the title track). "Icarus Ascending," as a closing masterpiece, sums it all up nicely, with a rich, gruff vocal from Richie Havens. I wonder whether this consistent narrative thread was intentional: the title track suggests that it was. Ian C. Thomas