Steve Hackett
The Circus and the Nightwhale

Release Date: 2024 | Tracklist

Music is undeniably subjective. This has the unfortunate tendency of leaving plenty of room for bias. One particular bias, which I have been personally guilty of, is the bias of nostalgia. I have a severe prejudice against albums released late in an artist's career. I partly blame that on biological factors such as age. I think it is only natural that as our cognitive and physical abilities decline, so will our ability to play our instruments in a manner we were once able to do with ease. However, I don't think that has a substantial impact on my prejudice of later albums; simply because I don’t believe it typically hinders an artist's performance to such an extent that it would warrant this kind of response. My prejudice is primarily rooted in romanticizing the past. That does seem to be human nature. "Everything used to be better before" or "Those were the golden years." Of course, that isn't entirely true and I think we all know that deep down. The past is just comforting. We know what happened so there are no more surprises and most importantly, we survived to reflect and tell the tale. That is my primary quarrel as an amateur music reviewer. I constantly have to fight the urge to declare previous work superior de facto. Nevertheless, I have been able to largely separate my prejudices as of late. I have stumbled upon a few later releases that I find to be just as good as an artist's classic era, if not more. So, it begs the question, where does The Circus and The Nightwhale land in Hackett's extensive discography?

The title of the album tells you exactly what you're in for. The themes are forbidden wonder with a hint of danger behind every door. Hackett's guitar work here is nothing short of extraordinary and is rampant with emotion whether it be a heart-wrenching solo or a riff that crescendos with excitement, he does it all seamlessly. Furthermore, the beauty of this record cannot be understated, tracks such as Ghost Moon and Living Love are lovely even in their profound simplicity. However, these more simplistic tracks are strategically placed and by no means overstay their welcome. Hackett's experience in keeping the listener's interest is expertly displayed as evidenced by the following track, Circus Inferno, which sports some Middle Eastern guitar plucking that is followed by a luscious saxophone solo that changes the tempo set by Ghost Moon dramatically. We then transition into a medley of almost doom-laden riffery that is accentuated by entrancing female vocal melodies and powerful drum fills. Actually, that previous description encompasses not only Ghost Moon and Circus Inferno but Break Out and All at Sea. While each of these tracks has distinctive characteristics, Hackett somehow ties them all together into a central theme to great effect. The Circus and The Nightwhale is impressive and has a lot to offer. A listener likely won't be able to capture everything on the first go around, and luckily this album is good enough to warrant repeat listens. So, where does it stand amongst the extensive Hackett discography? I don’t know, and I don’t really care and you probably shouldn't either. This album, standing on its own, is wonderful and that’s enough for me.

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3.8 excellent