Steve HACKETT

Out Of The Tunnel's Mouth

(2009)

1. Fire On The Moon 6'11
(Steve Hackett)
The difference between a long dark threatening tunnel and a triumphal arch is only one of perspective. Listen out for Chris Squire's bolero rhythm bass and Roger King's haunting keys.
2. Nomads 4'32
(Steve Hackett / Jo Lehmann)
Beneath the blur of the castanets ...
Homage to Andalusia, Flamenco and the indomitable spirit of the gypsies.
3. Emerald And Ash 8'59
(Steve Hackett / John Hackett / Roger King)
To quote Milan Kundera, a truth and an illusion can wear the same mask. This track features Anthony Phillips' glorious twelve string work.
4. Tubehead 3'37
(Steve Hackett / Roger King)
Death by Marshall Cabinet - A suitable end for errant dilettantes and all ye who resist conversion to the true faith...
5. Sleepers 8'51
(Steve Hackett / Roger King / Jo Lehmann / Nick Clabburn)
The bizarro world of dreamscapes with all their unstoppable phantasmagoria. From the gentle violin and viola of Christine Townsend and the rich bowed double bass of Dick Driver to Roger King's Drums from Hell and Amanda Lehmann's perfect harmonies.
6. Ghost In The Glass 3'00
(Steve Hackett / Roger King)
The ghost of the past meets the ghost of the future...Exquisite fretless bass playing from Nick Beggs.
7. Still Waters 4'35
Ego And Id (John Hackett / Jo Lehmann)
The pulse of New Orleans - Storyville
8. Last Train To Istanbul 5'56
(Steve Hackett / Roger King / Jo Lehmann)
Inspired by Turkish music I heard in Sarajevo-Riding on the coat tails of the East on a runaway train from Europe. Killer solos from bandit crew en route... Rob Townsend, John Hackett and Ferei Kovacs all playing like frenetic whirling dervishe

Total Time: 45:41

  • Steve Hackett - Guitars, Vocals (1-8)
  • Anthony Phillips - Twelve String Guitar (3, 5)
  • Roger King - Keyboards, Programming (1-8)
  • John Hackett - Flute (5, 8)
  • Nick Beggs - Bass, Chapman Stick (2, 3, 5-7)
  • Chris Squire - Bass (1, 2)
  • Dick Driver - Double Bass (5)
  • Rob Townsend - Soprano Sax (3, 8)
  • Ferenc Kovaks - Violin (8)
  • Christine Townsend - Violin, Viola (5, 6, 8)
  • Amanda Lehmann - Vocals (3, 5, 7)
  • Jo Lehmann - Backing Vocals (7)
  • Lauren King - Backing Vocals (7)

    Produced by Steve Hackett and Roger King
    Designed by Harry Pearce
    Front and Back Cover Photographs by Jo Lehmann©
    Steve stepping off train Photograph by Jo Lehmann ©
    Steve portrait Photograph by Chris Marshall ©

    Special Thanks To all those who have worked with me on this album, and in particular to Roger King who above all made this hard fought for project possible. My heartfelt thanks to Jo Lehmann, Brian Coles, Amanda Lehmann, Harry Pearce, Nick Clabburn and Richard Buckland, who all help to keep the engine running, and to Neil Marshall who literally kept a train steaming for the front cover photo!

    Some years ago I had a dream that a full sized steam engine burst into my living room. My first thought was, "I wonder if those floor boards will give way...?" Recently the floorboards of the living room have had to withstand the full force of an entire album of screeching hot metal, along with a virtual Andalusian dance troupe, whirling dervishes and a whole platoon of sugar plum fairies. Of course on this latest offering, whilst the lyrics are more personal, I've been running around with an axe or two, sharper than ever I'm afraid... bring me my Fernandes... my Black Beauty... let's shove 50,000 volts down her and see how she sings as she comes steaming into the light!

    - Steve Hackett 25 June 2009

    In a dim and distant phase of my childhood I, like many others, constructed a little theatre from cereal boxes and rubber solution glue, and shuffled crudely painted cardboard figures around its stage in an endless variety of ad hoc dramas. The modern recording method is strikingly similar, albeit largely virtualised, of course, with samples, simulators, modelled this and modelled that, and an infinite array of possibilities, both creative and corrective. So whilst we confess to having constructed this album on a computer (exclusively within Apple Logic, for those who are interested), it is not the technology that shines but the people who employed it. Chief among them is the man whose name graces the cover, of course, but run your eye over the credit list to get a proper view of the cast of stellar humans who made this music. The technology sets the stage but it is the players who perform on it.

    - Roger King 26 June 2009

    ©HACKETT SONGS LIMITED www.hackettsongs.com

    Recorded, Mixed and Mastered in The LIVING ROOM by Roger King

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    1. Fire On The Moon

      I feel like I've been the finest fool
      Hanging on by my fingertips
      The ground gives way beneath my feet
      A black cloud descends
      I lose my grip
      Buried in the mud
      Lying here with no relief

      The world I've known is paper thin
      Torn in shreds my finest hour
      A drowning man still battling
      One breath rattle gathering
      Dust is dust, clean me now
      All my strings are gutted

      Turn it down
      In the paralytic nursery of bygone fears
      My old adversary reappears
      Still confronted by the many faces of Eve
      No matter how I try to heal this injury
      Still the trophies line up on the wall
      Pride that comes before a fall

    2. Nomads

      An open coast, an open road
      Spirit rising, burning gold
      I'll take you to the caverns
      Where the gypsies go
      They're dancing through the firelight
      Whirling fast and slow
      Beneath the blur of the castanets...
      Homage to Andalusia, Flamenco and the indomitable
      spirit of the gypsies.
      It's a cry from the heart
      It's a crying soul
      Nothing imagined need ever be lost
      Going from dust to dust

      We're running and hiding Like wolves from a pack You'll hear the waves crashing Never turning back
      It's a cry from the heart
      It's a crying soul
      Nothing imagined need ever be lost
      Going from dust to dust

      It's a cry from the heart

    3. Emerald And Ash

      Sugarplum fairies on parade
      The smiling dolls wield the sharpest blade
      Candyfloss pink the sequins whirl
      Beneath a serpent ready to uncurl

      A dealer playing with my state of mind
      Roulette wheel the colours were entwined
      Black and white Russians were prepared
      She staked her claim to the lion's share

      Dressed in velvet in the limelight
      She beckoned me from marble stairs
      Long ago with all the dreamers
      I fell into her emerald spell

      A thousand silver songs that filled the air
      Rosary the worry beads of care
      I should have understood the queen of hearts
      Played to win right from the start

      Dressed in velvet in the limelight
      She beckoned me from marble stairs
      Long ago with all the dreamers
      I fell into her emerald spell

      The dice were loaded, knew
      I was ensnared
      Fingers turned to talons in my hair
      A rusted door inside a golden cage
      A broken chord, a bird that flew away

      Dressed in velvet in the limelight
      She beckoned me from marble stairs
      Long ago with all the dreamers
      I fell into her emerald spell

    4. Tubehead

      (instrumental)

    5. Sleepers

      Breathing in and out with the tide
      Leaving the mantra of a world outside
      Faces bathed by moonbeams
      All the sleepers send you their dreams

      Rising from a wave of helping hands
      A woman holds a statue till he becomes a man
      Captured in her eyes he's finally complete
      All the sleepers send you their dreams

      Night terrors make you scream
      Dogs turned reptiles halloween
      Lizards and birds, claws in your feet
      Can't shake off all the demons you meet

      Surveilance camera in the sky
      Big big brother telling you why
      Too many saviours on my cross
      Might as well worship the Wizard of Oz

      Turning your dream around
      Taking the reins again
      Running through the flames
      Sun shining out of the rain

      Taking a leap of faith
      Jumping into space
      Find an unknown place
      The moon's other face

      All the sleepers send you their dreams
      All the sleepers send you their dreams

    6. Ghost In The Glass

      (instrumental)

    7. Still Waters

      Lady of the mansion
      She gave me her key
      But your cotton print dress
      Worked its magic on me
      Still waters run deep
      Smoke risng from beneath
      White lightning in the heat

      Voodoo queen weaved
      Her charms for free
      But your big brown eyes
      Worked their magic on me
      Still waters run deep
      Smoke rising from beneath
      White lightning in the heat

      Storyville ladies Invited me from the street
      But your shy southern smile
      Worked its magic on me
      Still waters run deep
      Smoke rising from beneath
      White lightning in the heat

    8. Last Train To Istanbul

      Your two eyes like minarets
      Rose in twin pools of white
      The incandescent fires of spring
      Radiant against the vault of night
      On the last train to Istanbul

      Journey to the heart, dancers on thin ice
      Lantern moon, a magic carpet ride
      Soulscapes, island nights In your eyes an afterlife
      On the last train to Istanbul

      Curling smoke becomes the djinn
      Lovers wish for everything
      Temple pillars built on clouds
      In your sleep awaking now
      On the last train to Istanbul