Hackett plays the Trading Boundaries every year, in a stripped down & largely acoustic set that still manages to encapsulate much of what makes him such a popular performer. Over the seven tracks on the album, he manages to demonstrate remarkable skill with an acoustic, and coupled, on certain numbers, with the likes on his brother John Hackett on flute, Roger King on keys, Rob Townsend on flute & sax, & Amanda Lehmann on guitar & vocals, it all makes a sublime atmosphere, well received by the audience.
The album opens with a short improvised piece, setting much of the tone for what is about to treat the crowd. ‘Blood On The Rooftops’, ‘Barren Land’, ‘Black Light’ & ‘Horizons’ follow, played by Hackett on a solo acoustic and showing remarkable talents and quality – all things we expect of Hackett on electric guitar. From there on, the music gains a wider focus as his colleagues join him onstage, the focus remaining on Steve Hackett at the core of all the music. ‘Suppers Ready (Excerpt)’ has just a flute alongside the guitar , ‘After The Ordeal’ has guitar and piano, ‘Hairless Heart’ is part improvised and features a keyboard, flute and strings, all of them quite magical and intensely focused.
The album is a delight from start to finish. Showing the quality that can be displayed with simple settings and non-electric instruments. It does have the feel of musicians playing for the sake of the music and wonderful it is too.
