Or while badly in need of relaxtion during evening rush hour. This one really shows the musical diversity of Steve Hackett, revealing the breadth of his talent as a composer and a performer. He is the simply the best guitarist in recorded history, and this album demonstrates the nylon classical side of his incredible range.

One of my all-time favorites in quiet, relaxing music, particularly as it is actually great to listen to rather than just having it as musical wallpaper - which so many "relaxing" kinds of music often are only good for. Great to play after a hard days work, on the headphones lazing back. Or on a quiet Sunday morning before starting the day. Pity they changed the cover it seems - the vinyl record (in Europe at least) had quite a nice drawing that went very well with the mood. Timeless and highly recommended.

This is Steve's first all-acoustic collection originally released in 1983. The album demonstrates not only his skills as a musician, but that he is also a gifted composer and arranger. The pieces range from the playful to the sublime and after all of these years it remains my favourite album of his. It's a beautiful collection. If you enjoy this, you may also enjoy Momentum ('88) in particular as well as There are Many Sides to the Night ('95), A Midsummer Night's Dream ('97), Sketches of Satie (2000), Hungarian Horizons (02), Metamorpheus (05) and Live Archive 05.

In the 70's, Steve Hackett was the guitarist for Genesis. This album is very different than those days. Hackett spends this album exploring nylon-string acoustic guitar. Most of it is solo, but his brother John backs him on flute for several tracks as well as backing from Nick Magnus on keyboards. Bay of Kings was originally recorded in 1983, and the last three tracks to this album were added in 1994.

Hackett's work is very light and airy on this album, nearly classic. He is a strong fingerpicker, with some very interesting ideas that he plays. His technique is strong. Listen to his tremolo on "The Journey". The title track provides the listener with the feeling of the whole album. "Kim" was written for his wife, and Hackett backs his brother's flute. All of these cuts are great on this album. There is definitely a flair of olde world in the sound of this album. I envision wondering minstrels playing the guitar and flute as they walk along, especially on the tune "Marigold".

Hackett has put together a nice piece of artwork. The music on this album is very beautiful. The man shows us his ability to play on an entirely different level. I believe it takes a lot of dedication and desire to leave the world of rock behind to move to the classical realm. The style of playing is difficult and demanding, but Hackett steps up to the challenge quite well.