I've been a big fan of Genesis for twenty years now - particularly of the Peter Gabriel era. Also, my favorite albums after Phil Collins took over the vocals were "A Trick Of The Tail", "Wind & Wuthering" and the live "Seconds Out". I suppose it's no coincidence that my favorite Genesis tracks featured Steve Hackett on lead guitar.

Also, in the mid-1980's, I bought the first couple of Steve Hackett solo albums but didn't really care for them at the time. Recently, I bought his CD "Genesis Files" which collects a number of his re-recordings of such tracks as "Watcher Of The Skies", "Firth Of Fifth", and "Fountain Of Salmacis", plus a number of other songs in the same vein. I was amazed and delighted with these songs and finally realized what a huge talent that Hackett really is.

My second Hackett CD purchase is this live disc, recorded at concerts in 1981 and 1990. Although I was somewhat disappointed that only one Genesis track is included (a very powerful version of the instrumental "In That Quiet Earth" - first released on 1977's "Wind & Wuthering" - that ends much too soon), I was delighted with many of the other songs. Two of my favorites are "Camino Royale" and "The Steppes".

I highly recommend this CD to old-time Genesis fans; it's a great introduction to Hackett's solo work.

I just received the twelve disc Japan mini-sleeve Steve Hackett set, released on May 30th.

As I intended to replace all of my jewel-cased SH CD's, I sat down with new set and painstakingly A/B'd the audio on each disc against the most recent jewel box version of each title.

I'm glad I did. Although all of the other eleven discs in the '07 'sleeve set sonically match to the most up-to-date remasters, this CD does not.

The '01 Camino jewel-case remastered release has a superior-sounding master compared to this 'sleeve edition.

I'm glad I checked, before I divested the better disc.

Just goes to show; never assume anything.

WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?

Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.

Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.

Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.

Great live versions of some of Steve Hackett's best work, the best of which are "Camino Royale" and the instrumental "Jacuzzi." This album also introduces another classic Hackett instrumental, "Depth Charge." Longtime fans already have this album. New fans should join them soon.

This live album would be a good introduction to ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett's solo career. Half was recorded in 1981 and half in 1990. Hackett's best solo work had sort of an uber-Genesis sound--he built a wall of sound from keyboards and then sliced through it with a wailing guitar. Most of Hackett's "greatest hits" are here: "Spectral Mornings", "Every Day", "The Steppes", and "Ace of Wands". The only missing track that really SHOULD be here is "Narnia". Only three of the 14 tracks include vocals, and one of those, "Hope I Don't Wake", is the weakest track here. As another reviewer pointed out, these renditions don't vary much from the studio versions. One that does is a run through the first half of Genesis' "In That Quiet Earth", with extended guitar, synthesizer, and flute solos.

(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)

I am a huge fan of Steve Hackett and I was very excited when this live album was first released. Although it is a great selection of his works, and is very representative of his style and playing abilities, the problem is that he plays almost every song "straight," i.e. just as it was recorded in the original studio version. Except for "Camino Royale" and maybe a couple of other tracks, each song is played practically "note for note," with very little variation. This is disappointing because the reason many of us buy live recordings is to hear the difference from the studio versions. It's also somewhat disappointing that this is a "selection" of live tunes taken from different concerts. I would have rather heard one, continuous, uninterrupted concert, rather than tunes which were "selected" just because of their "polished" nature. I would recommend almost any of Steve Hackett's other recordings over this one.