I'm thankful my older brother introduced this album to me when it first came out; allow me to introduce it to you.

There are some albums you own that make you think: 1) I'm so glad this album has come into my life--I'm richer for hearing it; 2) The artist has mastered his/her instrument and plays with a wisdom that conveys unspoken language; 3) It isn't enough to own it, you have to tell others about it, so that they won't miss out on it. Steve Hackett's Defector is one such album.

I pulled this CD off my shelf the other day and found it has not lost any appeal whatsoever for me. The music (vocal-laced songs and instrumentals) is beautiful, clever, occasionally precious, gentle, sometimes hard, and confident. It is always interesting aurally.

Steve Hackett is such a wonderfully good guitarist with an ear finely attuned to interesting melodies and harmonies. His writing comes across as effortless; a natural progression.

If you are looking for an entry into the Steve Hackett catalog, Defector is my recommendation for where to start. Another fine Steve Hackett CD, but just so you know it is acoustic and quite relaxed, is Bay of Kings.

If you have an enormous CD collection, you might already own this album (get it out and give it another spin!), but if not and you are just browsing reviewers' recommendations desparately looking for something not on the well-trod path but altogether interesting look no further that Steve Hackett's Defector.

Maybe I branched out a little too far by buying this, since I am only an admirer of Genesis. I was determined to buy this, however, after the masterful performance Hackett gave on 'Blood on the rooftops'. That won me over. I bought this one and can say I like some of the songs. I admit, I am not a fan of instrumental music, perhaps my mind is not open enough, yet. However, my favourite track is a beautiful spanish guitar piece called 'Two Vamps As Guests', which lasts about a minute, whiich I like because I have a short concentration span. I also like Hammer in the sand, a nice piano meets string song. The Show is a fun 80's pop song, while Time to get out is a great pop meets prog song. Also, Toast and Leaving are really nica Folk songs that have a very mysterious aura aroudn them. Slogans, Jacuzzi and Steppes are complex prog instumentals which aren't really my thing but the prog fan will really like them. Sentimental institution is a daring attempt at old fashioned 20's pop. I don't mind it but it's not a song I really like or anything. I personally feel he could have done better with that last one, maybe I'm wrong.

Steve Hackett exited the 70's at his peak for that stage of his career. Electric guitar? "The Steppes" and "Slogans" demonstrate why he is simply the best. No one since Jimi Hendrix evokes more soul from the instrument, though his music and playing are nothing like Hendrix. Michelangelo once described sculpting as freeing a form already in the stone. Steve Hackett works the same magic with music. The artistry of his playing and his musicianship are unmatched. This album reveals why. Find out how with "Hammer In The Sand."

I am a huge Steve Hackett fan and "Defector" is one of my all-time personal favorites. I bought the record in 1981 and I still listen to it at least once a month (which is saying a lot, since I have a fairly expansive prog rock collection).

Just like Hackett's other solo efforts, the music on "Defector" ranges from wildly experimental to relatively straightforward. Some tracks evoke memories of early Genesis - while others are distinctly Hackett. In many respects, this is a "sister" album to its predecessor, 1979s "Spectral Mornings" (in fact, Hackett has the same superb band backing him on this record - including Nick Magnus on keyboards and John Shearer on drums).

As I mentioned in my review for "Spectral Mornings," Hackett is an amazing composer - but his ability to write music is often overlooked by fans who are obsessed with his guitar playing. In many respects, he is a "minimalist" as a guitarist - capable of zipping off a million notes a second, but known for holding back until the right moment comes to show off his technical ability. His emphasis often appears to be on the composition first, technical ability second, especially on his first five solo albums. In my opinion, this is what makes his solo material so damn good. It is also what has allowed his music to stand the test of time.

"The Steppes," the opening track on this record, is a slow-driving, powerful, majestic instrumental which sounds like it draws on eastern scales (but I'm not sure that it does - at least not the entire tune). I've never seen this music in sheet form, but I would love to see how it works mechanically, and, in particular, which scales Hackett is using. This track sounds a lot like something 1970s Genesis might have used - if not in its entirety, but at least as a component of another tune - and is one of Hackett's all-time best. It's really hard to describe in words how unique this tune is. Heavy, heavy keyboards - very dark and ominous sounding - yet strangely beautiful.

"Time to Get Out" is a relatively straightforward rock tune which may or may not be representative of Hackett's feelings at the time he left Genesis (it could also have something to do with the Falkland Islands, or perhaps drug abuse, I dunno ...) I really like the vocal harmonies on this track, as well as the original keyboard sounds provided by Magnus.

After "Time to Get Out," the record begins to get really experimental. "Slogans" is a fast-paced, dark-sounding instrumental with tangling time signatures and absolutely mind-blowing musicianship. It segways nicely into "Leaving," which is also a relatively complex composition (check out those time signatures - and Shearer's drumming). Both of these instrumentals would be well-suited as music to accompany the weirdest nightmare you could possibly imagine (or for altered states of conciousness, which Hackett was obviously once into). "Leaving" then segways nicely into the mostly-acoustic "Two Vamps as Guests," an interesting tune with a haunting melody. This is one of the only songs on which Hackett weaves a previously-heard theme (that of "The Steppes") back into the mix (check out the acoustic solo at the end) - something which he did a lot of on "Voyage of the Acolyte" - and something which Genesis did a lot of during the 1970s. Hackett didn't do this much, if at all, on his later solo releases (this re-use of themes has always been one of the hallmarks of the classic progressive rock "concept album").

"Jacuzzi" is also a fast paced - but relatively upbeat - instrumental which showcases Hackett's playing ability, along with that of his brother, flutist John Hackett. This is perhaps my second favorite track on the record and is an astonishingly solid composition (there are no weak parts - all of the notes hold together like a string of pearls). Again, you'll find more challenging time and key signatures here - but if you just sit back and listen, it doesn't sound forced or cumbersome. Despite its complexity, the music flows like water ...

"Hammer in the Sand" is a superb keyboard instrumental featuring - guess what - almost no guitar whatsoever. This track, with its haunting melody and "dark and somber" tone, exemplifies not only Hackett's ability as a composer, but also his desire to show complete restraint on his instrument when he feels it is applicable. He must have realized, somewhere along the way, that the guitar just wasn't the right instrument for this melody - so he left it mainly to Magnus to play it for him. "The Toast" is a relatively simple but pretty tune with vocals by Pete Hicks (who, by the way, provides most of the lead vocals on the album). Once again, there isn't a lot of guitar here (except for some quiet accompaniment) - but the song is so compositionally immaculate and enjoyable that it's easy to forget that you're listening to a guitar player's solo effort.

The only criticism I have of this record is that the last two tracks - "The Show" and "Sentinmental Institution" - scream "filler." The former is a bland pop tune, the bass line of which is somewhat reminiscenet of late 70s disco (don't get me wrong - it is tolerable). The latter seems to have been fashioned, to some degree, after the American popular music of the 1920s, and although it is somewhat whimsical in nature, I'm really not sure what compelled Hackett to include it on this record (same holds true for "Ballad of the Decomposing Man" on "Spectral Mornings"). It's unfortunate that he couldn't wrap this record up with a tune as powerful as the closing, title track of "Spectral Mornings"

But I have to give this record five stars, not only because the first seven tracks are so solid, but also because I fell in love with it at a time when I was very impressionable (age 15) - therefore, it will always evoke memories for me, and will always be something special to me. If you love Genesis - or if you just plain like progressive rock - get "Defector" - and get Steve Hackett's first five solo albums.

By the way, Hackett's first five albums have not yet been remastered (because the material is still the property of Chrysalis Records) and the existing transfers are aweful sounding (they sound so much better on vinyl, it isn't even funny - some jerk did a real botch job on these CDs). You might want to wait until Hackett's first five records have been remastered before you go out and buy them (from what I heard, this is supposed to happen sometime soon).

This is the fourth album from Steve, it contains three great tracks,
"The Steppes", "Jacuzzi" and "Slogans".
You have also some good acoustic songs, some pop ones (The Show and Time to get out) and a funny tracks in the 1920's style (Sentimental Institution) To my taste, this one is still good but not as great as the first three albums.