Darktown | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 26 April 1999 | |||
Genre | Progressive rock | |||
Length | 56:33 (Original issue) 71:39 (2013 reissue) | |||
Label | InsideOut Music | |||
Producer | Steve Hackett Roger King | |||
Steve Hackett chronology | ||||
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Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Darktown is the 14th studio album by English musician Steve Hackett, released in 1999. It was reissued in 2013 with 3 bonus tracks. On some copies of this reissue, the title was misspelled as "Darktwon" on the sides of the CD case.
Darktown is the last album to feature Julian Colbeck as a keyboardist, on the title track only. Colbeck had played with Hackett for much of the 1990s. Darktown shows the increasing role that Roger King would play as a part of Hackett's band, as a producer and keyboardist and later as a co-writer.
I decided at the time to express my feelings as honestly as possible without giving into commercial pressures, with the belief that personal inspiration could be most universally potent. I was re-evaluating the past, whilst contemplating possible futures. It was the beginning of a new way of looking at things.
Steve Hackett on Darktown [2]
All songs written by Steve Hackett, except indicated.
"Flame" had previously been released on the Japanese edition of Hackett's 2003 album To Watch the Storms , "Coming Home to the Blues" on the Japanese edition of Darktown and "Fast Flower" on the Japanese edition of Hackett's 2009 album Out of the Tunnel's Mouth .
Stephen Richard Hackett is an English guitarist, songwriter and producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis studio albums, three live albums, seven singles and one EP before he left to pursue a solo career. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010.
David Lloyd Stewart is an English keyboardist and composer known for his work with the progressive rock bands Uriel, Egg, Khan, Hatfield and the North, National Health, and Bruford. Stewart is the author of two books on music theory and wrote a music column for Keyboard magazine (USA) for thirteen years. He has also composed music for TV, film and radio, much of it for Victor Lewis-Smith's ARTV production company. He has worked with singer Barbara Gaskin since 1981.
Genesis Revisited, called Watcher of the Skies: Genesis Revisited in the US, is the 12th studio album by Steve Hackett, paying tribute to his former band, Genesis. It mainly features songs originally released by Genesis during Hackett's tenure with the group (1971–77). The previously unreleased song "Déjà Vu" was started by Peter Gabriel in 1973 during the Selling England by the Pound sessions but not finished and Hackett completed the song for this album. There are also two new songs, "Valley of the Kings" and "Waiting Room Only"; the latter is named after and loosely inspired by "The Waiting Room", an instrumental from the 1974 Genesis album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The original Japanese and Argentinian versions of the album have a slightly different track listing and sequence, dropping "Los Endos" and containing one extra song called "Riding the Colossus". Later Japanese reissues of the album contain the same track listing as the standard international versions.
The Tokyo Tapes is a live and studio album by English guitarist Steve Hackett, released in April 1998 by Camino Records. It documents two concerts performed by a supergroup line-up of Hackett, John Wetton, Chester Thompson, Ian McDonald and Julian Colbeck, in Tokyo, Japan in December 1996. The album includes two studio tracks recorded by Hackett. In 2001, a DVD of the concerts was released, with the same title.
Saint Julian is the third solo album by Julian Cope. It has a very strong pop sound, compared to other Cope releases, and spawned several of his best known tracks.
Live the Life is an album by Michael W. Smith. One notable song on this album was "In My Arms Again," which Michael W. Smith wrote for the film Titanic. There were 26 songs written and completed for the album, whose release date was pushed back twice as Smith wasn't fully satisfied with the track list. Along with the 12 songs which eventually made it on the album, the tracks "Greater Than We Understand" and "Evening Show" were released on the B-sides of the CD singles for "Live the Life" and "Love Me Good" respectively. The remaining 12 songs appeared in some form on Smith's 1999 album This Is Your Time.
To Watch the Storms is the 16th studio album by Steve Hackett. It was recorded with his then touring band including his brother John and producer and keyboardist Roger King. The album was released in three formats including a standard and special editions. Cover artwork was by Kim Poor. There was also a Japanese edition with an extra track not included on the UK releases and alternate cover art, also by Kim Poor.
Time Lapse is the first live album by guitarist Steve Hackett. The album is drawn from live performances at the Savoy Theatre in New York City and at Central TV Studios in Nottingham. Chas Cronk of the Strawbs plays bass on the songs recorded in New York, as well as future Marillion drummer, Ian Mosley. Video of this performance was also made available in 1992 via Steve Hackett Live, which has also been rereleased a number of times in full and abridged forms in the years since.
Sunlight is an album by keyboardist Herbie Hancock. It features Hancock's vocals through a Sennheiser VSM-201 vocoder, as well as performances by drummer Tony Williams and bassist Jaco Pastorius on “Good Question”.
Symphonic Music of Yes is a 1993 album by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, covering songs of the progressive rock band Yes, with the English Chamber Orchestra and the London Community Gospel Choir. The arrangements were by Dee Palmer. Playing on the album were Yes guitarist Steve Howe and Yes drummer Bill Bruford. Some tracks also featured Yes vocalist Jon Anderson and featured the ABWH additional keyboardist Julian Colbeck.
New Day Dawning is the fifth solo studio album by American country music artist Wynonna, released in 2000. It produced only two chart singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks charts: "Can't Nobody Love You " at #31, and "Going Nowhere" at #43. Also included are cover versions of Joni Mitchell's "Help Me" and the Fabulous Thunderbirds' "Tuff Enuff".
Ports of Lima is Jakarta-based indie band Sore's second full-length album.
Guitar Noir is the tenth album by Steve Hackett, released in 1993. On this record, he started turning to a much darker guitar sound, yet still retaining the fluidity he has become known for.
Julian Colbeck is an English businessman, musician and journalist. He is CEO of the multi-media music company Keyfax NewMedia and partner with Alan Parsons in "Alan Parsons' The Art & Science of Sound Recording". Formerly a professional keyboard player for over 25 years, Colbeck is also the author of numerous music-related books, the creator of Twiddly.Bits MIDI loops, the concept designer for the PhatBoy MIDI controller, and producer of many music technology videos and websites.
Blues with a Feeling is the 11th studio album by Steve Hackett, released in 1994. As the title denotes, Hackett explored his feelings about blues music.
Beyond the Shrouded Horizon is the twenty-first studio album by English guitarist and songwriter Steve Hackett.
Chris Squire's Swiss Choir is the second and final solo album by Chris Squire. An album of traditional Christmas music, it was released in 2007 and includes former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett, future King Crimson drummer and keyboardist Jeremy Stacey and the English Baroque Choir.
It Ain't Over is the ninth solo studio album by the English singer-songwriter Paul Carrack, then a member of the supergroup Mike + The Mechanics. It was originally released in 2003 on Carrack's own Carrack-UK label.
As I Am is the seventh and, to date, final studio album by American Christian singer-songwriter Kim Boyce. It is her first and only release on Diadem Music Group, distributed by Benson Records in 1997. Like her previous album By Faith, As I Am continues her adult contemporary sound. Boyce duets with her husband Gary Koreiba on the track "Amazing Love for Me". Production duties were done by Bryan Lenox while James Hollihan, Jr. produced the track "The Sound of Your Voice".