If you haven’t seen Steve Hackett in the past few years, you owe it to yourself to see the ex-Genesis guitarist performing choice tunes from his ex-band’s catalog (full albums in fact) as well as his turns across his solo stuff. This Genesis Revisited Live At The Royal Albert Hall is an 18-song collection of one of these concerts the master guitarist performed with his smashing band at that famous UK venue.

I’m sure Steve Hackett and his absolutely stellar band-Roger King (keyboards), Gary O’Toole (drums/percussion/vocals), Rob Townsend (saxes/flutes/keys/percussion), Jonas Reingold (bass/twelve string) and Nad Sylvan on vocals-have their off nights. You can’t play as many shows as the ex-Genesis ax man does and not have your ups and downs. But I am here to attest, that in the four times I have seen Mr. Hackett and his 5-piece, he has continues to amaze me.

Steve Hackett’s new CD/DVD Wuthering Nights: Live in Birmingham, celebrates the 40th anniversary of Genesis’s Wind & Wuthering album and the last studio release from that band Hackett played in. Here we get two CD’s and chock-full stunning DVD of a bunch of Hackett solo music, plus Genesis nuggets played with his stellar band, recorded in concert.

Steve Hackett and this spectacular band have been performing these half-and-half “Genesis Revisited” shows for a few years. They have the songs down (no easy feat to be sure), the right mix old and new…and of course, Steve Hackett is one of the very best rock guitarists ever. You owe it to yourself to catch this show, or at the very leats grab Hackett’s new album when it is released next month.

After the intermission it was Hackett taking out only Genesis nuggets and the band settling in for obscure tunes like “Can-Utlility and the Coastliners” and then more recognizable stuff like the lilting “Cinema Show”-Hackett and Stolt on dual guitar picking-and Roger King managing note-for-note reads on “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” and “The Musical Box.”

“Out of the Body” opens with wolf howls into heavy drumming from Gary O’Toole and an ELO-like swirl of synth strings, Hackett sailing above with single note searing cuts, then into main fast melody riffery. It’s a dark dramatic read the sets us up perfectly for the title track that follows, a mini epic opening with Sara Kovaks didgeridoo then into Hackett’s classical playing (which is featured throughout this album) and his soft singing. We get Amanda Lehmann’s harmony vocals here for the first time as this song rolls round many different movements-getting downright scary at the end-featuring as much guitar as Roger King keys.

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