Steve Hackett left
Genesis in June 1977 (following the tour that would be documented on
Seconds Out), and started his solo career in earnest with
Please Don't Touch. Unlike
Voyage of the Acolyte, which was a largely
instrumental concept album steeped in the
progressive rock idiom, this record is primarily a collection of songs featuring guest vocalists
Richie Havens,
Randy Crawford, and
Kansas'
Steve Walsh (their
Phil Ehart also chips in here on drums). Although the sum effect is something of a patchwork, the individual pieces are often lovely. Over his career,
Hackett has shown a propensity for extremes, in this case letting the jazzy and sentimental
"Hoping Love Will Last" segue into the musical maelstrom of
"Land of a Thousand Autumns" and
"Please Don't Touch" (which will delight fans of
Hackett's first record, although the
Caroline CD inexplicably pauses too long between the two). In a nod to
King Crimson (specifically
Lizard), the title track is quickly cut off with the quirky carousel sounds of
"The Voice of Necam," which itself dissolves into a mix of airy voices and acoustic guitar. The best tracks belong to
Richie Havens:
"How Can I?" (
"Hackett"'s take on
Peter Gabriel's
"Solsbury Hill") and the conclusive
"Icarus Ascending." Hackett is no singer, so he wisely masks his voice in a "laughing gnome" effect on the delightful
"Carry on Up the Vicarage" and hides behind
Walsh's lead on
"Narnia" and
"Racing in A." Perhaps taking his cue from
Gabriel (whose debut had appeared in 1977),
Hackett seems eager to show his range as a songwriter. While he clearly has a closet full of good ideas and a genuine knack for interesting arrangements,
Hackett is too much the eccentric Englishman to appeal to broad commercial tastes.
Please Don't Touch remains a uniquely effective amalgam of
progressive rock and
pop; like his first album, he never made another one quite like it, perhaps because he again taps the concept's full potential here. ~ Dave Connolly
