{"id":7631,"date":"2020-11-22T19:26:36","date_gmt":"2020-11-22T18:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/?p=7631"},"modified":"2024-06-16T15:53:30","modified_gmt":"2024-06-16T13:53:30","slug":"john-hackett-the-piper-plays-his-tune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/rock\/john-hackett-the-piper-plays-his-tune\/","title":{"rendered":"John Hackett \u2013 The Piper Plays His Tune"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Als je deze recensie liever in het Nederlands leest, kun je hier klikken<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Multi-instrumentalist John Hackett comes from England. When his brother Steve decided to leave Genesis, Steve started his own band. John played in that band, he played flute, guitar and bass pedals.
Since 2005 he has been releasing his own prog albums, on which he has the lead vocals. He also plays flute, keyboard and guitar on his own albums. The corona crisis became the motivation for him to set up a one-man project. For ‘The Piper Plays His Tune<\/em><\/strong>‘ he wrote, sang and played everything himself. The biggest challenge was to do the production himself for the first time. This album was released on November 18th via Hacktrax<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The instrumental start of ‘Masters of my past<\/strong>‘ is slightly poppy. The words “clouds of chalk<\/em>” are a reference to John’s high school, which was located in Victoria (the centre of London). He doesn’t have good memories of it, but in hindsight he is happy with the opportunities he got. John has a very friendly, gentle voice. Despite the predominantly negative memories, there is no resentment in his voice. The music also has a friendly character. During an instrumental piece the slightly ‘spicy’ guitar playing could have been a bit louder. With a wonderfully atmospheric piece this opening track slowly goes out. The (background) vocals in ‘Broken<\/strong>‘ are a bit sweet, but that fits the melancholy of the music. The sparkling flute playing forms a beautiful combination with the piano sounds. The sound of stringed instruments melts nicely together with the whole. In this lovely song, changes flow smoothly into each other. The twists and turns in the rhythm of ‘In Love<\/strong>‘ are generally faster. There are also changes of instruments, including organ playing versus flute. The percussion is surprising during this complex song, yet it listens away surprisingly easily. The end feels something unnatural. Flute playing gives ‘Crying Shame<\/strong>‘ a beautifully quiet intro. The lyrics are about the way we deal with the earth. With the sentence “It’s too late to laugh once the piper plays his tune<\/em>” John means: “If we do nothing now to save our planet, our children will have no future<\/em>“. Quiet parts alternate with slightly happier parts. The end dies away nicely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In ‘Broken Glass<\/strong>‘ John expresses the empty streets during the lockdown, the atmosphere is melancholic but not gloomy. All songs have a pleasant melody that lingers in your head easily. The vibe invites you to hum or sing along. ‘There you go again<\/strong>‘ has a positive and lovely sound. This creates a delightful flow; the fantastic instrumental piece contains various classical elements. There is beautiful acoustic guitar playing, and suddenly there is an unexpected fade out. As a result, not only this song, but also the album ends too suddenly. Some songs fade away nicely, otherwise there is a regular fade out. In some songs it is cut off a little too early. The sound quality is fine, moreover, everything is well distributed over the headphones. This makes the sometimes many layers come into their own. In various songs there are slightly classical elements. Because of the accessible structure, the songs seem simple. But some pieces are complex, without being bombastic. In general, the percussion (drum program) is quite quiet. This is in balance with the predominantly lovable songs, which have a positive atmosphere in these weird times. ‘The Piper Plays His Tune<\/em><\/strong>‘ is a good one-man project, chapeau John!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(85\/100) (Hacktrax<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Website: John Hackett<\/a>
Facebook: John Hackett<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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