So, a good old fashioned ‘Concept’ album. A tale told through ‘Factions’ and ‘Fictions’ and Hackett himself say that “I Love this album. It says the things I’ve been wanting to say for a very long time”.
The tale is told through the progression of a character named Travla and you can glean an inkling of Hackett’s own trials and tribulations.
The album starts in a post war London, recovering from the privations of war and, to a young child, a place of noises and Pathe News, Ovalteenies and crackling radios, steam trains and fog, bombsites and sheer imagination. All life springs forward from there.
This is a story told through flashes of imagination and, as with all concept albums, the concept is personal to the writer. In the hands of a Roger Waters this would have been utterly dystopian, but Hackett has created a thing of beauty and strength. The playing throughout is flawless and, as usual, Hackett’s guitar soars and dips like few other axemen.
All the songs were written by Hackett, either alone or with Roger King plus one with his wife. Each song capable of standing on its own but also fitting well into the canon.
The album was recorded and mixed by Roger King at Siren Studios, and he has created a sumptuous and glorious soundspace that shimmers from the speakers. Even listening through a pair of PC monitors it sounded beautiful and moving to a half-decent hi-fi rig produced more layers of sound and an almost 3D soundplane.
