One of the great musical triumphs of 2013 was unquestionably Steve Hackett’s stellar performance at the Royal Albert Hall in October.This was a remarkable night, when the guitarist didn’t so much revisit his Genesis roots, as reimagine them, to use a well known Hollywood term. While the night was dubbed Genesis Revisited, what was really impressive was the joyous manner in which he and his carefully chosen band immersed themselves in the flow and timbre of some of the most iconic songs of all time, thereby creating an experience that brought a lifetime’s achievement for Hackett into bold focus for the 21st Century. “When it comes to choosing the songs from the Genesis catalogue,” says Hackett. “I obviously have ideas of my own of what we should do. But I do listen to the fans, and also the other members of the band. It is difficult to get the right balance between playing the songs the way they were first performed, and adding in something extra. As far as I’m concerned, what matters is the authenticity of what you are doing, not whether you play all the same notes in the same order. More than anything else, though, I wanted it to a crowd pleasing set.”

And there’s no doubt that this was more than a mere crowd pleasing performance. It was an occasion where musicians and a sold-out audience were linked and locked together by a genuine love of all the songs being played. It might be easy to call it a labour of love, but it was more a case of odes to joy.There were guest appearances from John Wetton,. Ray Wilson, Roine Stolt and Amanda Lehmann, adding to the sense that the show was definitely a one-off. “Having these guys there was such a pleasure!” opines Hackett. The whole Genesis Revisited tour was bigger and better received than anyone dared to expect, or hope for. Fans embraced the idea in vast numbers, making this one of the most talked about and acclaimed tours not just of that year but of the past decade. However, for everyone concerned, being able to play at such a prestigious venue as the Royal Albert Hall was special says Rob Townsend: “We knew it would be a great gig from the moment we turned up for the soundcheck. The show itself went brilliantly. As soon as we walked onstage and saw the place was packed we were hit by the atmosphere.” The choice of songs spanned and expanded on Hackett’s time with Genesis. There are so many hlghlights, it’s hardly fair to cherry pick just one or two. From the opening, unmistakable shards of ‘Dance On A Volcano’ through to the remarkable, breathtaking set closing interpretation of ‘Supper’s Ready’, this is magnetic and spellbinding, and the closing duo of ‘Watcher Of The Skies’ and ‘Los Endos’ is suitably climactic. And let’s not forget there’s the opportunity to watch and hear John Wetton on stage for ‘Firth Of Fifth’, with Ray Wilson enhancing ‘I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)’ and ‘The Carpet Crawlers’, while Amanda Lehmann lends her charms to ‘Ripples’ and Roine Stolt adds his unmissable class to ‘The Return Of The Giant Hogweed’. These aren’t bonus moments, but part of the cachet of the night. This isn’t about repetition, merely recreating these songs note for note, as people recall them from their own pasts. But rather making everyone aware of just what the compositions have come to mean by developing them to a point where they cease to belong to anyone. They are part of the fabric of experiences which have stayed in the souls of everyone who has been touched by the memorable artistry inherent in the songs. As a result, they mean different things to each one of us. So, while legally of course they all belong to the talents who came up with these tracks in the first place, nonetheless they now have a place in social history. And when you listen to the manner in which the musicians on the Albert Hall stage get deep into the heart of the emotions in the set list, then you cannot fail to be moved and swayed.

“The spirit of Genesis is intact,” proclaims Hackett with justification, “as we showed at the Royal Albert Hall.”