Steve Hackett and Steve Rothery Release The Roaring Waves

Steve Hackett and Steve Rothery have released The Roaring Waves, their first full collaborative album, through Inside Out. Hackett, the former Genesis guitarist, and Rothery, Marillion's guitarist, first met in 1983 and had wanted to make an album together for years.

From earlier guest spots to a full album

Rothery appeared on Hackett's 2012 album Genesis Revisited II and its subsequent tour. Hackett then guested on Rothery's 2014 album Ghosts of Pripyat. After years of discussing a joint record, their first recording session confirmed that the partnership worked. Rothery identifies classical music as a stronger influence on Hackett, while his own playing draws more from folk. He said the sessions had no egos or arguments and felt like two friends writing and playing together. Rothery describes Hackett's guitar work as melodic and inventive, with a unique voice. Hackett calls Rothery's playing soulful and heartfelt, and believes their styles complement each other.

Why The Roaring Waves matters to guitar players

The album lets players hear two distinct approaches sharing the same arrangement. Rothery played his signature Jack Dent SR and a Blade RH4 through a Groove Tubes Trio three channel valve preamp and a Fryette power amp. His effects included Free the Tone delays, an AnalogMan chorus, a Prince of Tone overdrive and a Dumble clone. Hackett used a goldtop Fernandes fitted with a Sustainer pickup, alongside a Yairi nylon string guitar, a sitar guitar and a Brian May Red Special. His setup included a cranked Engl amplifier, SansAmp distortion, sometimes with two SansAmps in series, plus a DigiTech Whammy and phaser. Both guitarists identify the final section of the title track as the clearest example of their interplay. Its first section began with an idea from Hackett, while Rothery recorded his contribution at Hackett's house using a Quad Cortex and laptop.

(Via: Guitar World)