Former Genesis lead guitarist Steve Hackett recently talked about releasing live albums during a conversation with Darren Paltrowitz. Apparently, the band has a bunch of unreleased bootlegs from their earlier days, all of which are waiting to come out. If you ask the guitarist, he would love them to be released since they lose their value with time.
Steve Hackett worked as Genesis’ lead guitarist from 1971 to 1977, during which he contributed to six studio albums, three live albums, seven singles, and one EP. Although his tenure with the band was quite successful, he left the band during the mixing stage of ‘Seconds Out’ to pursue a solo career.
Following his departure, the band’s 1970–1975 lineup has reunited a handful of times over the years for special shows. Hackett was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010, regardless of the fact that his time with the band was only for six years.
During a recent interview, Steve Hackett was asked about his interest in releasing live albums since he has over 15 live albums in his catalog as a solo musician and a band member. According to the guitarist, he doesn’t release every show that was recorded, but he’s happy to have two live albums entitled ‘Genesis Live’ and ‘Seconds Out’ with his former band.
The musician also said that Genesis has a lot of bootlegs that could be released as live albums from the time they were together. In fact, Hackett thinks they sound even better than their studio albums, so they should be released. Another reason the rocker wants those bootlegs to be out is that they may lose their value because the same lineup will never reunite.
When asked if he records every live show he does, Hackett said:
“Actually, Ben Fenner does, but we don’t release every show. What we do is we take a show, and we mix it, in other words, to make it feel like you’re at the show. I know you can have a couple of mics out front and do it that way, but I try not to let standards fall too much.
We have plenty of great Genesis bootlegs from way back in the day that sound better than the albums. I hope one day those things will be released. It becomes less precious because that team is never going to be formed again. Luckily, I did a couple of live albums with Genesis, where I didn’t touch a note on anything. That was ‘Genesis Live’ and ‘Seconds Out.'”
You can watch the interview below.
