My music playlist for today (August 22, 2012 edition)

Appreciate him for his playing in Genesis. Appreciate him for his vast catalog of solo music.

English: Photo of Steve Hackett performing with Genesis. January 17, 1977 in City Hall, Newcastle. Photo by John Bell, obtained from http://www.genesis-movement.co.uk/photos_memorabilia/pictures.php?gigid=990. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

No, I’m not talking about Phil Collins here. I’m talking about guitarist Steve Hackett. My guess is that when many progressive rock fans see who I’m talking about, there will be a collective nod of the head as the appreciation sets in.

Hackett is one of those players who has his own signature sound on guitar. It’s almost like having a second keyboard player at times, especially when he goes into his tapping technique that Hackett has claimed Eddie Van Halen learned from him by attending a Genesis concert in the early 1970s.

His work on classical guitar has always been brilliant.

Hackett’s playing was a key part of Genesis’ rise to popularity, and its success wouldn’t have suffered a bit if the group had decided to use more of the songs Hackett either wrote or co-wrote. He found himself in a band filled with proficient songwriters, and the competition to include songs on albums and in concert setlists was fierce. It led to frustration on Hackett’s part, which helped lead to his departure from the band in 1977.

Genesis would carry on and evolve without Hackett, moving into Top 40 radio success and sold-out stadium shows. Hackett would do just fine on his own, however. And while Genesis eventually called it quits as a band, Hackett continues to crank out more new music on a fairly frequent basis.

Older fans of Genesis and many progressive rock fans in general are happy with that.

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About A View From The Middle (Class)

Hi, my name's John. I've thought about this blogging stuff for a number of years now. I got into it for real on November 10, 2011, after suddenly losing my job in late October. I've been blogging ever since, and I kept it up over a period of a year and four months of being unemployed or under-employed, to try and paint a picture of what being jobless with a family to support can be like. Finally, on February 28, 2013, I got a better job that puts us back into the "middle class." I won't stop blogging, though. Who knows, maybe I can actually turn this blogging stuff into a way to earn a living someday! If you go to my blog at http://viewfrommiddleclass.wordpress.com/ and click on my About page, it'll tell you a lot about me -- maybe more than you ever wanted to know. I'm just your average, laid-back guy who's GOING TO MAKE IT IN THIS WORLD, despite all the roadblocks thrown in the way. I also launched a "niche" blog on music at http://thecrossovermusicchannel.blogspot.com/ that I'm very excited about because of the popularity of music playlist articles here. Also, check out and "Like" this blog's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/daddysangbassdude2 for instant updates. Look forward to seeing y'all around!

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