Ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett may be undertaking an autumn tour of the UK to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his former band's classic 1974 album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, but he doesn't rate every song on the album as essential listening.
In fact, in a new interview with Vulture, Hackett admits he has always viewed the album's first single, Counting Out Time, as "a novelty single".
Though the song is officially credited to all five members of Genesis, both its music and lyrics were the work of Peter Gabriel, who had already declared his desire to exit the group. Talking to Vulture's Devon Ivie, Hackett suggests that presenting an image of a united band involved making concessions to Gabriel, their most high-profile 'face', and that he personally didn't rate the album's eagerly-anticipated first release.
"Counting Out Time was about a first sexual encounter and all that comes with that," Hackett says, "doing it by the book as if there was a manual for that sort of thing. I think the song was very much a one-trick horse".
The guitarist goes on to dismiss the song as "very much a joke or a novelty single."
"It’s almost like [of-its-time TV comedy] Benny Hill put to music," he states. "It didn’t quite make it as a single, and nobody was surprised, least of all me. I couldn’t see it becoming a hit. It didn’t have the depth of Stairway to Heaven or even any of the Tommy songs from the Who.
"It was an adolescent song or a song about an adolescent, and that’s very difficult to find an audience for, because the adolescent isn’t going to understand it and those who are grown-up are either going to get the joke or not."
Don't expect to hear the single on Hackett's upcoming tour, which kicks off at the Friars at Aylesbury Waterside on October 2 and concludes at London's Royal Albert Hall on October 23.
Steve Hackett - Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo tour dates:
Oct 02: Aylesbury Friars Waterside
Oct 03: Portsmouth Guildhall
Oct 05: Bristol Beacon
Oct 06: Cambridge Corn Exchange
Oct 07: Birmingham Symphony Hall
Oct 09: Liverpool Philharmonic
Oct 10: Cardiff St David's Hall
Oct 12: Guildford G Live
Oct 13: Stoke Victoria Hall
Oct 15: York Barbican
Oct 16: Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
Oct 18: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Oct 19: Gateshead Glasshouse
Oct 20: Manchester Bridgewater Hall
Oct 22: Reading Hexagon
Oct 23: London Royal Albert Hall
