A double helping of the two Steves — Steve Hackett and Marillion’s Steve Rothery — lead The Roaring Waves to the heights one expects of players of this magnitude. Written and recorded in fits and starts over nearly a decade, the seven songs here surf across all kinds of stylish musical waves from what’s been described by both guitarists as an organic, improvisational process. The album’s collaborators include Riccardo Romano, who co-wrote, mixed, and played keyboards and bass, plus drummers Leon Parr and Daniele Pomo.
Spreading high strings into high scaling riffs of “The Storm” starts us off. With its beginning overdriven guitar strikes, this dramatic, epic soundtrack-like first tune flows into a heavy plodding rocker, about two minutes in and we are off to the chunking races as the guitar masters trade off. From the outset, fans of each player (or both) will probably be able to distinguish who is playing what (mostly), as the interweaving of styles works perfectly.
“Red Dragon,” with its flute-like opening and an in-the-pocket solid beat from Pomo, provides the best early tune for me. There’s lot of vibrato guitar in the beginning around slipping sliding key leads and single note electric guitar flurries mining the main theme; a solid fine pop prog instrumental based around a sure Middle Eastern-theme scape.
I’m guessing again, but it surely sounds like the former Genesis guitarist opening the title track with expert classical guitar picking and strumming. Way back on “Horizons” fans of this man were introduced to what he could do on this kind of guitar and surely, he’s still doing it. After the opening keys slice in and we get high flying single not electric.
Not only is the album’s title track but the centerpiece, but this is a surely epic piece that gives each player his due across quite a few mood changes in the piece. Argeiateng keys keep “K‑129” running with both guitarist trading leads. The spacey and slower last two minutes are especially heightened, as we wait for the last stratospheric leading. And “Pacific Coast Highway,” with its opening harmonica, played by Hackett, “Ahhs” and wild rockin’ beat is not only the heaviest tune here, but provides the most all-out-fun with Hackett having at harmonica wailing, Romano organ leads, Rothery canoodling, and Parr pushing them all along. It took a while to get Steve Hackett and Steve Rothery to produce The Roaring Waves. I hope we don’t have to wait as long until they get time to produce a follow-up to this wonderful instrumental album.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
