STEVE HACKETT Looks Back On GTR Debut Album – "PETE TOWNSHEND Said He Thought That GTR Showed Enormous Promise; I'm Proud Of It"

GTR was formed in 1985 following guitarist Steve Howe’s departure from Asia. Teaming up with the equally legendary guitarist Steve Hackett, GTR was assembled with the addition of vocalist Max Bacon, bassist Phil Spalding and drummer Jonathan Mover.

The band’s sole album was produced by Geoff Downes and was issued in July 1986 and was a US Top 20 hit album and also was a UK Top 50 hit. Two singles drawn from the record (“When the Heart Rules the Mind” and “The Hunter”) were also hits in the USA. Although a short lived group, GTR also toured to promote the album (with the addition of Matt Clifford on keyboards) performing material from the album, as well as songs such as “Roundabout” and “I Know What I Like (in Your Wardrobe)”, made famous by Yes and Genesis respectively. Although GTR ceased to exist as a band in 1987, the group’s sole album is an important moment in rock music of the 1980s.

Hackett recently spoke with Classic Rock Revisited about the GTR debut. An excerpt from the interview is available below.

Hackett: “Steve Howe and I have talked, and there is no ill feeling.  I very recently saw Jonathan Mover, and I hope there is something in the future with him.  I think we did well, we gave it everything we could, we didn’t see eye to eye all the time, but that perhaps wasn’t the point.  We were trying to produce the best album that we could at the time.  I remember having this conversation with no less than Pete Townshend, who said he thought that GTR showed enormous promise, and I said ‘Yeah.’  So, basically, I’m proud of it.  Steve and I thrashed it out, and we thrashed it out with the band with Churchill-ian resolve. But after that first album, I felt that for any subsequent aspects the only way was down.  Plus, we had a manager who tended to enjoy dividing and conquering, so the atmosphere could become quite strained.

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Esoteric Recordings recently released a two-disc deluxe edition of GTR. It has been newly re-mastered and is presented here with the addition of a bonus 14-track CD of GTR live in Los Angeles in July 1986. There are also three bonus tracks taken from promotional 12-inch singles of “When the Heart Rules the Mind” and “The Hunter”, two of which appear on CD for the first time.

This expanded deluxe edition of GTR also includes a booklet that fully restores the original album artwork and features a new essay.

Disc One – GTR: Remastered

“When The Heart Rules The Mind”
“The Hunter”
“Here I Wait”
“Sketches In The Sun”
“Jekyll And Hyde”
“You Can Still Get Through”
‘Reach Out (Never Say No)”
“Toe The Line”
“Hackett To Bits”
“Imagining”

Bonus Tracks

“The Hunter” (special GTR Mix)
“When The Heart Rules The Mind” (single Version)
“The Hunter” (single Version)

Disc Two – GTR: Live In Los Angeles In July 1986

“Jekyll And Hyde”
“Here I Wait”
‘Prizefighters”
“Imagining”
“Hackett To Bits”
“Spectral Mornings”
“I Know What I Like (in Your Wardrobe)”
“Sketches In The Sun”
“Pennants”
“Roundabout”
“The Hunter”
“You Can Still Get Through”
“Reach Out (Never Say No)”
“When The Heart Rules The Mind”