GTR- LP

Album: GTR
Artist: GTR
1986 Arista
CD Germany: 258 980

Band members:
Max Bacon: lead vocals
Steve Hackett: guitar, synthesizer, vocals
Steve Howe: guitar, synthesizer, vocals
Jonathan Mover: drums, percussion
Phil Spalding: bass, vocals

Produced by Geoffrey Downes


Tracks:
Side A:
1. "When the Heart Rules the Mind" [Hackett/Howe] (5:29)
2. "The Hunter" [Downes] (4:58)
3. "Here I Wait" [Hackett/Howe] (4:57)
4. "Sketches in the Sun" [Howe] (2:33)
5. "Jekyll and Hyde" [Hackett/Howe/Bacon] (4:44)

Side B:
6. "You Can Still Get Through" [Hackett/Howe] (4:58)
7. "Reach Out (Never Say No)" [Hackett/Howe/Spalding] (4:06)
8. "Toe the Line" [Hackett/Howe] (4:30)
9. "Hackett to Bits" [Hackett] (2:10)
10. "Imagining" [Hackett/Howe/Mover] (5:53)


Notes: (****) Brian Lane put Howe and Hackett together. The band's big hit, (1), was supposedly written by the pair within 24 hours of meeting. Hackett recommended Mover for the band. Bacon had sung for Nightwing, who had opened for Hackett. The single and album sold well, if not as well as Asia. However, it's also famous for JD Considine's review of the album in Musician magazine, which consisted of only one word: "SHT".

Spalding talked about the band in a May 2020 episode of The Hustle podcast. He had been a Yes fan at school. He'd known Mover for some years, and Mover suggested him to the band. The band failed to sign to Geffen: Lane blamed Bacon and Spalding for getting uproariously drunk at a dinner meeting with them. Spalding felt that Arista, the eventual label, was pressuring the band for Asia-like hits. Spalding said the only complete songs when they started recording were (2) and (8), with everything else being developed by the band in rehearsals. (I presume he's not including the two "solo" pieces, (4) and (9).) He said that he, Bacon and Mover could have been credited more given their significant arrangement input.

Spalding and Bacon worked extensively on backing vocal arrangements with the producer, Downes; Spalding lays credit to the backing vocal arrangement on (6). Various parts were programmed by Downes, including coming up with a percussion part for (6). Mover and Spalding came up with the middle section of (10); Spalding also arranged the end of the song, coming up with the chord inversions. (4) and (9) showcased the two Steves separately with 2 solo pieces, although Spalding/Mover do also play on (9).

Spalding put the band's short-lived nature down to the band being too small for both Howe and Hackett, but not in terms of their egos. He praised Howe for being down to Earth. He also talked in the podcast about his substance abuse in the period.

The band did start work on a second album. Spalding and Bacon wrote some songs that were rejected. But the band was falling apart and Hackett and Howe were to split. As this was happening, Spalding lost a baby son at 1 day of age during this time and, in his own words, hit the bottle and cocaine hard. Howe, Bacon, Spalding and Mover continued to work together, although Mover was then replaced by Nigel Glockner. Robert Berry later joined too. At the same Lane brought Berry to this project, he was also introducing Berry to Keith Emerson, which led to the band 3. But Arista wouldn't accept a band without the 2 star guitarists. 5 songs Howe, Bacon and Spalding worked on were eventually released on Howe's Anthology 2. The name Nero Trend has often been associated with these post-GTR sessions, but Spalding explains that Brian Lane had set up a company to process the last GTR advance from Arista ($200,000), the previous company having gone bankrupt, and it was that that was called Nero Trend. Bacon used some of the post-GTR material on a solo album: Spalding was uncertain in the podcast interview, but thought Hackett had sued him over this.

Bacon, Spalding and Downes went on to work on Mike Oldfield's Islands (1987); Spalding worked with Oldfield for several years. (HP, 6 Jun 20)


Return to Home Page