About the artist: Steve Hackett (1950) is an English musician, songwriter, singer, and producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. His solo career from that year onward yielded dozens of studio albums, but very few highlights. For me his best solo work is the albums in which he revisits Genesis songs with a range of guest vocalists. Steve Hackett currently has two songs in my list of about 200 best pop/rock songs of all time.
About the song: I am reluctant to include cover versions of songs where the original is already in the list, but this is one of the few exceptions. Hackett recorded new versions of several Genesis anthems with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on his 1996 album Watcher of the Skies - Genesis Revisited. He did even better in 2012 for the follow-up, the double album Genesis Revisited II. Twenty-one more songs from his Genesis years in new versions with a string of guest vocalists. Perhaps the most ambitious cover is that of the prog anthem Supper's ready. It was a brilliant decision to distribute the vocals of the separate sub-songs over five singers (Francis Dunnery, Simon Collins, Mikael Akerfeldt, Conrad Keely, and Steve Hackett himself). It is a serious competitor for the original, but in the end I want them both in the list. Run time 23:35.
