Written by
Steve Hackett stars in the new video from Robert Reed‘s Kompendium project, a director’s cut of whose Beneath The Waves was released last week through Tigermoth Records. Hackett features on an extended version of the track Lilly.
The original album was released in 2012, and alongside the former Genesis guitarist also featured the likes of Gavin Harrison, Nick Barrett, Jakko Jackzyk, Francis Dunnery, Chris Fry, John Mitchell, Nick Beggs, Troy Donockley, Mel Collins, Steve Balsamo and Angharad Brinn.
The album also featured The English Chamber Choir conducted by Guy Protheroe, the London Session Orchestra conducted by Dave Stewart (Egg, Hatfield And The North, National Health) and renowned opera singers like Rhys Meirion and Shan Cothi.
Latest Videos From Louder
“The album was a labour of love, Reed tells Prog today. “I thought that the format of making a classic rock album had been lost, where artists like Jeff Wayne and his War Of The Worlds album would bring in the best singers and best session players and make an album without compromise. These days it’s all out of a computer and file sharing. I wanted as much to be real and benefit from what each singer and player brought to the table with their talent.
“It took over 3 years to make, and I had so many highlights. Recording the same choir that sang on Rick Wakeman’s Journey and King Arthur albums, in the famous Abbey Road Studios being one. Recording a full string orchestra in Angel Studios, arranged by Dave Stewart, was equally amazing.
“I always thought the album was one of the best things I’ve ever done, so as it was out of print, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get the album to a new audience. Also, there were some compromises made with the original album, as there always are towards the end of making any album. Some songs are left off because of time constraints, some not finished, and other choices made in the mix, as you really run out of time and have to say it’s finished at some point. So with fresh ears, it’s been great to address some of these issues and put it back as a more complete album, with the missing tracks all finished up. This also meant that I could bring in a few more contributions from great players, like Peter Jones and Les Penning. It really is complete now and probably the best album I’ve ever made.”
Kompendium’s Beneath The Waves – The Director’s Cut is available as a CD packaged in four-panel digifile format and as a Deluxe Edition featuring the Beneath The Waves CD, a 28-page 7-inch book and album artwork postcards, signed by Reed
