Pete Hicks and Nick Magnus: Flat Pack Beach Hut Records BHCD16074701
The
Waiting
Room
OnLine
Next
up
is
the
new
album
by
Pete
Hicks
and
Nick
Magnus.
Flat
Pack
is
the
first
album
length
collaboration
between
the
two
former
members
of
Steve
Hackett’s
band
and
as
such
it
is
a
delight
to
hear
them
in
harness
together
again.
Not
what
you
would
expect
though,
no
Prog
Rock
opus
here,
instead
a
solid
album
of
great
songs.
Opening
with
Outside,
Looking
In
which
is
a
marvellously
catchy
tune
whose
main
theme
reminds
me
of
the
theme
tune
to
the
Bergerac
TV
series
for
some
reason!
The
calypso-tinged
Am
I
Fooling
Myself?
follows
and
this
is
one
which
I
personally
can
see
in
the
charts
-
a
great
tune
with
a
marvellous
vocal
by
Pete
whose
singing
has
definitely
got
better
with
age!
The
Leaving
(Derek’s
Song)
is
one
of
those
poignant
“leaving
is
such
sweet
sorrow”
songs
which
they
don’t
seem
to
do
much
these
days
and
for
me
at
least
has
echoes
of
vintage
ELO
about
it.
The
closest
the
album
gets
to
Prog
is
the
first
of
the
Magnus/Hicks
tracks;
Just
Remember
Where
You
Heard
It
First
with
its
tongue-in-cheek
look
at
the
tabloid
obsession
with
bad
news.
This
one
is
almost
an
old
boys’
reunion
too
as
Dik
Cadbury
puts
in
a
welcome
appearance
with
a driving bass line.
Back
In
Your
Arms
Again
is
a
wonderful
love
song
delivered
with
a
really
impassioned
vocal
by
Pete
who
also
shows
that
he
is
no
slouch
in
the
guitar
playing
department
either
while
Nick
puts
in
a
typically
understated
keyboard
part.
Chance
Encounter
picks
the
pace
up
a
little
with
a
driving
refrain
in
an
unusual
time
signature
which
makes
it
catchy
but
impossible
to
dance
to!
New
York
City
Winter
really
evokes
the
feelings
of
longing
for
home
in
the
heart
of
the
Big
Apple.
Once
again
I
can’t
help
but
feel
shades
of
Supertramp’s
Breakfast
In
America
here
maybe
it’s
just
the
keyboard
sounds
Nick is using - either way another song with hit written all over it.
Jack
Knife
is
a
driving
song
with
a
vengeance,
Pete’s
vocals
are
augmented
by
his
stabbing
guitar
playing
and
Dave
Storey’s
impeccable
percussion
drives
the
song
along
at
a
fair
lick.
Run
That
By
Me
One
More
Time
has
shades
of
Sentimental
Institution’
all
over
it,
especially
the
sound
effects
intro
and
the
Big
Band
sound
throughout.
Pete’s
vocal
is
superb
here,
a
perfect
replica
of
that
era’s
sound.
Absent
Friends
has
a
wonderful
harpsichord
intro
giving
it
an
instant
Christmas
feel
to
it,
appropriate
for
that
time
of
the
year
really
while
First
Light
,
a
short
keyboard
instrumental
closes
the
album with a quiet resolution.
This
album
was
quite
a
surprise,
a
million
miles
from
the
Prog
of
yore,
what
we
have
here
is
an
album
of
superbly
crafted
songs
many
of
which
would
grace
the
charts
if
there
were
any
justice.
Both
Pete
and
Nick
have
shown
themselves
capable
of
creating
excellent
music
with
thoughtful
lyrical
content
and
this
is
an
album
which
I
shall
be
enjoying
for
years
to
come
-
excellent stuff!