During Genesis's hiatus following Peter Gabriel's departure in 1975, most of the band either took a well deserved break from endless touring, or moved into side projects. Except for guitarist Steve Hackett, who decided it was the perfect time to record a solo album. Hackett was the first member of the "classic" Genesis line-up to go solo, pre-dating Gabriel's first album by two years, and what a debut it was. Often regarded, as the review title asks, as the finest album Genesis never made (and the best in Hackett's back catalogue), it proved Hackett was not only a top flight guitarist (something that only die hard Genesis fans had known up to that point), but also a brilliant composer and arranger. Roping in band mates Mike Rutherford (who also co-wrote the album's closing epic) and Phil Collins, as well as a handful of session talent, Voyage represented both Hackett's future style and the first indication of the tight musical perfection Genesis would achieve in subsequent tours - Rutherford's bass is frequently mind bogglingly good and a surprise for many who simply knew him as an okay guitarist, whilst Collins's drumming was (by that time) becoming something a bit special.

Last year, Hackett released expanded and remastered editions of his first four solo albums (every one of them recommended)and, not surprisingly, Voyage was first out of the bag. With relatively little in the way of previously unheard material (anything that wasn't used here was either used on the next two Genesis albums, or tucked away until 1978's Please Don't Touch - Hackett's second solo effort and his first after leaving), the only extras here are a much bootlegged live version of Ace Of Wands from 1979 (weaker than its original studio counterpart) and an extended (to a whopping seventeen minutes) Shadow Of The Hierophant. The latter was a mouth-watering prospect for Hackett fans but, in reality, the extra six minutes are just a repeat of the closing theme, certainly not enough to warrant an uncut inclusion on the original album. Regardless of the lack of extras (the following three albums contain much juicier items), the main selling point of Voyage is the remarkable remastering. The original CD was quiet and muddy, whereas this noughties spruce-up sounds like the music was recorded yesterday - the guitars and keyboards shimmer, the bass rumbles nicely, the drums are clipped and the acoustic passages are opened up revealing hitherto unheard atmospheres. If only more remasters took a leaf out of Hackett's book, instead of merely re-recording the original tapes and just turning the volume up (Led Zeppelin, I'm looking at you!). As a bonus, the pretty packaging (card sleeve 'n all!!) replicates the original vinyl sleeve and the inlay booklet includes lyrics, new liner notes and some wonderful never before seen photos.