GTR (album)

GTR
Studio album by GTR
Released	July 1986
Recorded	The Townhouse, London, 1985-86
Genre	Progressive rock, AOR
Length	44:43
Label	Arista
Producer	Geoff Downes
GTR chronology
GTR (1986) King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents GTR (1997)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	(not rated)[2]
Kerrang!	[3]

GTR is the 1986 self-titled debut album and sole official studio release from the short-lived supergroup GTR. The album peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 chart, and the single "When the Heart Rules the Mind" reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Another single, "The Hunter", peaked at No. 85. The instrumental piece by Steve Howe, "Sketches in the Sun", resurfaced on his solo album Motif Volume 1 and again on his Anthology album. As for Steve Hackett's "Hackett to Bits", it was largely inspired by the latter's "Hackett to Pieces" from his Highly Strung solo album.

The group, founded by ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett and then ex-Yes and ex-Asia guitarist Steve Howe, disbanded in 1987. Geoff Downes, another former Yes member, produced the album.

The band's name, anecdotally, comes from the marking on the studio mixing console that indicates the 'guitar' volume control.

The album was reissued in 2001 in a remastered CD edition. The album was out of print, with the exception of a Japanese mini-LP CD released in 2006, until a deluxe 2-CD version was released in 2015.^[4]

Track listing

1. "When the Heart Rules the Mind" – 5:24 (Hackett, Howe)
2. "The Hunter" – 4:51 (Downes)
3. "Here I Wait" – 4:54 (Hackett, Howe)
4. "Sketches in the Sun" – 2:29 (Howe)
5. "Jekyll and Hyde" – 4:42 (Bacon, Hackett, Howe)
6. "You Can Still Get Through" – 4:53 (Hackett, Howe)
7. "Reach Out (Never Say No)" – 4:00 (Hackett, Howe, Spalding)
8. "Toe the Line" – 4:29 (Hackett, Howe)
9. "Hackett to Bits" – 2:10 (Hackett)
10. "Imagining" – 5:49 (Hackett, Howe, Mover)

Personnel

• Max Bacon – vocals
• Steve Hackett – guitars, vocals, guitar synthesizer, bass
• Steve Howe – guitars, guitar synthesizer, vocals
• Jonathan Mover – drums, percussion
• Phil Spalding – bass guitar, vocals

Production

• Geoff Downes – producer
• Alan Douglas – engineer
• John Brough – assistant engineer
• Noel Haris – assistant engineer
• Andy Mason – assistant engineer
• Howard Fritzson – art direction
• Ian Miller – design
• Mike Russell – photography
• Miki Slingsby – photography
• Tom Biondo - photography
• Jimmy Starr – remastering
• Eddie Wilner – reissue producer

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen T. (2011). "GTR - GTR | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
2. Hogan, R. (2011). "GTR: GTR : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
3. Wall, Mick (10 July 1986). "GTR 'GTR'". Kerrang! 124. London, UK: United Magazines ltd. pp. 16–17.
4. "Steve Hackett and Steve Howe’s ‘GTR’ Album Receives Deluxe Reissue".