Hillage to launch 1977 live album

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Madison Square Garden set includes studio exclusives with Rick Wakeman and William Shatner

Steve Hillage’s live recording from Madison Square Garden in 1977 will be released for the first time next week.

The Gong and System 7 pioneer will launch the eight-track title via Cleopatra Records on CD and vinyl.

It also includes studio recordings with Rick Wakeman and Star Trek icon William Shatner.

Hillage, who says he’d been waiting for the right moment to release the recording, reports: “Madison Square Garden in New York is a major venue – it was a fantastic honour to play there. We were playing to audiences who mostly didn’t know our music too well, so we just let rip and went for it. The band was really firing.”

He adds: “Todd Rundgren came to the show and I’m pretty sure he joined our sound engineer at the mixing desk and added some extra harmonizer drum effects to It’s All Too Much. It certainly sounds like that on the recording.”

Live In Madison Square Garden 1977 is available for pre-order on CD and vinyl.

Tracklist

  1. The Salmon Song
  2. Hurdy Gurdy Glissando
  3. Hurdy Gurdy Man
  4. Lunar Musick Suite
  5. Meditation Of The Dragon
  6. It’s All Too Much
  7. Are We To Believe? – with Rick Wakeman
  8. Rocket Man – with William Shatner

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Martin Kielty
Freelance Online News Contributor

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.