GTR (album)

GTR is the only album from the short-lived supergroup GTR, released in 1986. 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. An instrumental piece recorded by GTR guitarist Steve Howe years before, "Sketches in the Sun", was included on the album due to a shortage of content. It resurfaced on his solo album Motif Volume 1 and again on his Anthology album. Steve Hackett's "Hackett to Bits" was a simplified version of the title track from his Please Don't Touch album. (It has no connection with the similarly titled "Hackett to Pieces" from Highly Strung.) Asia recorded their own version of the Geoff Downes-penned "The Hunter" for their 1997 compilation album Anthology.

GTR
Studio album by
GTR
ReleasedMay 1986 (US)
July 1986 (UK) [1]
Recorded1985-86
StudioThe Townhouse, London
Genre
Length44:43
LabelArista
ProducerGeoff Downes
GTR chronology
GTR
(1986)		 King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents GTR
(1997)

The group, founded by Hackett and Howe, disbanded in 1987. Downes, who like Howe had been a member of Yes and Asia, 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 as a remastered CD and again in 2006 as a Japanese mini-LP CD, but otherwise remained out of print until a deluxe 2-CD version was released in 2015.[2]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Rolling Stone(not rated)[4]
Kerrang![5]

Paul Stump, in his History of Progressive Rock, said the album "managed to make two of the most distinctive guitarists in rock sound like autopiloted sessioneers at a Foreigner recording."[6]

A retrospective review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine in Allmusic agreed that the album "didn't deliver the fireworks that Howe and Hackett fans desired. Part of the problem is that the two guitarists crowd each other out; it rarely sounds like they're trading licks, but rather like they're stepping forward for solos at their pre-scheduled times." He praised the hit single as "anthemic, professional stadium rock at its best" but said the rest of the album feels like a missed opportunity.[3]

Musician reviewer J. D. Considine wrote simply: "SHT."[7]

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

Deluxe Reissue CD 1 - Studio Album plus bonus tracks
  1. "The Hunter (Special GTR Mix)" – 4:56 (Geoff Downes)
  2. "When The Heart Rules The Mind (Radio Edit)" – 4:28 (Hackett, Howe)
  3. "The Hunter (Radio Edit)" – 4:00 (Geoff Downes)

Deluxe Reissue CD 2 - Live In Los Angeles, 19 July 1986
  1. "Jekyll and Hyde" – 5:47 (Hackett, Howe, Bacon)
  2. "Here I Wait" – 5:55 (Hackett, Howe)
  3. "Prizefighters" – 5:17 (Hackett, Howe)
  4. "Imagining" – 7:12 (Hackett, Howe, Mover)
  5. "Hackett to Bits" – 2:22 (Hackett)
  6. "Spectral Mornings" – 3:57 (Hackett)
  7. "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" – 6:24 (Banks, Collins, Gabriel, Hackett, Rutherford)
  8. "Sketches in the Sun" – 2:44 (Howe)
  9. "Pennants" – 4:31 (Howe)
  10. "Roundabout" – 8:38 (Anderson, Howe)
  11. "The Hunter" – 6:44 (Geoff Downes)
  12. "You Can Still Get Through" – 6:55 (Hackett, Howe)
  13. "Reach Out (Never Say No)" – 5:54 (Hackett, Howe, Spalding)
  14. "When the Heart Rules the Mind"– 6:06 (Hackett, Howe)

Personnel
GTR

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

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[19] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[20] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Howe, Steve (2020). All My Yesterdays (1st ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-785581-79-3.
  2. "Steve Hackett and Steve Howe's 'GTR' Album Receives Deluxe Reissue".
  3. Erlewine, Stephen T. (2011). "GTR - GTR | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  4. Hogan, R. (2011). "GTR: GTR : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  5. Wall, Mick (10 July 1986). "GTR 'GTR'". Kerrang!. Vol. 124. London, UK: United Magazines ltd. pp. 16–17.
  6. Stump, Paul (1997). The Music's All that Matters: A History of Progressive Rock. Quartet Books Limited. pp. 338–9. ISBN 0-7043-8036-6.
  7. Considine, J.D. (August 1986). "GTR". Musician.
  8. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0697". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  9. "Dutchcharts.nl – GTR – GTR" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  10. "Offiziellecharts.de – GTR – GTR" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  11. "Swedishcharts.com – GTR – GTR". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  12. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  13. "GTR Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  14. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  15. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0707." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  16. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  17. "GTR Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  18. "GTR Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  19. "Canadian album certifications – GTR – GTR". Music Canada. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  20. "American album certifications – GTR – GTR". Recording Industry Association of America.
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