Bay of Kings

Bay of Kings is the seventh studio album from English guitarist Steve Hackett, released in October 1983 on Lamborghini Records. His first album consisting entirely of instrumental classical guitar music, Hackett's former record company Charisma Records refused to release it over concerns about its commercial viability. Hackett left the label and released Bay of Kings through independent record company Lamborghini Records, started by Patric Mimran who owned the said car company at that time. It was later reissued by Hackett's own label, Camino Records. The album cover originally used a nude painting by his wife at the time, Kim Poor, but at her insistence it was replaced for the Camino reissue by a new painting of Hackett. (The original Japanese issue of the album replaced the nude cover with one that featured a drawing of a guitar.)^[2]

Bay of Kings
Studio album by Steve Hackett
Released	October 1983
Recorded	1980–1983
Genre	Contemporary classical
Length	44:26
Label	Lamborghini Records (UK & Europe) Chrysalis (US, Canada & Japan)
Producer	John Acock and Steve Hackett
Steve Hackett chronology
Highly Strung (1983) Bay of Kings (1983) Till We Have Faces (1984)
Original cover
Japanese LP cover

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Track listing

1. "Bay of Kings" – 4:57
2. "The Journey" – 4:15
3. "Kim" – 2:25
4. "Marigold" – 3:37
5. "St. Elmo's Fire" – 3:08
6. "Petropolis" – 2:46
7. "Second Chance" – 1:59
8. "Cast Adrift" – 2:15
9. "Horizons" – 1:47
10. "Black Light" – 2:32
11. "The Barren Land" – 3:46
12. "Calmaria" – 3:23
13. "Time Lapse at Milton Keynes" – 3:57 (reissue bonus track)
14. "Tales of the Riverbank" (traditional) – 2:02 (reissue bonus track)
15. "Skye Boat Song" (traditional) – 1:37 (reissue bonus track)

Musicians

• Steve Hackett – guitar, keyboards
• Nick Magnus – synthesizer, keyboards
• John Hackett – flute, keyboards

Charts

Chart (1983)	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)[3]	70

References

1. Platts, R. "Bay of Kings – Steve Hackett | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
2. "Hackett to Bits - An Interview with Steve Hackett" (2001 interview on World of Genesis homepage)
3. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2024.