By the 2010s, the supergroup was a time-honored trope of the progressive rock genre; there had been dozens of them, with new ones sprouting like dandelions in every direction. Each time, the core question was the same: will the result feel like something greater than the sum of its parts, or less than? It’s almost always one or the other.

Though justifiably well-known for his aggressive “lead bass” approach and superb harmony vocals, Yes co-founder Chris Squire always put the band first, delivering just a single solo album of original material (1975’s excellent Fish Out Of Water) across a career that spanned six decades. While a frequent contributor to composition and arrangements in the band context, he never showed the same enthusiasm for songwriting outside of Yes. His only other solo outing, 2007’s holiday covers album Chris Squire’s Swiss Choir, did have the foresight, though, to include Genesis guitarist and solo artist Steve Hackett as a guest player.

Hackett, by contrast, had already issued 21 solo albums of mostly original material by the time this album came out in 2012. These have frequently featured notable guests from the progressive rock world, with Squire returning Hackett’s 2007 favor by playing on a pair of tracks on Out Of The Tunnel’s Mouth (2009) and then three more on Beyond The Shrouded Horizon (2011), pointing the way to this full-album collaboration.  

It’s honestly surprising that there haven’t been more Yes/Genesis hybrids attempted over the years, but the only other one of note was GTR, the mid-’80s supergroup pairing Hackett and Yes guitarist Steve Howe. The duo combined forces for a single Geoff Downes-produced album of formulaic, Asia-like AOR, after which the project rapidly imploded. Thankfully, Squackett was a low-key lark on an indie label, resulting in a far more relaxed vibe.

The lineup for A Life In A Day consisted of Squire and Hackett with Roger King (keyboards) and Amanda Lehmann (backing vocals) from Hackett’s solo band, plus drummer Jeremy Stacey, who had worked with Squire on Swiss Choir. King also served as the album’s producer and is credited as a co-writer with Hackett and Squire on every track.

The resulting album is confident, yet rather tepid, mainstream-adjacent progressive pop, with occasional exceptions. The first exception is the opening, expansive (6:35) title track—the album’s clear highlight—an assertive thumper with interesting string accents and dynamic changes. Hackett delivers alternately muscular and quite pretty lead guitar lines, while Squire lays back until the fifth minute, wherein he delivers some genuinely squirrelly bass under an active jam. The song also incorporates a pinch of Floydian drama in its airy main theme, and Hackett’s lead vocals are serviceable enough for the material.

Squire moves into the spotlight for “Tall Ships,” another medium-scale (6:18) piece that opens with a strong Squire-Stacey theme, with Hackett playing rather jazzy licks purely as an accent. Squire’s “lead bass” dominates and his vocals are quite audible, which unfortunately isn’t the case very often on this album. The lyrics, it must be said, are pretty standard prog fare here and throughout; vaguely poetic fantasy-tinged babble that serves its purpose without earning much more attention than that.

From there, the album gets progressively less progressive. This shouldn’t surprise; as shown by GTR and ’80s Yes, despite their decades of prog cred, both of these men were perfectly comfortable steering their musical ship closer to the mainstream. “Divided Self” is a rather Tears For Fears-ish 4:06 number with hooks and choruses bracketing an exotic, extended Hackett solo. Then “Aliens” excavates a Squire song that was played live on Yes’ 2008-09 tour but never recorded, seemingly for good reason; it’s a sleepy, plaintive tune with a silly sci-fi lyric, elevated only by well-arranged vocals.

“Sea Of Smiles” opens with choral vocals and “Awaken”-esque bells and vibes before the rhythm section enters and it develops into another rather prog-poppy number, with nice drive and strong vocals on the repeating chorus. “The Summer Backwards” explores a folky direction; it’s pleasant if rather lightweight, though you feel Squire’s hand in the arrangement of the song’s final minute, with offsetting guitar and choral vocals.

Hackett mentioned Led Zeppelin as an influence on his songwriting for Squackett, and it’s hard to hear it at first, but it comes to the fore on “Stormchaser,” whose meaty riffage and menacing vibe Hackett had debuted on tour in 2009. Still, Squire’s fat, active bass is the most interesting thing about it. Penultimate track “Can’t Stop the Rain” is a ponderous mid-tempo number with overly processed-and-filtered vocals, with Hackett’s acoustic-then-electric-then-acoustic solo the only diversion.

Closer “Perfect Love Song” finds Hackett adopting Howe’s favorite late-career motif—arcing, reverbed high notes—before moving into a busy, intricate riff. The duo’s unison vocals and Squire’s insistent bass line steadily push the track higher and wider, even as riffs and the chorus repeat; much like the album it’s on, it’s solid enough without going anywhere very special.

Squackett—whose tossed-off name says it all in terms of the casual nature of the collaboration—never toured and Squire passed just three years later, so A Life In A Day stands as the pairing’s only release. If you enjoy middle-of-the-road prog-pop assembled quickly by a pair of old pros, it’s perfectly fine, and occasionally better than that; just keep your expectations modest.

Rating: C+

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