Tony Banks - A Curious Feeling - 1979 (24/96 Vinyl Rip)

Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks has made several stabs at a solo career since 1978, writing and recording in various styles and occasionally under different group names. However, none of his attempts have been very commercially successful, a sore point for the man many deem responsible for a large portion of the Genesis sound. For many observers, Banks is one of the more undeservedly underrated keyboard players in progressive rock – while flashier figures such as Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman, with their extroverted personalities, long ago gathered the press coverage needed to earn the admiration of starstruck listeners from the 1970s (and enjoy instant name recognition even 30 years later). Banks' work was so subsumed into the output of Genesis for so long that he never quite achieved the profile of his slightly older rivals, despite playing an essential role in shaping the sound of his group, which, along with Yes, was one of the two most successful prog rock bands of the 1970s. "Enjoy this beautiful atmospheric album with impressive vocals of the relative unkwown Kim Beacon".

Note > No silence was deleted; please burn this album gapless..

Review:

Tony Banks solo career has never taken off in the manner of his Genesis and ex-Genesis colleagues - Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel and Mike Rutherford (with Mike and the Mechanics), but it got off to a very promising start with this superb album. Genesis fans of the 'Wind and Wuthering' period of the band will appreciate the massive keyboard washes, complex but melodic songs and arrangements, and the loosely thematically linked lyrics. For keyboard fans, this is a must have as it captures some of his finest playing - possibly the last recorded example of Tony stretching himself technically. In fact, he plays guitar and bass as well, a man of many talents. Drums are by Chester Thompson who is consistently superb, and the excellent singing is by Kim Beacon.

Subsequent albums saw him making the occasional duff choice for singer and attempts to make more accessible, radio friendly music - but it simply isn't his strong point from a writing point of view, which is why 'Curious Feeling' with it's abstract and romantic soundscapes as well as powerful songs, remains his personal best.


Track List:

01 From the Undertow
02 Lucky Me
03 The Lie
04 After the Lie
05 A Curious Feeling
06 Forever Morning

07 You
08 Somebody Else's Dream
09 The Waters of Lethe
10 For a While
11 In the Dark