Tony Banks--A Chord Too Far

[bill g]

I like Bankstatement, but don't love it. I do think 'The Border' sounds great remastered. And I have to agree also that that one and 'Diamonds Aren't So Hard' are both very good. I really like the remaster of 'The More I Hide It' too, and I did always like 'That Night'. Never cared a lot for 'Queen of Darkness' or 'Raincloud'. I actually rather like 'Throwback' though, there is a mood there. But I agree with Tony himself that 'Still' is a better album.

Yes I think 'Amores Pasados' is quite good, and Tony's tracks are quite interesting. Tone the Bone, huh?

[ProgMusician]

"Well Tony is a keys god"

Strangely, I always think of him as a lyricist though.

[2steves]

Think Tony should have used Hackett on a few of his solo albums would have made them stand out as important---Hackett would have done it too from all he has said.

[ThomasKDye]

I have to recuse myself on the artistic merits of "Bankstatement" as I bought it during the prime of my College-Period-Where-Every-New-Album-You-Buy-Sounds-Awesome-And-Thus-Will-Bring-Back-Good-Memories-Of-Your-Youth-in-Later-Life.

[aith01]

Really enjoying this one! Getting reacquainted with Tony's music has been a welcome change of pace from recent months' musical excursions, and some of the remixes alone make this worth the price.

The Border... Holy cow, what a huge improvement! There is so much more going on in this song than the version on Bankstatement had led me to believe. What happened there?

A track that I would have liked to see in this set would've been A House Needs A Roof. That one had a fun, punchy sound that I enjoyed. Maybe it could have been here instead of Queen of Darkness, but I'm nitpicking really. It's hard to put compilations like this together while simultaneously pleasing everyone.

I'm just glad to finally have a cleaned up version of Lion of Symmetry!

[Frankk]

Has Tony mentioned what he's going to do next? Maybe "Five"? I think it would be great that Tony made rock versions of his classical pieces! That would be the closest to 70s Genesis we could get IMHO.

[bill g]

Has Tony mentioned what he's going to do next? Maybe "Five"? I think it would be great that Tony made rock versions of his classical pieces! That would be the closest to 70s Genesis we could get IMHO.

He is working on a new orchestral album, but he laughs and says it won't be called five! There is a 15-minute track that was performed last summer in the UK that will be on it, and he's written more and has a piece or two left to write. Wants it out in 2016.

[aith01]

He is working on a new orchestral album, but he laughs and says it won't be called five! There is a 15-minute track that was performed last summer in the UK that will be on it, and he's written more and has a piece or two left to write. Wants it out in 2016.

Sweet! I didn't realize it was that far along. Good news.

[Rand Kelly]

He is working on a new orchestral album, but he laughs and says it won't be called five! There is a 15-minute track that was performed last summer in the UK that will be on it, and he's written more and has a piece or two left to write. Wants it out in 2016.

I bought Seven. The one thing that I felt was missing here was Tony. I think he would have better success with these if he were to include himself on the recordings. Especially playing a synthesizer with a tone that is nothing like orchestral instruments. Does anyone agree?

[bob_32_116]

I bought Seven. The one thing that I felt was missing here was Tony. I think he would have better success with these if he were to include himself on the recordings. Especially playing a synthesizer with a tone that is nothing like orchestral instruments. Does anyone agree?

I'm cool either way. Clearly a proper orchestral recording was what Tony had in him at that point in time.

[bill g]

I bought Seven. The one thing that I felt was missing here was Tony. I think he would have better success with these if he were to include himself on the recordings. Especially playing a synthesizer with a tone that is nothing like orchestral instruments. Does anyone agree?

I agree with Bob, although the keyboard versions of some orchestral pieces are on the box, and sound fantastic.

[aith01]

I agree with Bob, although the keyboard versions of some orchestral pieces are on the box, and sound fantastic.

Yes, in particular City of Gold. That is a beautiful track, and in no way sounds like a demo IMO.

[Rand Kelly]

Yes, in particular City of Gold. That is a beautiful track, and in no way sounds like a demo IMO.

This is going to be my Birthday present to myself before 9/5.

[bill g]

Yes, in particular City of Gold. That is a beautiful track, and in no way sounds like a demo IMO.

Indeed. That was one of my favorites in his entire catalog as an orchestral work. That and 'Spring Tide' are superb as keyboard pieces too.

[smackiepipe]

Just purchased Chord too Far from Amazon today. Should have it next week. I haven't heard much of Tony's solo work over the years, and am kicking myself over it. This will be my catch-up time.

[aith01]

Just purchased Chord too Far from Amazon today. Should have it next week. I haven't heard much of Tony's solo work over the years, and am kicking myself over it. This will be my catch-up time.

Sweet! I hope you like it.

[Adinfinitum]

I think a cool concept would have been to release all of the solo debuts from the Genesis guys in a box set...most current remasters with bonus stuff. If the Genesis camp had their shit together for A Sum Of The Parts, this would have been a marketable item for fans of the band, that wanted to go further into what each guy did on his own.

Ant-Geese
Steve-Acolyte
Peter-PG1
Tony-ACF
Mike-Smallcreep's Day
Phil-Face Value

When you think about it, that's a pretty amazing group of debut solo albums - all great albums. Personally, I like Steve's the best - who would have thought Steve would pull that off with such stiff competition.

[mkeneally]

Wow, you're right about that. That's a fantastic group of debut albums. What a wonderfully creative era for them!

[Rand Kelly]

When you think about it, that's a pretty amazing group of debut solo albums - all great albums. Personally, I like Steve's the best - who would have thought Steve would pull that off with such stiff competition.

Especially when your rhythm section happens to be Rutherford/Collins. Imagine if he would have gotten Peter Gabriel to sing on it and Tony Banks to play keys. lol

[Progatron]

Yeah, that really is a great group of albums when you look at them listed like that!

I'm tempted to make a playlist for work this week. Maybe a Yessolo one too!

[JJ88]

^Plus they all sold quite well at the time (with Phil's being a blockbuster). Indeed, A Curious Feeling was as good as it got in that respect for Tony Banks!

[2steves]

"Well Tony is a keys god"

Strangely, I always think of him as a lyricist though.

He's the best all round prog keyboardist imo---he can do flashy and fast like Rick or Keith ---but he can do it all. Subtle grand fast flashy gorgeous haunting--all tasteful ---not showy and not cheesy. But he's also a great lyricist---although his solo work is a mixed bag.

[rich]

He's the best all round prog keyboardist imo---he can do flashy and fast like Rick or Keith ---but he can do it all. Subtle grand fast flashy gorgeous haunting--all tasteful ---not showy and not cheesy. But he's also a great lyricist---although his solo work is a mixed bag.

Agreed and well said. Tony has always been my favorite member of Genesis and frankly they were all great in their own areas... well Mike as a bass player and writer is outstanding but somehow underrated... but his lead guitar work is rather poor (understatement!)

[smackiepipe]

Just got through all four disks. I really like it - but listening to it all in one fell swoop highlights the reason (for me) that Tony's solo career wasn't successful. Generally weak, generic vocalists. You could have pulled any decent background session vocalist and had the same results. The music is great, the tunes are catchy, everything I liked about Genesis music.

Vocals. The hook. The 'Hot Damn' moment. I feel if Tony had ponied-up and gotten at least one powerhouse to guest vocal on a strong track he could've gotten airplay and more album sales (before the days of singles-buying a-la iTunes/Amazon).

[bill g]

After listening yesterday, officially my very favorite track on the whole box (and his entire catalog) is the keyboard version of 'City of Gold'. Just heartwrenching! My very close 2nd is 'Blade', with 'An Island In The Darkness' and the keyboard version of 'Spring Tide' probably tied for third, with perhaps the nod going to 'Spring Tide'. Needless to say, the all-instrumental disc four is easily my favorite disc, and the one I'll be playing the most.