Any love for A Curious Feeling?

[PeterG]

I found it on vinyl on Tuesday for 1 euro, I'd never heard of it before, just saw that it was a Tony Banks' album I didn't have & bought it. That said I don't have any of his other solo rock albums either. I've only got his modern classical album "Seven".
Anyway listened to it last night for the first time. Loved it. Very Genesis in parts, very 1979 "normal" pop in others (i.e. not punk, not new wave more John Miles, Gerry Rafferty, Chris Rea). I think Kim Beacon, who I'd never heard before, is a great singer.

[Dedatolo]

Big love....

[PeterG]

Big love....

Nice! I'll put my AC Milan shirt on now tonight in honour of that......but oops you might be an Inter fan!

[Stevie B]

I like it a lot - got the 5.1 mix that came out a few years ago and got into it all over again after not hearing it for thirty years.

However, very controversially, and probably uniquely on here, I like the follow up "The Fugitive" even more. I love the fragile quality of Banks' voice compared to Beacon's more "traditional" voice (he sadly died recently by the way) and I think it has better tunes...

[PeterG]

(he sadly died recently by the way)

Is The Fugitive more individually Banks solo or still obviously the work of a Genesis member?

[Stevie B]

Is The Fugitive more individually Banks solo or still obviously the work of a Genesis member?

I would say it has a more stripped down sound than A Curious Feeling - think "Me and Sarah Jane" rather than "Heathhaze" - but it doesn't really sound like a Genesis album at all to me, probably because of the vocals.

[rickawakeman]

Have had the album on vinyl since release, but loved re-visiting it via the Esoteric re-release a few years back, as I'd forgotten how great it is.

[jgprogbear]

Played this album to death upon release. Got the Esoteric release too. Time to take this one off the shelf and fall in love all over again.

[dpt3]

Have loved the album since I first heard it, but that remaster sounds fantastic!

[progman1975]

Two Words: Fucking Gorgeous!!!!!!

[Reach]

Pretty nice, yeah.

What I find more intriguing about it though is its subject matter: based on the superb science fiction novel Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

My only complaint is that I wish Banks didn't use the electric piano sound so much, or whatever keyboard that is that is all over the album.

[mx20]

Love it, but it took years for it to sink in! I wouldn't change anything about the keyboard sounds (I love the Yamaha CP70 sound). Great vocals by the late Kim Beacon (ex-String Driven Thing Mk II). Anyone know if he tried out for Genesis in late '75? Seems that if he had, he'd have gotten the gig (for better or worse, I don't know)! I snoozed on the Esoteric remix CD, sadly. To me, this album and Please Don't Touch are essential for Genesis fans who've run out of Genesis albums (I reject the notion that any Rutherford solo work is equal).

[Tangram]

One of the few albums that I thought was fantastic the first time I played it. If I could only take one Genesis solo CD to the Desert Island, this would be it. So yeah, I love it.

[happytheman]

Two thumbs up here as well.. in parts I likened it to W&W pt.2.. Played it a bunch when it was first released.. then nothing till I replaced it via CD.. it still gets a listen now and again.. Regarding The Fugitive.. as I recall it had a much different songwriting approach than Curious.. one song sticks out.. been so long since I heard it.. "By You" perhaps.. I had it on vinyl at one point have to check the "vault" to see if I still have it.

[bill g]

Yeah I love this album! My favorite is 'After The Lie', one of the most haunting pieces of music I've ever heard. The instrumental section in the middle is some unique and fantastic writing. Love the three instrumentals, and in fact all the instrumental interludes on the album.

'The Fugitive' is very different. 'Thirty-Threes', and 'Moving Under' are the only tracks that really have a lot of chords. Well K2 has some too. Good album, but, not as complex as 'Me and Sarah Jane'. Kind of new-wavish at times, some crunchy guitar this time.

Peter, you may really enjoy 'Still', which I think is a really solid album, and better than any post-Duke Genesis album, in my opinion. I also rate 'Six Pieces For Orchestra' as a significant improvement over 'Seven'.

[Burley Wright]

I like A Curious Feeling a lot and I also like The Fugitive which is a lot different but good in its own way. I also like Mike Rutherford's Smallcreep's Day but thought his next one, Acting Very Strange, was pretty bad, I actually got rid of the LP I was so disappointed.

[mozo-pg]

I think it's decent album, a mile or so better than anything else Tony did, with the exception of my favourite, Seven.

[Dedatolo]

Nice! I'll put my AC Milan shirt on now tonight in honour of that......but oops you might be an Inter fan!

Juventus :-)

[Progtopia]

The best Banks album, although I do kinda like Bankstatement, too. Very different feel, though.

[aith01]

Absolutely beautiful album. Tony is some kind of musical genius when it comes to composition and chord building.

Somebody Else's Dream is a wonderful track. Waters of Lethe, and Forever Morning are also great, haunting pieces of music. Glad you enjoyed it Peter!

The Fugitive is also a very good album, and if you like Tony's style at all it's well worth checking out.

[ombasan]

Yep, I love it too and must revisit it one of these days!
I also like the Fugitive very much (especially 33's, Charm, By you) and the Wicked Lady. There's also some good stuff on Still, and of course "An island in the darkness" that stick out from his solo works. I just can not get into his recent classical stuff. It does next to nothing for me, I'm afraid!

[Esoteric]

well we loved it and we loved Tony too-- a real gent .

[Stevie B]

well we loved it and we loved Tony too-- a real gent .

Any plans to do anything with The Fugitive?

[Neptune]

When I first bought that album, it possessed me for weeks!

[zorknapp]

Any plans to do anything with The Fugitive?

My understanding is that all of Tony's solo material (except maybe "A Curious Feeling") is going to be made available through his website, but I haven't heard any new news about that for awhile. I'll see if my sources know anything.

Mike