Still

Artist: Tony Banks
Label: EMI Int'l
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 077778709428
EAN: 0077778709428
ASIN: B000025JSB

Release Date: 1993-07-01

Still

Related Categories:

General

| Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock

| Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Rock

| Imports | Stores | Music

Tracks:

Red Day On Blue Street
Angel Face
The Gift
Still It Takes Me By Surprise
Hero For An Hour
I Wanna Change The Score
Water Out Of Wine
Another Murder Of A Day
Back To Back
The Final Curtain

Similar Items:

The Fugitive
Bankstatement
Strictly Inc.
A Curious Feeling
Soundtracks

Customer Reviews:

Not Worth The $ ..... Even at Bargain Bin Prices!.......2007-03-10

Sorry....I really hate to put it that way, but this release from the "Great" Tony Banks is some of the most unmemorable material I have heard from any artist. Please understand that Mr. Banks is far and away my favorite keyboardist, so when I found this CD in my local music shop's bargain bin ($1.99), I figured I couldn't go wrong. Well, not even the wonderful cast of singers and musicians (including the great Vinnie C. on drums) could salvage this lackluster release. Now don't get me completely wrong, the songs on 'Still' are not terrible....and honestly, about 2 of them I could see myself listening to again....but as a whole, this album does little to nothing for me (which means 'Still' will be "tucked away" deep in my collection, possibly never to be retrieved again). Now, in Tony's defense as a solo artist, I must say this is the only release I have heard from him ,and, from what I understand from other reviews here, he has put out some material that may be better suited for my personal tastes. In my defense, I still rated this with 2 stars.....1 star ratings are reserved for the absolute "bottom-of-the-barrel" albums....and frankly, this is not at that level. Bottom line....there are dozens of albums out there (mostly Genesis) that anyone wanting to experience Tony's mastery of melodicism, colors and phrasing should check out long before dropping one's hard-earned dollar on this release....I would personally recommend "We Can't Dance", "Wind and Wuthering", "Duke" and "Selling England by the Pound", just to name a few.

For many of us, Banks WAS Genesis....but not when he went solo..........2006-03-27

If you ever - even only once - heard a classic Tony Banks keyboard solo like the ones he nailed on Genesis songs such as "The Cinema Show", "The Colony of Slippermen" or "Duke's Travels" (but to pick a few cherries from his vast orchard), you'd be tempted to seek out ALL of his solo works in search of more keyboard nirvana....and you might end up being surprisingly disappointed. At least I was.

I mean, I actually like most of his solo albums, but I'm really amazed at how little they resemble the sound of Genesis (with the exception of his first album, "A Curious Feeling"). But there are always hints of Banks' genius and signature keyboard styling in every one of his albums (e.g., listen to "An Island in the Darkness" on his "Strictly, Inc." cd), even though he took a decidedly "poppier" route in many of the songs.

I think "Still" contains some of his proggiest sounding songs outside of Genesis, with lots of great keys and his typical chord changes in some of the songs. Yes, there is certainly a lot of "pop" sound here too, but they are all very good songs done well.

I'm going to limit my review here to just two songs on the second half of the album, since many of the reviews have already done a great job of noting the overall flavor of the cd, and also because these two songs just happen to be my favorites on the cd - maybe my favorites of Banks entire solo output.

"Another Murder of a Day" is just great - written in the classic Genesis style with Fish's Gabriel-like vocals, the music moving through a few different great themes, and circling back to the original keyboard lick that began the song. The lyrics are moving, the mood transitions are perfect, and the performance is flawless. But as great as it is, it is preceded by an even BETTER song...

Tony Banks cd's are the only places that I've ever heard of the singer Jayney Klimek. She does a nice impersonation of Pat Benatar on the ninth track, "Back to Back". But her delivery on the eerie and mysterious "Water Out Of Wine" is GORGEOUS. And what a composition! Banks has numerous subtle chord changes - which Klimek nimbly follows - and he leads her voice between the bounds of two full octave ranges. I truly believe that this is one of the most underrated songs in Tony's entire catalogue, and it's really a shame that it will go unnoticed except by us loyal Genesis fans looking for keyboard wizardry. (And I suspect that because it's sung by a woman, even many of us proggers might dismiss it out of hand without giving it its proper due.) This is a GREAT composition and performance. Buy the cd for that song, and enjoy the rest of the cd accordingly.

I value interesting music that is played and recorded well. This cd's rating was based on:
Music quality = 8.6/10; Performance = 9/10; Production = 9/10; CD length = 8/10.
Overall score weighted on my proprietary scale = 8.7 ("4 stars")

Pop, but very good pop........2005-03-10

The compositions and production are definitely in the pop music genre but these aren't throw-away tunes at all.

Nik Kershaw has a great pop voice. "Red Day on Blue Street" is a very strong opening tune. "Angel Face" is a bit too heavy handed in my opinion (partly because of the lyrics and Fish's vocals... bitter!), but still good. "The Gift" has the feel of an '80s teen coming-of-age theme song. "Still It Takes Me By Surprise" is pretty but perhaps a bit too "boo hoo". Hero For An Hour is a bit cheesy but also bouncy and jaunty. "I Wanna Change The Score" should have been in the top 40. It's just a great pop tune, good vocals, very melodic without being simplistic. "Water Out Of Wine" showcases Ms. Klimek's rich vocals - the keyboards are held back a bit to let her lower-register vocal parts be clearly heard. "Another Murder of a Day" is a great showcase for Fish. A Marillion fan should be very happy with this one - if you're looking for the Genesis + Marillion = ?? payoff, this is the song where that happens. What prog fan wouldn't like a 9 minute song? :) "Back to Back" is an energetic pop-rock tune with Ms. Klimek again, this time singing in a forceful upbeat style. Good stuff. Great for a workout tape, or the intro credits of an '80s teen movie, or even better, the score for a montage scene in an '80s teen movie. "The Final Curtain" is again a bit sentimental, almost too sentimental, but something about the combination of the lyrics, the vocals, and the harmonies makes it work for me. Banks goes for a sentimental tear-jerker on this song, and in my opinion, he has hit it right on. It works.

All in all this album is not a masterpiece but it's good, and there are some really good pop tunes on here that make it worth having if you're a Tony Banks fan (or a fan of any of the other performers).

Genesis meets Marillion and other musical delights........2002-10-01

Anyone who became a fan of progressive rock in the 80's couldn't help but notice the similarity of Marillion's style to that of Late Gabriel/Early Collins era Genesis. And many of us asked, "What would it be like if Fish joined Genesis?" Well, Tony Banks and Fish were kind enough to provide us with some answers to that question, both on this album ("Pretty Angel Face", "Another Murder of a Day") and another song on the "Soundtracks" album ("Short Cut to Somewhere"). The answer seems to be that it could be pretty good but would still have its clunkers. "Another Murder..." could have been a classic for either group, and "Short Cut..." showed some pop potential, but "Pretty Angel Face" just sort of drags, as Tony is wont to do in his worse moments.

But this album is more than just Tony and Fish. Some amazingly good material can be found here in "Red Day on Blue Street" (a musical satire that could apply to any election you've ever seen), and "Back to Back" (uptempo, modern pop that expresses the classic old-timer's lament: "Better in my day, I hear everybody say... but then, they'll still be saying that tomorrow."). "The Gift" and "I Wanna Change the Score" round out the best of the album's tracks with catchy melodies and relevant lyrics.

Regrettably, I can see why Tony Banks never became a pop success: although he's an excellent musician, his themes are just too intelligent for a pop audience. It's a shame that no radio station has ever introduced a "Thinking Person's Pop" format, because Banks' music would be all over its playlists.

Music Album:

Music Album

Music Album

Music

Incomplete Directions ~ Steve Dalachinsky

Dig It ~ Klaus Schulze

Black Dahlia ~ Bob Belden

1987-1990 ~ Hiroki Okano

Bongo Bong ~ Manu Chao

Una Donna Puo Cambiar la Vita ~ Julio Iglesias

Shimauta ~ Orgel

Gold ~ Gal Costa

Idol Miracle Bible Series: All Songs Collection ~ Maiko Ito

Hirohata Atsumi Zenkyoku Shu ~ Atsumi Hirohata