Customer Reviews

Curious Feeling: 30th Anniversary Edition (Aniv)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I know... I'll get zero "was this review helpful" votes, because this review will be too negative. When I rate 5 stars, everybody LOVES my review... I give 2 or 3 stars and NOBODY finds it helpful. So it goes... you'd think they'd be appreciative I was trying to save them money. :)

AWESOME music on this CD. Definite 5 stars for the music and keyboard work. I picked this up used in a pawn shop back in '92 for $4. Being an early Genesis fan, I liked Banks' keyboard work, but really didn't know beans about the CD. Worse yet, they were selling it in an "Invisible Touch" CD case, so I had nothing to read (track listing, liner notes, etc) about it either.

Was pleasantly surprised by the CD, being a blind purchase, and I thought (and still think) the textured keyboards and melodies were sweet. Of course, the ONLY thing I didn't like about it was the vocalist (and still don't... guess I need a new brain as well). He seems to be a "red state/blue state" issue... you either love him or hate him. The only thing I can say is A LOT of prog bands seem to pick technically proficient vocalists (Spock's Beard, Flower Kings, most Rick Wakeman solo projects, GTR--yeah I know, not really prog, but boy did that singer "Max Whathisface" stink) who have very little soul or "feeling" when they perform (unless you consider the performances in "Sleepless in Seattle" deeply moving... then you might find these vocals stirring as well...just kidding...they're not quite that bad...). There's just no emotional connection with the vocal delivery as if the guy is just reading someone else's lyrics (which he is). He just didn't "make the lyrics his own" so to say.

And I would have to agree with the reviewer who called this "Duke's Little Brother". Before I ever saw the release date, I guessed this had to be someplace between "Then There Were Three" and "Duke" (you know, those two post-Wind&Wuthering albums that were lambasted by a reviewer who thought this CD is a masterpiece..."ironic" I thought, "since they sound a lot alike to me"). Arrangements and melodies are way similar. Like those other two CDs, there's a nice blending of synth pads, leads, etc with the more dynamic piano textures. Like a lot of Genesis CDs, Banks also has a few "droning bass pedal" tunes on here (nice chords shaped around a steady bass note) similar to "Afterglow", "Snowbound", or "Squonk". As most the reviewers seem to indicate, this really is the most Genesis-like solo Banks (at least that I've heard).

So, to summarize, this is a very nice album musically, and if you liked "Sleepless in Seattle" or "City of Angels" (w/Cage) then you'll probably like the vocal performance on this as well.

Tony Banks was not the flashiest or technically most accomplished rock keyboardist ever, but he definitely was one of the most influential. His main problem as a solo artist is that Tony Banks=Genesis=Tony Banks: without belittling the contributions of Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford, ... Tony's keyboards (and his nearly impressionistic composition and particularly harmonization styles --- I was not surprised to learn that he enjoys listening to Debussy and Ravel) have perhaps been the single most defining musical element in Genesis.

As a result, when the poor fellow gets to do a solo album, he is always trying not to sound like Genesis, and ends up doing stuff that, well, really isn't him. A Curious Feeling suffers least from that problem, and is highly listenable if you like sweeping textures, haunting melodies, non-obvious harmonies and surprising modulations. The instrumentals (particularly the first two) are out of this world --- some of the vocal tracks could have done with a better vocalist.

Being, by all accounts, a highly introverted and almost painfully shy person, his complicated, highly introspective and evocative lyrics are what Mr. Banks bares his soul in (well, in an understated English way). When you have Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins singing them, the result is unadulterated magic. The singer on this album (Kim Beacon from String Driven Thing), however, is okay but nothing special. As a result, I gave the album 4 stars but not 5.

Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks began his solo career with 1979's "A Curious Feeling." This is an outstanding solo debut for Banks, and, of all his solo albums, "A Curious Feeling" is the most progressive-sounding, the one that sounds the most like vintage Genesis. Not only is Tony's songwriting and keyboard-playing here superb (as always), but he also proves himself on this album to be a fine guitarist and bass player. With some extra help from Genesis' touring drummer Chester Thompson and singer Kim Beacon, Tony delivers such stunning tracks as the instrumentals "From The Undertow," "Forever Morning," and the truly gorgeous "Waters Of Lethe," as well as great melodic songs like "Lucky Me" (which *could* have been a hit single), and the title tune. There's also brilliant progressive tracks like the powerful "Somebody Else's Dream," and, what is arguably the album's centerpiece, "You," which starts off as a beautiful love song before seguing into a charging, classic Genesis-style instrumental break. Brilliant music, and brilliant performances all around by Banks, Thompson and singer Kim Beacon, whose powerful voice fits Tony's dramatic rock perfectly. "A Curious Feeling" is a terrific solo debut for Tony Banks.

Like one of the reviewers below, I too am old enough to have listened to a lot of prog music over the years. I'm also a big Genesis fan (up to Wind & Wuthering)- Selling England By The Pound is still my number one favorite album of all time ever - and I'm old enough to have bought this album when it was first released in 1979/1980. All I can say is that if you like old Genesis, you will love this CD (notice I didn't say "album' this time). Do your self a favor, put this on the player, turn the lights down, recline, and remember why you love music and its power to communicate with your soul.

Now as for the vocals of Kim Beacon, I must say I've always truly enjoyed the singing on this album/CD. There's something unique about Kim's delivery that really works for this project. For God's sake, this man can really sing; he doesn't soar, but he does have soul - he reminds me a little of the vocalist from Bad Company - it's not like you're being asked to listen to a favorite Genesis or Yes guitarist sing or something (which out of love I will dutifully do). All kidding aside, these vocals have a depth and soul all their own, which I have always enjoyed. I don't want it to be something it's not. Appreciate it for what it is.

For his first solo album, Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks chose to do a concept album about a man who loses a bet with God, swearing he will never fall in love in return for wisdom and fame, then losing his memory after he does fall in love. It's not a great album, but it's solid, and it still deserves an occasional listen more than 20 years later. Of the three Tony Banks albums I have, I like this one best. And it should appeal to fans of "old" Genesis, as there are several long songs that have more of the early Genesis feel than the material Genesis was recording at the time. Kim Beacon's voice isn't distinctive, but serves the material well, and Chester Thompson's drumming gives the album a more organic feel than "The Fugitive". Banks plays guitar and bass, in addition to keys--while he's an effective rhythm guitarist, there are places where a lead guitar would have made the album stronger. It's easy to imagine Genesis playing "You" or the menacing "Somebody Else's Dream". The endings of "You" and "After the Lie" include the kind of pyrotechnic synthesizer solos Banks is known for. "For a While" is an effective lost-love song. There are a couple of long, meandering instrumentals that are mildly pleasant, but hurt the overall pacing of the album. For you Genesis fans, how much you like this album will be directly proportional to how much you liked "One for the Vine".

I can't believe some people are downgrading this album just because the singer Tony uses is second-rate. This is a TONY BANKS album, and his work here is amazing. Recorded during Tony's most prolific period with Genesis (1976-80), This album is a must for any fan of that era.

A Curious Feeling employs one of Tony's favorite instruments, the Yamaha CP-70 Electric Grand Piano run through a Boss chorus unit (this same effect is used a great deal on the Genesis album "Duke.") The sound of this instrument is haunting. There is a great range of material, from the happy/sad pop of "Lucky Me" and the John Lennon-esque "For a While", to the stomping anger of "Somebody Else's Dream" and the tear-worthy instrumental "The Waters of Lethe." The lyrics are also excellent, and should prove to anyone that you don't need a lot of flowery language to say something deep and meaningful.

Just don't let the singer's voice distract you, or you'll miss out on what may very well be the best solo album by a Genesis member.

If you liked Genesis's "Duke" at all, GET THIS CD NOW. The music is much in the same vein. Banks plays his trademark electric piano sound throughout. The singer isn't as blah as some of the reviewers would have you think, he even has some of the vocal stylings of Collins at times. The drums are more subdued than if Collins had played them, but all in all they're in the same style.

It would have been interesting to see what this album would have sounded like with Phil singing, but it stands by itself just fine. It grows on you!!

If you feel that Tony Banks is...,then you have this CD or Album already. If you would take Trick Of The Tail or Wind & Wuthering to your deserted island, take A Curious Feeling with you too. The highlight of this masterpiece is "The Lie" & "After the Lie". The first track "From the Undertow" Grabs your soul on note one and lets you know that you just found maximum bliss. You can own every Genesis Album and still have nothing until you have this. I also reccommend: 1. Bankstatement 2. Still - Tony Banks

Of all of Tony Banks' efforts, this one is my favorite, and the favorite of many "old" Genesis fans, because the way Banks plays keyboards here is pretty much unrestrained (bold lead lines and insane arpeggiating - think "In the Cage" from "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway"). Banks also pulls off a couple of nice instrumentals, finding a way of coaxing realistic individual instrumental sounds off the keyboards of the day. The album's theme mirrors the story "Flowers for Algernon", about the rise to genius of an everyman, followed by his fall. The songs are crafted in Banks' admirably idiosyncratic way - who else would start off a song as a tender ballad, then suddenly in the middle turn it into a frenzied synthesizer romp ("You"). Which other lyricist would come up with word images like, "Come with me then, to the Garden of Eden; Put back our bites on the apple of the tree of knowledge, be like the beasts again."?

Banks plays guitars, too, and recruits Chester Thompson from the Genesis tours to play drums. One criticism some fans make is Banks' choice of one Kim Beacon to do vocals - I guess some folk feel his vocals are a little too strident (like someone being forced to sing from a torture rack). To me, he does not interfere with the music, which is the main thing. The most beautifully haunting album in Banks' canon; it may be the closest individual statement TB would make, as all subsequent albums seem to have an element of having to bow to some force outside himself, be it commerciality or appropriateness of music (i.e., soundtrack albums). I bought this album when it first came out in 1979, and it only sounds better today.

"A Curious Feeling" is Tony Banks' first solo album. Even though the singer (Kim Beacon) Tony uses is second-rate, the musicianship on this CD, carried primarily by TB, more than makes up for the mediocre singing.Tony's keyboard work is quite compelling on the opening track, an instrumental titled "From The Undertow", which is most likely inspired from "Undertow", from the Genesis album ...And Then There Were Three... The other two instrumentals "Forever Morning" and "The Waters Of Lethe", are outstanding as well. The tracks featuring vocals are fine as well, but it is the intrumentals that make "A Curious Feeling" a masterpiece. What else would you expect rom the founding member of Genesis? Buy this rare gem before it goes out of print!