Curious Feeling

Tony Banks | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 13, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Plate Caroline
• ASIN: B000000HZT
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,284 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. From the Undertow

2. Lucky Me

3. The Lie

4. After the Lie

5. A Curious Feeling

6. Forever Morning

7. You

8. Somebody Else's Dream

9. The Waters of Lethe

10. For a While

11. In the Dark

Editorial Reviews

Digitally remastered edition of f the Genesis keyboardist's 1979 album. A Curious Feeling was inspired by the novel Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Recorded at Polar Studios in Stockholm, whilst Genesis were on a brief hiatus following the And Then There Were Three tour, this majestic work featured contributions from drummer Chester Thompson (a member of Genesis for concert appearances) and vocalist Kim Beacon. Stylistically the album is equal to anything Banks composed for Genesis and includes the instrumental 'The Waters Of Lethe' and the single 'For a While' among its highlights. Esoteric. 2009. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 2.5 stars for vox + 5 stars for music = 4 (w/ round up), December 7, 2004

By 

wadrad (Land of Bitburger, Bratwurst, und Lederhosen) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Curious Feeling (Audio CD)

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.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you're gonna buy a Tony Banks solo album, this is the one, August 22, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Rechovot, Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Curious Feeling (Audio CD)

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tony Banks' Curious Feeling, October 7, 2004

By 

Alan Caylow (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Curious Feeling (Audio CD)

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.