Customer Reviews

Seven: A Suite for Orchestra

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The bridge between classical music and rock is littered with the wrecks of well-intentioned hybrid works that unfortunately end up somewhere in the middle ground between both genres. Often, orchestras will play "the music of . . ." rock acts such as the Rolling Stones, or rock artists themselves will try their hand at composing pieces for an orchestra. Too often the former ends up sounding like muzak and the latter ends up being largely arranged and orchestrated by others with dubious results. In the end, most fail to engage the listener musically.

Looking at this past history, it is a brave person who seeks to cross the path between these worlds. Seven: A Suite for Orchestra, though, stands out as a prime exception to the general rule. Composer Tony Banks is perhaps best known for his writing and keyboard playing with the progressive rock group Genesis over the last three decades. Seven is his first full orchestral album, and represents the best example of a rock artist crossing over into classical thus far. Generally, there are several reasons why this work succeeds. Banks' compositions have always favored more complex musical structures that lend themselves to expansion with an orchestra, compared with normal pedestrian three-chord rock structures. Many of Banks' previous compositions were laden with classical influences such as Rachmaninov and Ravel. Additionally, as Banks explains in the notes accompanying the album, he wrote and arranged the pieces himself and minimally used an orchestrator, Simon Hale. The pieces were written for an orchestra, and are not rock compositions later adapted by an independent arranger. Banks had previously done orchestral music for the film entitled The Wicked Lady in 1983, and instrumental music for several film scores thereafter. Banks also avoided making the album a display of instrumental virtuosity with mere orchestral coloration in the background. Rather, the emphasis here is on composition. Where Banks plays piano, he does so minimally and only to augment the orchestra. The music on Seven also does not pander to the trendy "pop" classical pastures of acts like Bond, and instead has depth and substance. Finally, Banks himself is a listener and aficionado of classical music, and thus Seven is not some whimsical foray into a new genre.

As for the music on Seven, there are seven separate songs that can stand on their own, yet which work as a whole. The musical influences range from Banks' own instrumental and film work to the English Romanticism of Vaughan Williams. There is also a touch of other 20th Century composers, including Sibelius and Shostakovich. Banks plays piano on three of the tracks: Spring Tide, The Ram, and The Spirit of Gravity. Black Down, which is named after a hill located near Banks' residence, ranks highly with this listener, as it evokes a dark romanticism throughout. Spring Tide features several interlocked melodies, and its introduction is also an appropriate opening for the album. Another favorite is The Spirit of Gravity, which like much of Banks' previous instrumental work, progresses through several differing parts while remaining focused in purpose.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra was appropriately selected by Banks-they assist throughout with fervent playing of each piece. The sound is excellent and results from co-producer Nick Davis along with the location of the orchestral recording at Air Lyndhurst, which is an advanced studio with an old Victorian church as its "live room." Even the painting "Le Pays Avec Arbres" by the late Stefan Knapp was selected by Banks personally and appropriately adorns the cover, thereby completing the whole package.

Therefore, Seven is highly recommended by this listener as a superb work by an excellent composer who should do more within the classical genre.

I've followed Tony Banks' music for a long time now - except for the dismal 80's Genesis - and I wasn't prepared to give Seven more than a cursory listen and say "very nice." And to be honest, that's how I approached this music. The last Tony Banks music I honestly liked was on his first solo album back in 1979. But, as I listened to Seven, I heard more than I anticipated, and eventually, this music grew on me. I have to say now, that despite the long and rather spotty - to be charitable - record of English rock musicians writing for orchestras (Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Jon Lord, Yes, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, etc) that Banks transcends his past and with his suite creates mature music in the vein of Ralph Vaughn Williams and Edward Elgar.

In his notes, Banks says that he didn't want to create a typical piece with a rock plays soloing over an orchestral backing. Rather, he wants to write integrated orchestral works with their own structure and internal logic. This Banks does with more elan than I thought possible. The energy, melodies, and orchestration of this music is impressive and irrespressible.

The first piece, Spring Tide, gushes forward, a torrent of music that sets the tone for the rest of the suite, a series of pastoral mediations which have always been at the heart of his music.

The more I listened to this music, the more I liked it, until now, when I play this album, I find myself hearing all the things I loved about Banks's work with Genesis, but now, thoughtfully recast into the tradition of English orchestral composers and not King Crimson.

I can heartily recommend this music to any long-time Genesis fan, or even to classical music lovers. I hope that Tony Banks will continue writing more orchestral work.

"Seven: A Suite For Orchestra" is the debut classical album by the one-and-only Tony Banks, the keyboard player for Genesis, and it consists of five pieces that Tony wrote specifically for the album, plus two older pieces Tony had lying around that hadn't found a home yet. It's performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Mike Dixon, with Tony chipping in here & there on piano. And it is absolutely gorgeous music. It's impossible for me to single out a single track. All I can tell you is that this music is breathtakingly beautiful. And if you're familiar with Tony's work in Genesis---and bonus points are awarded to you if you know his solo material as well---you will *instantly* recognize the powerful melodies, moods, and musical nuances that couldn't be written by anyone else but Tony Banks. And, being released on the Naxos budget label, the price of this CD is practically a steal, so you're definitely getting a GREAT deal in purchasing it. I know that Tony had this classical album in the pipeline for many years, and, as a longtime fan, I wondered if it would *ever* be released. But here it is at last, and I can happily say to you that it was so worth the wait. With "Seven: A Suite For Orchestra," Tony Banks takes a brilliant first step as a classical composer, and I'd love to hear more. It's a beautiful classical album, and I can't recommend it highly enough. Congratulations, Tony!

This is another effort solo from Tony Banks, Keyboardist of Genesis, and his first on the classical world. A great record. This music travel around the emotional melody, a Bank's trade mark. But you can listen also some old Genesis melodies tunes, played marvelous by the Philharmonic London Orchestra, conduct by Mike Dixon. Tony Banks had this experience before with the release of Wicked Lady (1983). By that time, he did record some tunes by himself and It was played by an Orchestra with their own production. Seven is different. It got Tony's production, arrengment, composition and he also plays a classical piano. This is a fantastic jorney for a Rock and Roll Music fan and a must buy for the classical world.

Keyboardist Tony Banks' (b. 1950) recordings, whether with Genesis or the half-dozen or so solo albums he's done over the last 30 years, have been both praised for their influence and criticized for their bombast and pomposity. His, at times, overwhelming synth sound can be either the source of much fragile precision and profound emotion, or a block-chord wall-of-sound that threatens to destroy all in its path. This is especially the case with his use of the string synthesizer, which has yielded mixed results over the years.

So it was with some interest when I first heard Mr. Bank's `Seven - A Suite for Orchestra'. Recorded at Air Studios with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in July of 2002, Seven is big on strings and melodies, which often wash over the remainder of the orchestration. The first track, `Spring Tide', although new in composition for this recording, is the most Genesis-sounding, echoing back melodically to albums such as `A Trick of the Trail' or `...And Then There Were Three...'. It features Mr. Banks on piano, and is easily the track that most Genesis and TB fans are going to liken to, which makes it no surprise that it is featured first on disk.

From there, Seven is largely a pastoral sound-scape of slow tempos and gentle melodies, and although none of it is boring, it does come across as being a bit too-Disney and self-animated. It is as if Tony Banks wrote Seven for the wide-screen, which some of his solo projects (such as the soundtrack to The Wicked Lady) were deliberately crafted for. At the same time, Mr. Banks cannot seem to leave his pop / rock sensibilities behind, as the melodies are so strong as to be almost in your face. Genesis music has always been known for its drama, but some pieces, such as `The Ram', easily the most aggressive and bass-heavy piece on the cd, are so dramatic and bombastic as to almost be laughable due to its pretentiousness - again, the melodies are strong throughout this cut, but the overall effect is so pompous as to make one want to turn down the volume so that no one else passing by might hear it!

My understanding is that Tony Banks does not read standard music notation, and so much of the music recorded for Seven was originally performed on a string synth and then notated later for orchestra. If that was the case, then the fact that Seven exists at all is an accomplishment in-and-of itself. It must be said that Tony Banks succeeded more than failed in his first effort as a composer for orchestra with Seven. I can only hope that he will be given a second opportunity by Naxos to record a follow-up album and see if Mr. Banks' musical muse can next time lead to a more sophisticated creation.

There is a tendency with classical music fans to confine the definition of that style of music to the eras before they were born. I think that is a mistake with modern composers, one of whom as shown great skill and potential for more: Mr. Tony Banks.

Mr. Banks' unusual chord structure in use with an orchestra creates great emotion and wonderful sense of energy. Tony Banks' style in Genesis, so unusual and adored in the progressive rock world, is shown with all grandure in the classical stylings presented in this music.

I look forward to any orchestral music Mr. Banks wishes to write.

After releasing several solo albums during the last 25 years, some better than others, Tony Banks has at last found his voice outside of Genesis. Seven orchestral works of varying moods and tempo are presented here and each track draws on unique melodies, a quality that made Banks a favorite among Genesis fans for so many years. The musical depth of this suite as a whole was very impressive for a first effort. Hopefully, this suite will mark a new beginning for a very overlooked songwriter and composer.

Tony Banks is a master of prog rock orchestration and on this lovely CD proves that his mastery of composition extends to the symphonic form. While he had help with the orchestration, it is very clear that his ideas are extremely well thought out. Each of the seven pieces are complete and polished. Whether you are a classical music fan or a fan of Mr. Banks' previous work, this is very well thought out. Several interviews that are available on line detail some of the composers that the Banks' music calls to mind. In my view, while there are some slight echoes of other composers, Banks' ideas are fresh and lovely. The words lush and pastoral come to mind. This CD is a sleeper but just well may become one of your favorites. The recording quality is excellent.Turn it up, get a cup of tea, close your eyes and enjoy!

Once again Tony Banks has demonstrated complete brilliance and extraordinary talent in his musical efforts. Along with guiding the rock group Genesis for well over 3 decades, Banks has proven that his musisical instincts have not diminshed in the last few years sine the rock group has been dormant.

Seven is a wonderful musical expression that is both dramatic and inspiring. One cannot help but think how incredibly appropriate parts of this music would be to accompany film. Most of all the music, like all of the previous Bank's efforts takes you away on an adventure of beuatiful sounds and melodies.
well done and I strongly encourage all readers to pick-up this CD.

Tony Banks' "Seven: A Suite for Orchestra" is one of the best Romantic orchestral efforts by a formerly popular/rock music composer I have heard. It has interesting, pleasant melodies, at times a spirit of grandeur and striving ("Gateway" and "Neap Tide" segments), and at times a spirit of hope and delight ("Spirit of Gravity" and "Spring Tide" segments), that conveys pure love of life to me. It is most reminiscent of dramatic movie scores of the 1940s, or of adventure film scores by John Williams in recent years ("The Ram" segment). However, it is not at the high level of classical music by Brahms, Rachmaninoff or Tchaikovsky, of course.