Strictly Inc. [Import, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Strictly Inc, Tony Banks | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 6, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Virgin/EMI Int'l
• ASIN: B0000082II
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #295,622 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Don't Turn Your Back On Me

2. Walls Of Sound

3. Only Seventeen

4. The Serpent Said

5. Never Let Me Know

6. Charity Balls

7. Something To Live For

8. A Piece Of You

9. Strictly Incognito

10. An Island In The Darkness

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars STRICTLY INC.REDIBLE, March 26, 2004

By 

Jason M. Carzon (bowie, maryland United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strictly Inc. (Audio CD)

When this album was released in 1995, it sank without a trace and didn't even see a US release. Though Tony Banks' solo output away fom Genesis has never been successful, the music has always, always been good. Everything you would want from a good Genesis album is here- strong songs, emotional vocals and cinematic, atmospheric keyboards. This album beats the pants off of Calling All Stations, released a couple years later. Though Phil Collins was the face of Genesis, Tony was without a doubt the musical soul of that band.

Strictly Inc. teams Tony with Wang Chung singer Jack Hues, possibly the best vocalist on a Banks solo album. His voice adds a bit of 'New Romantic' suave to the material, giving it an 80's sound while sounding timeless at the same time. Highlights include emotional balads 'A Piece Of You' and sadness-tinged 'Never Let Me Know', slight techno-ish 'Only Seventeen', 'Strictly Incognito' a song about an ice cream truck driver who falls for a schizophrenic minor, and Tony's finest solo moment, the 17-minute 'Island In The Darkness', in which Tony seems to have been channeling 1977-80 era Genesis with that piano sound we know from albums like 'And Then There Were Three'. A powerful and melodramatic track, 'Island' goes through many moods and 'movements' and also features a soulful guitar solo from Daryl Stuermer.

One thing that sank this album was the 'band' moniker of 'Strictly Inc.'- most people probably didn't even know it was a Banks album, not that it would have sold much better. But still, Tony should have learned his lesson with 'Bankstatement', his 1989 'band'/duo/project thing which met a similar fate, so 'Strictly Inc.' was dead before it was even out of the box. It really should have been called Tony Banks/Jack Hues. The cover gives no indication as to who is on the album, just 'Strictly Inc.' with a couple cartoon characters on it on a white background(what is it with these Genesis people with albums with white backgrounds?).
The music however is well worth checking out, and special mention must be made for Wang Chung's Jack Hues who's vocals fit Tony's music like a glove. 80's/Wang Chung fans should check this out too. Well crafted, great songs, great keyboards, great atmosphere, great vocals, bad band name. I can't praise this album enough.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why has Tony not had more success??, October 30, 2005

By 

M. Kelly (Indiana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Strictly Inc. (Audio CD)

Maybe being the quiet one in a band lead by a very strong, almost hyper-kinetic personality prevented Tony Banks from getting the attention he so richly deserved. Initially, I was attracted to Genesis because of Phil, but I stayed a fan for 25+ years because of Tony. As far as Strictly Inc goes - I loved it from the first time I played it. Island in the Darkness is a beautiful, almost hypnotic track that I played almost repeatedly after the CD first arrived. It's the kind of extended instrumental/vocal that I was wishing for on albums like Bankstatement and Still. I'm not to keen on the cover art, but that a very minor flaw. I highly recommend this album - and I hope Tony keeps on making more music. He may not have a huge following, but those of us that are on board are very devoted.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Underrated Work By Tony Banks, December 25, 2004

By 

M. Tyrrell "THX-1138" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strictly Inc. (Audio CD)

While he may be the most important member of Genesis, keyboard player Tony Banks has constantly had next to no success as a solo artist.

But the great man is a powerful lyricist as well as a fantastic musician. This 1995 project uses singer Jack Hues as vocalist and guitarist. The opner 'Don't Turn You're Back On Me' is trademark Banks, it's powerful and angry, but also very quirky. 'Walls Of Sound' is one of my personal favourites, a beautiful lyric from Tony and some good vocals by Hues make for an excellent love song. 'Only Seventeen' is my least favourite and sees Banks experimenting with trance and dance sounds. It sounds overblown and horribliy like a Pet Shop Boys song to me. Next comes 'The Serpant Said' has Tony written all over it. Some powerful and penetrating lyrical complexity (that continues throughout the album) and some intense and quiet frightning instrumentation, a winner all round.

'Never Let Me Know' is my personal favourite, a moody and atmospheric meditation on regret and anxiety, this is sort of quietly devastating (with the other Banks trademark, big instrumental sections) adding to the power. The haunting 'Never Let Me Know' leads to 'Charity Balls' a nice little medatation on sleaze in high places, but for me the instrumentation is a little TO quirky and makes it difficult to listen to without getting bored and skipping. 'Something To Live For' is a highlight, with some interesting music and a meaningful lyric.

Another great piece here is the ethereal 'A Piece Of You' with lyrics by Jack Hues. A beautiful song with some nice chords from Banks, reminicent of those on teh Genesis track 'Hold On My Heart'. Then comes the bizzare 'Strictly Incognito', again for me this is just a bit too out there. While i like the quirkiness and strangeness of Tony Banks, again the music just dosen't grab you and you end up skipping it.

And so the final piece, at 17 mins long 'An Island In The Darkness' is Banks' most ambitious solo composition. Haunting and powerful, this piece is a great work, and to sum up both Banks and this album, i quote the final line from 'Island', after assaulting you for 17 mins and sending you through many differnt emotions and moods, Tony ends with the line:
'Do you have the will to carry on?'