5

I hinted to this review some times and i waited 21 days for my copy of the disc to arrive, it's the first order i make to a foreign country, and the first time i buy something from an artist when it's been released this year.

I have been in a marathon of Genesis since the first time i listened to them in 2012 and i realized that everyone had something to offer in the band, but also as a solo artist, and i really felt identified with Tony Banks, but more than that, i think that he is the reason on why i got so hooked with Genesis, he has been the secret ingredient of the band, i feel like the success of the band is in big part the success of him, and his solo career, while not getting the atention it deserves, i still feel like he has done a more than impressive job in all of music, this might feel like spoilers of my next reviews, but i had to say it, and i'll say more, after i finish reviewing Tony Banks solo albums, i'll review every other project where members of the band where involved (except for Mike + The Mechanics and Phil Collins solo career, they're not in this site and i really don't care that much about those).

So, without further ado, let's review like i have always been.

1.- Prelude to a Million Years 10/10 This album doesn't shy out and starts strong, with Tony Banks working his chords an arpegios, making powerful and tranquil moments, making you feel what the title says, in full detail. 15 minutes of pure imagination and mastery of what the classic genre has to offer, and i feel right at home here, i started listening to prog because i like soundtracks, and i know that symphonic prog and classical symphonic music goes hand in hand. I have always been more focused in the instrumental and in how it sounds, i can feel every sound no matter the instrument that's being played, being on an 8-bit machine, i still can imagine what they were trying to do, and here this feels like a complete work, but i can still imagine it being aweosome in different, more "affordable" styles (i obviously don't have money to rent an orchestra, not even a band), luckily the Special release of this album comes with all the sheet music, and Tony himself has said that he wants people to play what he has composed.

2.- Reveille 10/10 As some people have already pointed out, this is the return of the cross-hand technique, and it comes in full glory, the sound is hypnotizing and glorious, i'm impressed, this album already holds 2 of the most beautyful pieces of music released on this year, and this music holds how i feel about this album existence, its incredible, like if i "woke" up on a dream.

3.- Ebb and Flow 10/10 This music piece feels like the introduction to a journey, where i as the protagonist i'm really excite to partake in, and to discover a world that's incredible expansive and that it makes one impressed by every place my eyes gaze upon, a world that's in constant movement, where by each passing day everything feels better and newer than the last time.

4.- Autumn Sonata 9/10 This music piece was called "New and Old" in its conceptual stages, because it incorpores parts from a piece that was made some years prior to this album, those parts conform the middle section of this music piece, and all the rest was made entirely new. The new parts are really great, they follow the rest of the excelent previous music pieces(is a suite after all) but the middle section feels a little boring, it's an interesting change of pace but i'm not a big fan of it, interestingly, the middle part is where the Autumn feels the most, maybe i'm not a big fan of autumn itself.

5.- Renaissance 10/10 What a way to end an album, at first it feels like something is forming, in deep space, then that thing is something humble, yet so magnificent, nothing more humble than a new start, where you're learning the wonders of the world, and where there is a whole amount of experience waiting for you. This music doesn't tell me that it is the end, but actually a new beggining, not only for this piece, but for me and maybe for many people more to get inspired by this work.

Albums like this show what an artist can do, and i always knew that Tony Banks was capable of making incredible music, and i was really surprised with this one, this album is a gem that should be appreciated, and i'm pretty glad that it got #1 in the UK Classical Music charts, and i hope that it got it in more countries as well, i feel so happy that i bought it, even though it was the small package, i'll always be happy to support on of my favorite artists and not only that, i feel overwhelmed by this album, it's much and more, i hope to see more works like this in the future, i don't know where we could go from this but i'm prepared to be surprised, thanks Mr. Tony Banks.

98/100, this album is obviously a "5".

Share this TONY BANKS review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to FalconBleck
• Report this review (#1919645)
• Buy TONY BANKS music online with PA partners
• Show all TONY BANKS MP3/Stream
• Go to TONY BANKS page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to 5 page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for TONY BANKS related discussions