STILL

Seems like Mr. Banks was over his head in the success of We Can't Dance and its supporting tour, so he felt inclined to do an album by himself with the same co-producer on We Can't Dance. This album sounds more proggy than WCD itself, but it has an assortment of good assistants, including Daryl Stuermer (that guitar schmuck who played on tour with Genesis and was a member of Phil Collins' own solo band), Vinnie Colaiuta (the wicked drummer who played with Frank Zappa), Luis Jardim (the percussionist whose name you find on a lot of these sorts of albums), and Pino Palladino (who's currently the touring bassist with The Two - formely known as The Who). The vocalists are also top-notch: Nik Kershaw, Fish (I'd like to hear some of his own music - my friend Lise says he's very good), and a lot more! The cover also looks more poppy than prog, rather yuppyish. But that's how the later Genesis was and I think Mr. Banks took some of Mr. Collins' influences and decided to churn them out on his own!

"Red Day On Blue Street" is an energetic track that sounds kind of like a theme song from a TV drama show. Unfortunately, it goes a bit too long and it's hard for me to keep attention.

"Angel Face" is a dark but touching track sung by Fish. This one is more mellow but more powerful than the previous track.

There is no lovelier pop song from 1992 than "The Gift." Listening to it puts so many images in my head: 1) wandering down the London Drugs on Hastings Street on a cold, rainy Saturday afternoon - 2) lovely female models walking on a platform during a fashion show - 3) useless TV ads for talking with scantily clad females - 4) driving around downtown Vancouver at night with some friends - so many great images for me! There are more, but they are a bit too risque for this site. Whenever I feel lonely, I like to slip this track on and I feel in regalia! The lyrics are also very genial, and Andy Taylor sings them with great emotion! This is the best track on the entire album and a track that I'd give 10 stars to! IT IS LOVELY!

"Still It Takes Me By Surprise" is a tad-too-sweet number that's dominated by Andy Taylor's vocals and Mr. Banks's keyboards. It goes on a bit too long so it's my least favourite on the album.

The happy-go-lucky "Hero For An Hour" is a rare moment when we get to hear Mr. Banks himself sing the song. Mike Rutherford did a terrible job of doing that on his 1982 solo album Acting Very Strange (he was probably trying to sound like any one of Phil Collins' solo albums), but Tony sings with precision and excellence. The lyrics are kind of humourous, and the keyboards are pretty top notch on this track. The lyrics talk about a man who rescues a little girl from danger and becomes the "headline story."

"I Wanna Change The Score" is quite different from anything else on the album. The guitars sound more stadium rock-like and Nik Kershaw sounds a tad like Bryan Adams!

"Water Out Of Wine" is a relaxed track sung by Jayney Klimek. It's not a great track, but the lyrics are kind of enthralling.

"Another Murder Of A Day" is the second best track. Fish comes back to the mic and tries his hand at storytelling. This track suggests a more straightedge version of "Driving The Last Spike," and, as you can probably judge by the title, it sounds like a track out of a mystery movie.

"Back To Back" is a powerful track driven by Vinnie Colaiuta's full-speed drumming.

The gorgeous closer "The Final Curtain" has Nik Kershaw back again, singing some of the sweetest lyrics on the album, and he even sounds as though he's sad the album had to end. And technically, so am I!

I came across this CD at Zulu Records in late November 2002 out of curiosity. I bought it because I was a fan/collector of Genesis and had no idea I was in for one of the most lovely prog albums ever recorded. If you enjoyed We Can't Dance, you're bound to like this album. And if you don't like the Phil Collins-era Genesis much, you'll at least get a fix of Tony Banks's fine songwriting skills.

Share this TONY BANKS review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to
• Report this review (#27191)
• 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 Still page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for TONY BANKS related discussions