THE FUGITIVE

Released in between Genesis' 11th and 12th studio albums, but closer to the 12th, Tony Banks second album is again very much the sound of being in between those albums, and even of being closer in sound to the 12th Genesis album. It's interesting to hear the progression of the keyboard sounds in the Genesis releases and his solo albums, and in my opinion, this album is the peak of his creativity in terms of tone choices. If you aren't expecting to hear the peak of his virtuostic playing and enjoy Abacab and Genesis(1983), you will probably get something out of The Fugitive. Every song has been carefully tailored over, and there's a warm feel of life and originality to these 9 songs (I only had the vinyl) of relatively simple nature. I say relatively simple, because none of the tracks are relagated to being standard pop songs. All three of the first three songs on Side One have either unexpected chord changes, a nice, brief instrumental diversion, or just an air of being something different that keeps them sounding fresh and unconforming. Even a song like "Say You'll Never Leave Me", which might have sounded like a very standard love ballad of it's time if recorded by a standard love ballad artist of it's time let's the shaped synth tones and Tony Banks' highly personal singing to take the song into its own world. As for his singing on the album in general, it's not bad at all, sounding a little like a combination of his contributions to early Genesis rarities like "Shepard" and Al Stewart. The instrumental that closes out Side One, "Thirty-Three's" is one of his best soundscape and chord adventures, and has a very thick, surreal and evocative atomosphere to it. Side Two is a bit heavier, with slightly darker themes and more developed songwriting, all still very good, and lightened up by the quirky "Charm", which reminds me of some of those early video game sounds. The Fugitive is not a profound statement, and if there is a concept, it's hard to pin down, but it's highly creative, excellently produced, and always fun to listen to.