I would have sworn that Tony Banks' bandmates in Genesis, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins, have remarked in the past that Tony was the backbone of Genesis and/or that there'd be no Genesis without him. These comments were usually made in the context of Banks' solo career having been a commercial failure in contrast to Collins' and Rutherford's. And, I suppose to his 1970s Genesis bandmates Peter Gabriel's and Steve Hackett's as well.
But I cannot find any evidence of these consolation quotes. Either my internet sleuthing ability is lacking or I have misremembered something fierce. Regardless, Banks had an outsized influence on the band's music throughout its career. His piano and organ playing were, arguably, the defining sounds of Genesis in their early days. Plus, listening to the band in 1969-70, you hear a lot of Tony Banks backing vocals and even the occasional lead. As the band progressed, his Mellotron playing became their next aural trademark. And, of course, synthesizers of various stripes became part of his keyboard arsenal and helped further define the band's sound.
Banks has described his music as having a feminine quality to it and professes a love for the music of Romantic composer Sergei Rachmaninoff and the Impressionism of Maurice Ravel. His music doesn't have a lot of chaos or dissonance in it. It's more gentle and emotional as opposed to, say, aggressive.
His solo career began in 1979 with A Curious Feeling, recorded while Genesis was on hold while Phil Collins attempted to repair his broken marriage. Banks went on to release 4 more solo efforts in between Genesis albums. His songs became less "flowery" and more direct as time went on. In 1994, he formed Strictly Incognito with Jack Hues of Wang Chung. Their album, Strictly Inc., like the rest of Banks' solo work, was a commercial failure. After it, Banks would do one more Genesis album before moving on to composing classic music.
There is much to recommend in Tony Banks' solo catalogue but also a lot of music that doesn't strike me. I think a lot of it has to do with the synth sounds he uses. As he moved away from piano, organ, and Mellotron, he often adopted synth sounds that were, not harsh, but metallic sounding. And I think he had difficulty in successfully integrating those kinds of mechanical/modern/urban sounds into a soundscape that he'd traditionally populated with more organic and, perhaps, pastoral ones.
If, as it seems, Strictly Inc. is Tony Banks' final solo rock album, we can take comfort that it ends with a 17+ proggy epic called "Island in the Darkness" that deftly mixes the Banks of old with the new.
From out outset we find Banks returning to the piano and it is the skeleton upon which the song is grown as with Genesis classics like "Mad Man Moon" and "Duchess". While there is an occasional flute-like synth flourish, it's mainly lovely, melodic piano soloing for the first couple minutes. Eventually a drum machine enters with a wooden clonking sound that I can take or leave and a wash of synths fill out the spare sound. I love the bass pedal-like low end here.
The song shuffles along with Banks adding layers of sound for about 5 minutes until real drums appear with a crash of cymbals. Synths that sound like woodwinds are supplanted by those that resemble strings and the tempo quickens. At about the 10 minute mark we get a piano interlude and then the song moves towards a climax that includes a fine guitar solo from Daryl Stuermer, who played guitar and bass on tour with Genesis. (And he's from Milwaukee so he's a Cheesehead.)
I will add that Jack Hues' vocals are excellent here. They add to the drama of the music without making things feel overwrought. He can be subtle yet also be forceful when needed. A fine complement to the flowery and more expansive music.
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