Tony Banks - Banks Vaults.

Esoteric/Cherry Red.

8/10.

By Decibel Report - July 27, 2019.

BANKS VAULTS is a newly re-mastered 8 disc boxed set. Collected together are all of the solo albums released by Genesis founder TONY BANKS between 1979 and 1995.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 as a member of Genesis, Tony Banks is one of the most respected songwriters and keyboardists in the world. Voted Prog God at the 2015 Prog Magazine Awards, Banks’ career spans almost 50 years and has seen him sell in excess of 130 million albums.

Banks’ own innovative body of solo work reminds of Genesis’ more experimental avant-garde style, rather than their lighter pop sensibilities of the 1980s.

His rock albums have included collaborations with deeply respected musicians including singers Toyah Wilcox, Fish, Jim Diamond and Nick Kershaw, bassist Pino Palladino and drummers Steve Gadd and Vinnie Colaiuta.

Especially long time Genesis collaborators: Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson.

One of the more intriguing collaborations, spread over a meagre three songs across two of the albums herein, is Banks’ collaboration with Marillion singer Fish. A singer who possesses an uncanny, natural Gabriel style vocal allowing the imagination to run wild with possibilities.

Just listening to their nine minute co-write of ‘Another Murder Of A Day’ is almost worth the admission price alone. Almost.

Banks’ albums A CURIOUS FEELING, THE FUGITIVE, THE WICKED LADY (film score), SOUNDTRACKS, BANKSTATEMENT, STILL and STRICTLY INC. all feature in this set (some being unavailable on CD for many years) and have been newly re-mastered at Abbey Road studios by Miles Showell and Nick Davis.

Also included in this set is a bonus DVD (NTSC / Region Free) which features all eight promotional videos made as companions to single releases from these albums, issued on DVD for the first time.