A Curious Feeling

A Curious Feeling
Studio album by Tony Banks
Released	8 October 1979
Recorded	Spring-Summer 1979 Polar Music Studios, Stockholm, Sweden
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	52:54
Label	Charisma Charisma/Polydor (US/Canada) Caroline (US)
Producer	Tony Banks, David Hentschel
Tony Banks chronology
A Curious Feeling (1979) The Wicked Lady (1983)

A Curious Feeling is the début solo album from Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks. Recorded at ABBA's Polar Music Studios during a brief Genesis hiatus, it was released in 1979 on Charisma Records and is one of only two of Banks' solo albums to have entered the UK Albums Chart, reaching 21 and staying on the chart for five weeks.^[1]

The cover design is by Hothouse, and the cover painting is Wuluwait - Boatman of the Dead by Australian artist Ainslie Roberts.

History

The instrumental piece "From the Undertow" was used in the 1978 British film The Shout, for which Banks, with Mike Rutherford, composed the incidental music. No soundtrack of the film was released. The piece was originally intended to be the intro to "Undertow" from the Genesis album ...And Then There Were Three... (hence the title).

The album was re-released on 19 October 2009,^[2] remixed from the original masters by Nick Davis, who also created a 5.1 DTS 96/24 surround mix which is available on the second disc of the deluxe edition.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Classic Rock	[4]
Record Collector	[5]

According to Banks himself, the album "got some extremely scathing reviews, I don't think they were fair" but he conceded "this was post-punk and this was really not the album that people wanted to hear".^[6] Classic Rock reviewer Jerry Ewing agrees with Banks, writing that the album is made of "lush pastoral English prog rock that deserved better at the time" and is probably the musician's best solo effort.^[4]

AllMusic gave a positive retrospective review, asserting that "Banks manages to capture the wonderment and allure that enveloped Genesis' Peter Gabriel days... yet he filters out the instrumental intricacies, unorthodox time signatures, and complex poetry which enveloped these works to create a milder but equally effective progressive realm." They praised the album for lacking the instrumental pretentiousness that most would have expected, instead focusing on strong progressive rock compositions.^[3]

Track listing

All songs written by Tony Banks.

Vinyl, cassette and original CD release (Charisma CAS 1148)

Side one

1. "From the Undertow" – 2:45
2. "Lucky Me" – 4:23
3. "The Lie" – 4:58
4. "After the Lie" – 4:47
5. "A Curious Feeling" – 3:58
6. "Forever Morning" – 5:59

Side two

1. "You" – 6:28
2. "Somebody Else's Dream" – 7:45
3. "The Waters of Lethe" – 6:27
4. "For a While" – 3:32
5. "In the Dark" – 2:52

2009 CD (Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2160)

1. "From the Undertow"
2. "Lucky Me"
3. "The Lie"
4. "After the Lie"
5. "A Curious Feeling"
6. "Forever Morning"
7. "You"
8. "Somebody Else's Dream"
9. "The Waters of Lethe"
10. "For a While"
11. "In the Dark"

2009 DVD (Deluxe Limited Hardback Edition only - Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 22161)

5.1 Surround Sound mixes

1. "From the Undertow"
2. "Lucky Me"
3. "The Lie"
4. "After the Lie"
5. "A Curious Feeling"
6. "Forever Morning"
7. "You"
8. "Somebody Else's Dream"
9. "The Waters of Lethe"
10. "For a While"
11. "In the Dark"

1979 promotional films

1. "For a While"
2. "The Waters of Lethe"

Personnel

• Tony Banks: keyboards, guitar, bass, percussion
• Chester Thompson: drums, percussion
• Kim Beacon: vocals

Production

• Produced by Tony Banks and David Hentschel
• Recorded and engineered by David Bascombe and David Hentschel

Charts

Album

References