Tracks where Tony Banks plays guitar

  • OK, here's a question for all you Genesis experts out there: Which Genesis songs (as recorded in the studio and/or as played live) is Tony Banks known to have played guitar on? I'm aware of a few but I wanted to pose the question to those with more knowledge.

    Little known fact: Before the crowbar was invented...


    ...crows simply drank at home.

  • I doubt I have more knowledge but with a couple of exceptions he's credited with acoustic/12-string guitar on pretty much every album up to and including Duke, and on CAS I think? I saw him play it in Lover's Leap in 82 (which he did again when they did LL on its own on the CAS tour) and he's on film playing it in Entangled, so we can probably assume he played on those in the studio.


    I'm fairly sure he plays it on TMB but as to individual songs on the other albums on which he's credited with it, I'm not sure, especially Duke and CAS.


    I've no doubt added a total of Not Very Much there, but it's an interesting query and I'm intrigued whether anyone can enlighten us further.

    Abandon all reason

  • Happy The Man makes sense as it has little or no keyboards and sounds like at least 2 guitars. It was in their live set so would've been one he could play all the way through given how keyboard-free it is on record.


    They've spoken about how Stagnation had loads of guitar tracks mixed together so it's a fair chance he played on that too.

    Abandon all reason

  • Happy The Man makes sense as it has little or no keyboards and sounds like at least 2 guitars. It was in their live set so would've been one he could play all the way through given how keyboard-free it is on record.


    They've spoken about how Stagnation had loads of guitar tracks mixed together so it's a fair chance he played on that too.

    It's strange that It was recorded a single, and TB didn't play nothing. :/

  • It's strange that It was recorded a single, and TB didn't play nothing. :/

    It's not that strange it was just a single. It wasn't unusual in the 60s and 70s for acts to put out non-album singles. OK it wasn't something Genesis did much but in general it was a known practice, one that's been prevalent again in recent years.


    In terms of Banks's contribution to it, they were coming out of that period when he'd occasionally play guitar and wasn't quite yet the chordmaster he became.

    Abandon all reason

  • Tony definitely plays rhythm guitar in Patricia since it is a demo recording with Ant on lead guitar and Mike on bass.


    He must have played here and there on Trespass, I can't spot his parts for sure though - possibly on White Mountain and/or Stagnation and/or Dusk. I am unsure about either of these since all of them had predominantly both Ant and Mike on 12-strings and they were a team that did not need a third guitarist.


    His guitar playing on Happy The Man is quite obvious, there are three very distinct guitar parts: Mike begins strumming the 12-string, Steve adds his individual notes on the 6-string, then Tony joins with straight strumming on the other 12-string. Also, this song is well-known to be one of the rare Genesis songs without any keyboards.


    Same goes for Harlequin, another song without any keyboards - except for that one "vibraphone" note from the mellotron (I bet this wasn't Tony's idea, maybe Steve's?) - instead Mike, Steve and Tony all play guitars.


    Pretty sure Tony is a third guitarist in the first half of The Musical Box as well since there's no keyboards present before the rock guitar solo starts. Steve can easily be spotted as he plays the 6-string, which again leaves Mike and Tony on 12-strings.


    Same goes for Lover's Leap (beginning of Supper's Ready).


    Some claim they hear Tony adding a third guitar in the beginning of Moonlit Knight, before Tony plays the piano; I am unable to to make out a third guitar beside Steve and Mike though.


    I am not sure about the 'reverend' section of Epping Forest, it does not contain any keyboards, either way Tony was silent on this entire section (a rarity for any Genesis song), or he contributed 12-string guitar along with Mike.


    The beginning of Cinema Show, before the first Tiresias chorus, clearly has three 12-string guitars, with Mike soloing the intro, then joined by Steve and Tony.


    Throughout the Lamb album, I am doubting Tony contributed any guitar parts, I can't spot any, on the other hand this album is filled up with keyboards.


    Entangled is another classic guitar trio of Steve, Mike and Tony.


    It might be interesting to check live footage of all these songs. In most or all of the above, Tony played his guitar parts live too, some videos confirm this clearly.


    I am not sure if there's any more guitar parts by Tony from this point on. Wind and Wuthering might still contain some of his guitar parts but I can't make out any for sure.

    Throughout the entire trio era, all the guitar work was left to Mike, up until Ray joined and brought in his rhythm guitar playing for live unplugged versions. Tony joined on acoustic guitar in the Lover's Leap version from this era and for some other songs, pretty positive on Follow Me Follow You too since the acoustic versions has no keyboards at all. Also, there's a nice unplugged version of Not About Us and I guess it also had Mike, Ray and Tony all on acoustic guitars.

  • Here's what actually inspired me to ask the question: The CD reissue of Ant's IVORY MOON includes, as a bonus track, a solo piano version of "Let Us Now Make Love." Ant says this about the song:


    "...Mike Rutherford and myself used to play 12-string guitars and Tony Banks would swap from organ to my stratocaster through a Leslie speaker for the instrumental sections."

    Little known fact: Before the crowbar was invented...


    ...crows simply drank at home.

  • Here's what actually inspired me to ask the question: The CD reissue of Ant's IVORY MOON includes, as a bonus track, a solo piano version of "Let Us Now Make Love." Ant says this about the song:


    "...Mike Rutherford and myself used to play 12-string guitars and Tony Banks would swap from organ to my stratocaster through a Leslie speaker for the instrumental sections."

    Mario Giammetti confirms, I think the source is the same.


    Maybe it's towards the end when an organ solo is heard. :/

  • He is playing keyboards in that section, so it is unlikely he also overdubbed guitar.

    He's credited with 12-string on Duke, whereas MR is "guitars". If anyone with sharper ears than mine can pick out where there's 12-string on the album, there's the most likely occurrence of TB's contribution.

    Abandon all reason

  • He's credited with 12-string on Duke, whereas MR is "guitars". If anyone with sharper ears than mine can pick out where there's 12-string on the album, there's the most likely occurrence of TB's contribution.

    In my Duke CD too! :thumbup:


    P.S. Mario Giammetti in his review, there are two guitars overdub in Duke's Travel intro. :/

    Edited once, last by rkive ().

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    - very please Tony on guitar. :)))))))) Hahahaha. :) Performance in 2007. :) Acoustic Follow You Follow Me in 2007.

  • Schrottrocker

    "There's a nice unplugged version of Not About Us and I guess it also had Mike, Ray and Tony all on acoustic guitars".


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    Why not see it? 8)

  • ....and on the same promo tour Genesis played at the Kennedy Space Center In FL performing a four song acoustic set with Tony playing guitar on Not About Us. I have the whole show on a VHS tape somewhere boxed in my loft but nothing to play it on! I could only find this poor Q clip on youtube of NAU but not the whole performace:


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    NAU was followed by Lovers Leap and I am pretty sure Tony played guitar on that too but I cant find any clips on youtube.

    Setlist.com has it dated 28th Aug 1997

    No Son of Mine

    Not About Us

    Lovers Leap

    Turn It On Again.

    ....and I think this would be Rays (and Nirs) only US gig that they ever did with Genesis!

  • ....and I think this would be Rays (and Nirs) only US gig that they ever did with Genesis!

    Thanks for the videos!


    Yes, I saw an interview on TV back then, Ray said the upcoming US tour would be a big dream come true for him since he never performed in America before.