TotW 10/27/2018 - 11/02/2018: TONY BANKS - From The Undertow

    • Official Post

    What do you think about "From The Undertow"? 16

    1. 09 points - satisfactory + (4) 25%
    2. 15 points - outstanding! (3) 19%
    3. 14 points - very good (3) 19%
    4. 11 points - good (2) 13%
    5. 13 points - very good - (1) 6%
    6. 12 points - good + (1) 6%
    7. 10 points - good - (1) 6%
    8. 00 points - abysmal (1) 6%
    9. 08 points - satisfactory (0) 0%
    10. 07 points - satisfactory - (0) 0%
    11. 06 points - sufficient + (0) 0%
    12. 05 points - sufficient (0) 0%
    13. 04 points - sufficient - (0) 0%
    14. 03 points - poor + (0) 0%
    15. 02 points - poor (0) 0%
    16. 01 point - poor - (0) 0%

    TONY BANKS - From The Undertow

    Year: 1979

    Album: A Curious Feeling [album review]

    Working title: unknown

    Credits: Tony Banks

    Lyrics:-

    Length: 2:45

    Musicians: (tba)

    Played Live: never

    mp3 downloads:

    Cover versions: none


    Notes: When you read the title you think of a similarly titled piece on ...And Then There Were Three... When you close your eyes and listen you hear Genesis. When you check the booklet you realize it's Tony Banks solo. The similarity to Genesis songs and the title connection have a reason: Tony has always left his mark on Genesis. Our current Track Of The Week was planned as the introduction to the Genesis song Undertow. It eventually became the opening track of Tony's first solo album.

    An instrumental that has a bit of Genesis and a lot of Tony Banks and no way to hide its lineage.



    We invite you to share interesting facts and tidbits about this track. Let's look at the track in the context of the band's / the artist's history, at the music, the songwriting and all other aspects that are relevant for this track. Please do stick to the discussion of the track above. Comparisons to other tracks are okay, but remember that the other track you may be keen to talk about has or will have its own Track Of The Week thread.

    If you spot a mistake or if you can close a gap in the fact sheet above please feel free to contact martinus or Christian about it; we will gladly add and improve!

    ...cried a voice in the crowd.


  • Don't judge, but this the first Tony Banks song I've ever heard. As in, I listened to it a few minutes ago. Definitely has a Genesis feel to it, but at the same time not Genesisy enough to be Genesis. Kind of cool to see one third of the band removed and allowed to go about on its own. Interesting origin to the song as well-thanks for the info. No rating given as I'm not really sure what I'm comparing it to. It is, at this point, both the best and worst Tony Banks song I've heard.

  • Definitely has a Genesis feel to it, but at the same time not Genesisy enough to be Genesis.

    Personally I find it very Banks and as such very Genesis, it couldn't be any different considering it is in fact the instrumental he edited out for Undertow. A good one imo but it would have been better as integral part of the song, as originally conceived.

  • I've said it before, the 3 instrumentals on this album are poor, lifeless, soulless tedious efforts that might have benefitted from input by others, like the others who appear on this album, or Mike and Phil. Tony is a good, at times great, songwriter, but he needs the input of others to get the best out of him, much like Brian May of Queen.


    This album is great, but only thanks to the actual songs, the instrumentals are just filler. He improved on The Fugitive and Soundtracks, where the instrumentals have others involved.

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

  • I've said it before, the 3 instrumentals on this album are poor, lifeless, soulless tedious efforts

    Tell us how you really feel:-) I like them but I concede they are certainly more subdued than other instrumentals Tony has composed. Personally, I think it is always a mistake when an artist tries to write and play a whole album on his own. I know Chester played here but the rest is all Banks and much as I I agree there's something missing there.

  • A CURIOUS FEELING (or, as I sometimes call it, "A Furious Ceiling") took longer to "click" with me than any other album I've ever had. I like the instrumentals on the album much better than others here do, but "From the Undertow" is my least favorite of the three. That said, I've come to appreciate it much more than I did originally. Personally, I think it was a good idea for it and "Undertow" to be separated rather than joined.

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


    ...crows simply drank at home.