Bankstatement
	Produced by Steve Hillage and Tony Banks
	Released on August 21, 1989
	no chart information
	Find it at GEMM
82007-4 cover

S urely with the success of Mike + The Mechanics, the time was right for Tony Banks to join his Genesis mates at the top of the charts. Or so the thinking probably went; but Tony�s temporary rebranding as Bankstatement ended up on the loss side of the profit sheets, at least on this side of the pond. Produced by Steve Hillage and featuring a pair of strong vocalists in Alistair Gordon and Jayney Klimek, Bankstatement was the closest thing to a full-fledged contender that Banks had released yet. Where The Fugitive had a certain DIY charm, Bankstatement isn�t nearly so coy: �Throwback,� �Queen of Darkness� and �The More I Hide It� are high-energy, high-production pieces. Really, the whole record is, which is surprising considering that Banks and Hillage are better-known for making sleepy records. The only Achilles� Heel I see is its protean personality: close your eyes and you�ll hear Was (Not Was), Kate Bush, Midge Ure and even Barry Manilow walk by in succession. Alistair Gordon has a fine voice, but it seems to change from track to track, while Banks and Jayney Klimek are far apart in effect. To me, it�s not a stumbling block since I like surprises. Bankstatement isn�t a reinvention for Banks, just a retooling. The instrumental �Thursday The Twelfth� and the charming �I�ll Be Waiting� are the obvious offspring of The Fugitive, and some name-dropping of the old masters (�Watcher of the Skies,� �Mad, Mad Moon�) slips in. The Hillage percentage is actually minimal, intriguing as it is, made up mostly of Eastern spices (e.g., �Big Man�). Although I now enjoy Bankstatement (nearly) on the level of The Fugitive, its charms were initially elusive. Simply put, it was all I could do not to throw up during the opening �Throwback,� which seemed pandering of the worst sort. Once I got over that bit of seasickness, it was smooth sailing �til Thursday. I guess now that I�ve retabulated the till I�ll have to take a second look at Still.

82007-4 back picture booklet

TRACK LISTING

1. THROWBACK    4:37
2. I'LL BE WAITING    5:56
3. QUEEN OF DARKNESS    4:25
4. THAT NIGHT    4:39
5. RAINCLOUD    4:39
6. THE BORDER    5:50
7. BIG MAN    4:15
8. A HOUSE NEEDS A ROOF    4:06
9. THE MORE I HIDE IT    4:29
10. THURSDAY THE TWELFTH    4:51
11. (*CD bonus track:) DIAMONDS AREN'T SO BAD
    
    All tracks written by Tony Banks
    

CREDITS

TONY BANKS -- keyboards, bass synth, lead vocal, synth lead guitar
GEOFF DUGMORE -- drums
ALISTAIR GORDON -- lead vocal, backing vocals
STEVE HILLAGE -- guitar
JAYNEY KLIMEK -- lead vocal, backing vocals
Martin Ditcham -- congas and tambourine (5)
Dick Nolan -- bass
Pino Palladino -- bass
The Phantom Horns:
  Gary Barnacle -- sax
  John Thirkell -- trumpet
  Pete Thoms -- trombone
  Derek Watkins -- trumpet
Martin Robertson -- soprano sax (9)
John Wilson -- additional vocals (1)
John Gallon -- additional engineering
Halpen Grey Vermeir -- design
Andrew Olney -- cover photography
John Swannell -- portraits

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