Instinct

Initially released on 1994.

Find it at GEMM

REVIEW More than twenty years had passed since Peter Bank’s last release, prompting the questions Why release something now? and What does he sound like after all these years? To answer the first question, Banks may have been prompted by the renewed interest in Yes’ personnel history following Union (which included everyone but Banks and Patrick Moraz, a point he acknowledges on “Shortcomings”). As for what he sounds like now, Banks has settled into a more contemporary guitar style, proving that his playing didn’t languish in a vacuum. With programmed drum tracks and snippets of media (a la Big Audio Dynamite), Instinct is in line with the work of Andy Summers, Adrian Belew, Pat Metheny and Steve Vai; perhaps less technically proficient and more modest in terms of production value, but equally evocative. That, in itself, is a small miracle, and one likely to delight Banks’ long-suffering (for lack of anything to listen to) fans. Again completely instrumental (sparing the listener from what Banks self-deprecatingly refers to as “any vocal yodelling and warblings that I might aspire to”), this record is otherwise much different than Two Sides of Peter Banks. The leaping leads that marked his early style are absent, and his old affection for the rhythmic wah-wah effect is relegated to one track, “Sticky Wicket.” At twelve cuts and fifty-six minutes, Instinct is a generous helping, and a few of the songs do run on a little long, but every track serves as a pleasant postcard from some musical outpost. The watercolor tones of “No Place Like Home,” the frenetic “Shortcomings,” and the King Crimsonesque (circa Discipline) “Dominating Factor” lend character to Banks’ uncluttered arsenal: an Ibanez electric and a guitar synthesizer. If you enjoy instrumental guitar rock with atmospheric and jazzy overtones, Instinct is worth a flyer. FYI, the 1999 Transatlantic reissue is nicely packaged and sounds very good to boot.

TRACK LISTING

1. NO PLACE LIKE HOME    (Peter Banks)
2. ALL POINTS SOUTH    (Peter Banks/Gerald Goff)
3. FOGBOUND    (Peter Banks)
4. STICKY WICKET    (Peter Banks)
5. SHORTCOMINGS    (Peter Banks)
6. CODE BLUE    (Peter Banks/Gerald Goff)
7. ANGELS    (Peter Banks)
8. ANIMA MUNDI    (Peter Banks)
9. SWAMP REPORT    (Peter Banks/Gerald Goff)
10. INSTINCTIVE BEHAVIOUR    (Peter Banks)
11. DOMINATING FACTOR    (Peter Banks/Bill Forth)
12. NEVER THE SAME    (Peter Banks/Gerald Goff)

CREDITS

PETER BANKS -- electric guitar, guitar synthesizer
Bill Forth -- mixing
Gerald Goff --

RELEASE DATA

© 2002 Connolly & Company. All rights reserved.