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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