A Curious Feeling by Tony Banks, 1979 album.
A Curious Feeling, the first solo album by Tony Banks, keyboardist and co-founder of Genesis, was released in October 1979 on Charisma Records. The record was born during a short break for Genesis, also due to the personal commitments of drummer Phil Collins.
Initially, Banks had in mind turning the science-fiction novel “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes into music. In the end, however, he opted for an original story, while still drawing on some elements from the book.
The recordings took place in Sweden, at ABBA’s Polar Music Studios in Stockholm. Tony Banks played almost all the instruments, including keyboards, guitar, bass and percussion. Chester Thompson, longtime drummer on Genesis tours, played drums and percussion, while Kim Beacon handled the vocals.
The record unfolds as a dramatic, psychological narrative that explores the gradual loss of memory and intelligence through the protagonist’s eyes. The initial inspiration comes from Daniel Keyes’ sci-fi novel “Flowers for Algernon”, in which a man with a severe intellectual disability undergoes surgery that triples his IQ, only to experience a tragic, unstoppable mental decline that brings him back to his original condition.
The title “A Curious Feeling” (A strange feeling) perfectly captures the protagonist’s psychological journey. It points to that exact moment when someone realizes that something deep inside is changing, without immediately understanding why.
This title contains three important meanings tied to the story. First of all, it represents the moment of the protagonist’s greatest mental brilliance. After unlocking an incredible intellectual potential (inspired by the book Flowers for Algernon), the man feels a sense of absolute clarity and wonder. It is a “strange feeling” of intellectual omnipotence: at last he can see beyond the lies of politics and philosophy, discovering a freedom of thought he has never felt before.
Soon after reaching this peak, that same “strange feeling” turns into unease. It becomes the first sign of losing himself. The protagonist begins to sense a subtle, indefinable change in his brain, the first symptom of the tragic cognitive decline that will lead him to forget everything and lose his mind.
Curious Feeling is Tony Banks’ most authentic and genuine work, the true “keeper” of the classic Genesis sound.
Musically, the album sits between the symphonic progressive rock of late-’70s Genesis (as in Wind & Wuthering) and a more accessible, almost art-pop approach. Being a keyboardist’s record, the style is marked by majestic Mellotron washes, synthesizer solos (Polymoog and ARP Avatar) and piano passages of rare elegance.
Banks creates intricate textures, but compared to the excesses of early-’70s prog, he drops extreme odd time signatures to focus on flowing melodies, melancholic atmospheres and epic storytelling.
Chester Thompson’s drumming adds drive and rock power, while Kim Beacon’s rough, warm voice gives the album a theatrical, tormented stamp.
The album flows continuously, almost like a suite, but some tracks stand out for their intensity.
“From the Undertow” is an instrumental prelude led by piano and a towering keyboard crescendo, whose main theme comes from an improvisation discarded from Genesis’ And Then There Were Three….
“The Lie” is a dark, rhythmic, theatrical piece that builds in intensity until it flows straight into the next track.
The title track, “A Curious Feeling”, is the album’s brightest and most rhythmic episode, a sophisticated pop-prog track that temporarily breaks the overall melancholy.
“The Waters of Lethe” is a hypnotic, dreamlike instrumental, with ethereal atmospheres that perfectly evoke the protagonist’s mind journey toward total oblivion.
“After the Lie” is, in my view, the album’s masterpiece. The track represents the dramatic peak of the concept and boasts an extraordinary musical structure. The dramatic tension develops over a driving pulse supported by Chester Thompson’s masterful work on drums. The second half of the piece is dominated by a devastating, very long synthesizer solo, considered among the best Tony Banks ever wrote, including his work with Genesis. For dynamics, epic scope and arrangement, “After the Lie” could easily have found a place on milestones like A Trick of the Tail or Wind & Wuthering.
Great record.
My Copy
Label: Charisma – 9124 048
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: Italy
Released: 1979
Tracklist
A1 From The Undertow 2:44
A2 Lucky Me 4:25
A3 The Lie 4:58
A4 After The Lie 4:48
A5 A Curious Feeling 3:55
A6 Forever Morning 6:02
B1 You 6:28
B2 Somebody Else's Dream 7:45
B3 The Waters Of Lethe 6:29
B4 For A While 3:35
B5 In The Dark 3:00
Lineup
Drums, Percussion – Chester Thompson
Keyboards, Guitar, Bass, Percussion – Tony Banks
Vocals – Kim Beacon
