Monday 29 December 2014

An Island in The Darkness (Strictly Inc., 1995)

Strictly Inc. is a one album project by Genesis founder member Tony Banks, also featuring among others vocalist Jack Hues and long-standing Genesis live member Daryl Stuermer. It's one of the few long epics written by Banks for his solo albums (around 17 minutes) and, IMHO, likely his best one. There's an original mix of piano driven sections and mostly pop sung parts. Even if I don't especially like the drum machine, "An Island in The Darkness" includes a great melody, some beautiful instrumental sections and a wide range of compositional gimmicks.

Even if the album is credited to Strictly Inc., actually this 
can be considered as Tony Banks' seventh studio album.

As usual, Tony excels in painting obscure and melancholy atmospheres, misty and crepuscular landscapes. I'm deeply touched by his minor key chords and the longest instrumental passage of this song is simply outstanding. I'm pleased to mention some other strong points of the track: Daryl Stuermer's guitar solo, the piano intro and the sensitive Jack Hues' vocal performance, to name just a few of them. Definitely a highlight in Banks' career.

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