A CURIOUS FEELING

Since Banks had musically hijacked Genesis during the post-Gabriel era, it is not surprising that his first solo album sounds like outtakes from the "Wind and Wuthering" period. At least Genesis had Collins' vocals and percussion, and Hackett's technical and emotional, if increasingly shackled, brilliance. Substitute Banks on almost every instrument, but predictably a very strong keyboard bias, a generally somnolent mood, and a moribund Kim Beacon on vocals. When Kim does choose to sing out, he sounds more like Stevie Wonder than anything, especially on the title cut. It is also telling that one of the best tracks, "Somebody Else's Dream" sounds surprisingly similar to "Squonk". But the most original direction is taken with the sinewy melody of "After the Lie", the only piece that really endures and shows a direction that could have been taken in the future. But Banks and his cohorts had other ideas which they were about to unveil in their ultimately successful quest for world domination. The lingering feeling might be described as a tad more queasy than curious.