STRICTLY INC.

Yes, this is indeed one of Tony's best albums. Full of those great Banks chord changes and inventive layered keyboard sounds. Jack Hues's voice suits Tony's songs better than any of his previous collaborators (except Phil and Peter, of course). Thankfully, Tony doesn't do any singing himself this time, and the musical contributions of the guest session musicians are properly mixed and more prominently featured to good effect this time around. My favorite three songs are Walls of Sound, A Piece of You, and of course, Island in the Darkness, all of which coincidentally feature guitar. I suppose that, as much as I admire Tony's ability to be a one-man orchestra, it's still the sound of all the elements of a band complementing each other which brings the music to it's greatest heights. Nathan East, John Robinson, and Daryl Stuermer all turn in great performances on this album.

The only songs I tend to skip over are Don't Turn Your Back on Me (there's that annoying fake reggae groove again!) and the title track (perverted lyrics and stiff rhythmic feel). It's true that Island is perhaps Tony's best song as a solo artist, but other than that, I think that the album Still has more great songs to offer. A solid 4 stars for Strictly Inc.