SEVEN - A SUITE FOR ORCHESTRA

I really wanted to like this album. I was actually very pleased to hear Tony had done an orchestral album, as I imagined he would probably be really good at this. And I gave it quite a few good listens until I finally, sadly, decided this album just doesn't do it for me.

There's very little here, to my ears at least, that says ''Tony Banks''. It might just as well be film music by just about anyone, or something a second-tier composer wrote a hundred years ago (quite literally; that's about the time frame I'd put this in stylistically.) It doesn't particularly help that all the pieces are slow, with one exception which is mid-paced. Going into individual tracks doesn't even seem to make much sense to me as they're all equally unmemorable.

I've found it interesting to compare this album with Mike Oldfield's orchestral effort, ''Music of the Spheres''. Tony's album sounds more dexterous, more like orchestral music is ''supposed'' to sound. However, that is also its problem, as it ends up sounding just like other people's orchestral music. Mike's album, by contrast, sounds more wayward, not as skilful, but more interesting and individual. It's certainly not Mike's finest hour either, but I'll take it over ''Seven'' any day.

''Collectors / fans only'' seems a completely appropriate rating to me.