BANKSTATEMENT

Surely with the success of Mike + The Mechanics, the time was right for Tony BANKS to join his GENESIS mates at the top of the charts. Or so the thinking probably went; but Tony's temporary rebranding as "Bankstatement" ended up on the loss side of the balance sheets, commercially anyway. Produced by Steve HILLAGE and featuring a pair of strong vocalists in Alistair Gordon and Jayney Klimek, "Bankstatement" was the closest thing to a full-fledged contender that BANKS had released yet, augmenting his keyboard-led creations with palpable production value.

At times, especially when Klimek takes the lead, "Bankstatement" seems like a viable option artistically (just recall how good Toyah Wilcox sounded on "Lion of Symmetry"). Alistair Gordon's voice is less consistent; the opening "Throwback" ends up sounding like Was Not Was' "Knocked Down, Made Small (Treated Like A Rubber Ball)", Lou Gramm comes to mind on "The More I Hide It," Barry Manilow on "That Night". Gordon gets the lion's share of the leads, which was likely intended as a means to compete with Mike + The Mechanics, but Klimek gets the best moments: "Queen of Darkness" and "A House Needs A Roof.".

Despite being credited with guitar, HILLAGE has little audible effect on the outcome, though his handiwork is evident on the Eastern-tinged "Big Man" (which starts with a reference to GENESIS' "Watcher of the Skies"). Thankfully, BANKS' character still comes through on "Bankstatement". No doubt the labels would have liked an entire album of adult contemporary pop, but it's when "Bankstatement" resists these expectations and returns to BANKS' strengths that the record truly succeeds. And if you enjoyed the instrumentals on "The Fugitive", check out "Thursday the Twelfth."