The Fugitive (album)

This article is about the Tony Banks album. For other albums with similar titles, see The Fugitive (disambiguation).
The Fugitive
Studio album by Tony Banks
Released Late June 1983
Recorded 1982-1983
Studio The Farm, Surrey
Genre
Length 52:35
Label
Producer
Tony Banks chronology
The Wicked Lady
(1983)		 The Fugitive
(1983)		 Soundtracks
(1986)
Singles from The Fugitive
  1. "This is Love"
    Released: May 1983
  2. "And the Wheels Keep Turning"
    Released: August 1983 (UK; Netherlands only)

The Fugitive is the second solo studio album by Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks. It was originally released in June 1983, on Charisma (UK), and Atlantic (US). It was produced by Banks himself, and co-produced by the Grammy Award–winning Stephen Short. The album is notably the first and only album in which Banks sings the lead vocals all of the tracks, on the previous concept album, A Curious Feeling all of the vocals were done by Kim Beacon. When that album did not turn out too successful Banks thought that it was pointless to continue that project.[1] And unlike A Curious Feeling the songs on The Fugitive were much more commercially accessible and less experimental.

When the album was released in late June 1983, it received mixed reviews and peaked at #50 in the UK, lasting within the Top 100 for only two weeks.[2] It was also released only four months before Genesis's self-titled album, and "And the Wheels Keep Turning" was notably released in the same month as their single "Mama". "This Is Love", and "And the Wheels Keep Turning" were released as singles, but they both failed to chart.

The album was re-issued on CD in the UK, but it is currently out of print and arguably harder to find than the original vinyl LP itself, and today second-hand copies are often listed for sale for £15 or more.[3] However, in 1999 a CD re-issue was released in Russia, unofficially.[4]The Fugitive was reissued in early 2016, remixed by Banks and Nick Davis.

Recording

The Farm, pictured in 2006, where The Fugitive was recorded.

In October 1982, Genesis wrapped their two-month tour of North America and Europe in support of their live album, Three Sides Live. The band then went on a brief hiatus, and during this time Banks recorded the album, alike band mate Phil Collins Banks recorded all of the basic tracks at his home on a professional 8-track tape machine, added to and mixed at The Farm, the band's recording studio in Chiddingfold, Surrey.[5] Genesis reconvened a month before the album's release, in May 1983 to start work on their next studio album at the same studio.

Three guest musicians (mostly Steve Gadd) played drums, while a Linn LM-1 was used in place of a live drummer on the instrumental "Thirty Three's". Daryl Stuermer (guitar) from Genesis' and Phil Collins' backing band was recruited, as was Mo Foster (bass) who played on Collins' solo album Hello, I Must Be Going!.[6] The two bonus tracks "K2", and "Sometime Never" were not included on the original album due to lack of space but they were still recorded in the same sessions.[7]

The Fugitive was a slightly different approach, where I sang everything. I wanted to do that once in my life! I purposely kept the vocal lines straightforward, so that I could sing them. The album has quite a strong instrumental bias, but it was a little more stark. I like the record very much.
— Tony Banks, [8]

Release history

Country Date Label Format Catalogue number
United Kingdom June 1983 Charisma LP 812 383-1
United States 1983 Atlantic LP 7 80071-1
United Kingdom 1983 Virgin CD TBCD1
Portugal 1983 PolyGram LP 812 383-1
Russia 1999 ArsNova Unofficial bootlegged CD AN99-049
United Kingdom 2016 Esoteric Recordings Remixed CD ECLEC2533
United Kingdom 2016 Esoteric Recordings 2-Disc Remixed CD/5.1 DVD set ECLEC22534
United Kingdom 2016 Esoteric Recordings Remixed LP ECLECLP2534

Promotion

Upon release, the "This Is Love" single had a music video created to promote it.[9] It was the only music video from this period – to be filmed.[1] "And the Wheels Keep Turning" had no video, as Charisma Records chose not to commission one.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Retrospective review
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [10]

Retrospective review

The Fugitive received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. In his retrospective review for AllMusic, Geoff Orens rated the album three stars out of five. He praised the album for being sparser and more accessible than most of Tony Banks's solo work. They also approved of his singing the songs himself, saying that his voice "works far better with his music than many of the other more bombastic vocalists he has recorded with as a solo artist." However, they commented that some of the songs have not aged well.[10]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Tony Banks. 

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "This Is Love"   5:11
2. "Man of Spells"   3:46
3. "And the Wheels Keep Turning"   4:48
4. "Say You'll Never Leave Me"   4:32
5. "Thirty Three's" (instrumental) 4:33
Side two
No. Title Length
6. "By You"   4:29
7. "At the Edge of Night"   6:03
8. "Charm" (instrumental) 5:27
9. "Moving Under"   6:01
Additional tracks
Note

Personnel

A promotional photograph of Tony Banks

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[6]

Additional personnel

Production

Chart performance

Chart (1983) Peak
position		 Total
weeks
UK Albums Chart[11] 50 2

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)[12] Gold 100,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Tony Banks – The Fugitive". Genesis News Com. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  2. ↑ "The Official Charts Company - The Fugitive by Tony Banks Search". The Official Charts Company. 20 February 2015.
  3. ↑ "The Fugitive: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  4. ↑ "Unofficial Russian re-issue at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  5. ↑ "Banks, Tony - The Fugitive LP at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  6. 1 2 The Fugitive liner notes. Charisma Records. 1983.
  7. ↑ "Banks, Tony - The Fugitive CD at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  8. ↑ "Interview from 'Sound on Sound'".
  9. ↑ "Tony Banks- This is Love". YouTube. 2007-02-27. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  10. 1 2 The Fugitive (album) at AllMusic
  11. ↑ "UK Singles & Albums Chart Archive". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  12. ↑ "British album certifications – Tony Banks – The Fugitive". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 February 2015. Enter The Fugitive in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search

External links

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