''The Fugitive'' is the second solo album by
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
keyboardist
Tony Banks. It was originally released in June 1983, on
Charisma
Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects.
Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...
(UK), and
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
(US). It was produced by Banks himself, and co-produced by the
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
–winning
Stephen Short. The album is the only album in which Banks sings the lead vocals on all of the tracks. On the previous concept album, ''
A Curious Feeling
''A Curious Feeling'' is the debut solo album from English keyboardist Tony Banks. It was recorded at ABBA's Polar Music Studios during a brief hiatus for Banks's main group Genesis and released in 1979 on Charisma Records. It is one of only tw ...
'' all of the vocals were done by
Kim Beacon. When that album did not turn out too successfully, Banks thought that it was pointless to continue that project.
As compared to ''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 number 50 in the UK, lasting within the Top 100 for only two weeks. "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. In 1999 a CD re-issue was released in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, unofficially. ''The Fugitive'' was reissued in early 2016, remixed by Banks and
Nick Davis.
Recording
![The Farm recording studio 2006](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/The_Farm_recording_studio_2006.jpg)
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. Like bandmate
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
, Banks recorded all of the basic tracks at his home on a professional
8-track tape
The 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8; commonly called eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, and eight-track) is a magnetic tape sound recording technology that was popular from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when the compact cassette, wh ...
machine, added to and mixed at
The Farm, the band's recording studio in
Chiddingfold
Chiddingfold is a village and civil parish in the Weald in the Waverley district of Surrey, England. It lies on the A283 road between Milford and Petworth. The parish includes the hamlets of Ansteadbrook, High Street Green and Combe Common ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
. Genesis reconvened before the album's release, in March 1983 to start work on their next studio album at the same studio.
Three guest musicians (mostly
Steve Gadd
Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the ''Modern D ...
) played drums, while a
Linn LM-1
The Linn LM-1 Drum Computer is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics and released in 1980. It was the first drum machine to use samples of acoustic drums, and one of the first programmable drum machines. Its designer, the American en ...
was used in place of a live drummer on the instrumental "Thirty Three's".
Daryl Stuermer
Daryl Mark Stuermer (born November 27, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, and producer best known for playing the guitar and bass for Genesis during live shows, and lead guitar for Phil Collins during most solo tours and albums. He has ...
(guitar) from Genesis' and
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
' backing band was recruited, as was
Mo Foster
Mo Foster (born Michael Ralph Foster, 22 December 1944) is an English multi-instrumentalist, record producer, composer, solo artist, author, and public speaker. Through a career spanning over half a century, Foster has toured, recorded, and perf ...
(bass) who played on Collins' solo album ''
Hello, I Must Be Going!''.
The two bonus tracks "K2" and "Sometime Never" were recorded in the same sessions but were not included on the original album.
Banks later commented, "''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."
Release history
Promotion
Upon release, the "This Is Love" single had a music video created to promote it.
"And the Wheels Keep Turning" had no video, as Charisma Records chose not to commission one.
Marketing for the album relied heavily on Banks's fame as a member of Genesis, and the advertising slogan used in print ads stated simply "Tony Banks."
Reception
In his retrospective review for
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, Geoff Orens praised the album for being sparser and more accessible than most of Tony Banks's solo work. He 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, he commented that some of the songs have not aged well.
Track listing
;Additional tracks
;Note
* There are extended versions of "This is Love" and "And the Wheels Keep Turning" on 12" singles. These have never been released on CD.
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.
*
Tony Banks – lead and backing vocals, keyboards, synth bass,
Linn LM-1
The Linn LM-1 Drum Computer is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics and released in 1980. It was the first drum machine to use samples of acoustic drums, and one of the first programmable drum machines. Its designer, the American en ...
*
Daryl Stuermer
Daryl Mark Stuermer (born November 27, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, and producer best known for playing the guitar and bass for Genesis during live shows, and lead guitar for Phil Collins during most solo tours and albums. He has ...
– lead and rhythm guitars
*
Mo Foster
Mo Foster (born Michael Ralph Foster, 22 December 1944) is an English multi-instrumentalist, record producer, composer, solo artist, author, and public speaker. Through a career spanning over half a century, Foster has toured, recorded, and perf ...
– bass guitars
* Tony Beard – drums (1, 4, 9)
*
Steve Gadd
Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the ''Modern D ...
– drums (2, 3, 6, 11), percussion (2, 3, 6, 11)
* Andy Duncan – drums (7, 8, 10)
Production
* Tony Banks – producer
*
Stephen Short – associate producer, engineer
* Geoff Callingham – technical assistance
* Dale Newman – equipment, food
* Clare Newman – equipment, food
* Bill Smith – cover design, photography
2016 Reissue
* Tony Banks – mixing
*
Nick Davis – mixing
* Tom Mitchell – mix assistant
Chart performance
Sales and certifications
See also
*
List of albums released in 1983
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fugitive, The
1983 albums
Fugitive, The
Atlantic Records albums
Charisma Records albums
Art rock albums by English artists