Genesis’ Tony Banks picks his favourite song by The Beatles
For a man like Genesis’ Tony Banks, the notion of experimentation runs through his veins. As a pioneer of sound construction and vast instrumentation across the length of his career, as well as creating work spanning the genres of prog rock, film scores, pop, and classical music, he really is someone who can turn his hand to anything – and, of course, be instantly good at it.
In this sense, you can wonder where this heady level of ingenuity comes from and what Banks has been inspired by over the years. However, naturally, for any rockstar who began working life in the 1960s, the Fab Four are never far from view.
Banks formed Genesis in 1967 with a vision of eclectic musicality; elaborate keyboard arrangements and vast instrumentations were very much the staples, befitting of the swinging era and trip-infused way of life. Of course, the influence of the four Liverpudlian overlords of the scene was prominent, with a largely similar vibe permeating through much of the band’s catalogue during this period. But to that end, alongside all his other rock heroes, there was one particular Beatles song of the era that Banks loved above the rest, and for good reason.
‘I Am the Walrus’, the Beatles’ artistic putdown to the overly philosophical, stood out to Banks as his personal favourite. Taken from the film and resultant album Magical Mystery Tour, a possible theory behind this pick lies in the fact it was released in the same year as Genesis came together, providing Banks a flash of inspiration at just the right moment.
Back in the illustrious 1967, John Lennon had penned the song as a somewhat petty response to those who had been going down an excessively contrived or scholarly route when trying to derive meaning from the Beatles’ previous lyrics. What do you mean the phrase, “I am the walrus, goo-goo g’joob” doesn’t have some metaphorical underlying meaning that’s deeply reflective of societal condition? It’s just a bit of fun, really.
Well, ‘fun’ might be a bit of a naïve way to put it, because none of the Beatles’ work of the time was without the overbearing input of the ‘60s drugs scene, which Lennon openly admitted to having been inspired by in ‘I Am the Walrus’ and which he makes direct reference to in its lyrics – “See how they fly like Lucy in the Sky, see how they run” leaves you in no doubt of any other interpretation, especially with LSD’s own poster girl song having been released on the seminal Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band just months prior. If one thing’s for sure, they didn’t call it the swinging ‘60s for nothing.
Tony Banks’ love of the song creates a solid sonic connection between it and the early work of Genesis, seen in the intricacy of musicianship and the layering of sound in the likes of ‘Firth of the Fifth’. What with the spiritual culture of the decade, audiences lapped up this innovative sense of experimentation and thus set Genesis on the path to rock legend, much in the same way as The Beatles. The Fab Four may have been the beacons for changing the course of musical history, but there were many, like Genesis, who also did it just as well.
