Tony Banks describes writing Firth of Fifth

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16 жыл бұрын

In the studio, Tony Banks, keyboard player for Genesis, speaks about how he and Genesis wrote and arranged Firth of Fifth

Пікірлер: 224

@tommckeown6970 4 жыл бұрын

Tony is the soul of Genesis. He was the essence of what they were. A truly gifted man.

@SurferJoe1 11 жыл бұрын

Tony Banks is a tremendous and greatly under-appreciated genius.

@philseida5238 4 жыл бұрын

My favorite song ever. Firth of Fifth just touches my heart and soul like no other. From Tony’s Awesome Piano Intro, to Peters Flute Solo, To Phil’s incredible drumming during Tony’s Powerful Mellotron and Mike’s great Bass Lines during Steve’s Spectacular and Beyond Emotional Guitar Solo and Peter at the end singing “ The sands of time, were eroded by, the River of constant change “. Tony’s Best along with others like One For The Vine, Afterglow, Mad Man Moon, etc.

@irysbrassens1239 4 жыл бұрын

hello, exactly the same for me, smile, friendly

@jeffjones1359 2 жыл бұрын

Yes! One of the most beautiful pieces of “our times”!

@francescovalente1963 Жыл бұрын

The last two minutes of Entangled, also

@marck1726 4 жыл бұрын

Nice to see Tony being humble and acknowledge Steve guitar bringing it to somewhere where he would not have gone by himself.

@fernandodeleon7466 Ай бұрын

But also it's a revelation to hear him say that his favourite part is the flute solo (and the guitar solo, of course) when everybody admires the legendary piano intro.

@groverbaker6404 3 жыл бұрын

This is a beautiful composition and Steve Hackett explodes with his phenomenal help with his guitar artistry..wow

@johnnynewton1277 3 жыл бұрын

Tony Banks, the master of the greatest band

@frepi 6 жыл бұрын

This melody brings tears to my eyes, every time.

@grahambrooks5080 4 жыл бұрын

Just how many hours of pleasure has Tony given us all! An intelligent man and an English treasure, honoured to be alive at this time to hear such genius.

@N1095A 15 жыл бұрын

Tony Banks is one of the great masters of our time.

@deepsussex 15 жыл бұрын

Firth of Fifth is one of the best Progressive Rock tunes ever and Hacketts and Banks finest moment in Genesis

@Thrak94 11 жыл бұрын

I'm glad they did, The fact they could write epic Prog songs and have great Pop songs in them as well shows the diversity of their songwriting

@genesis0932 10 жыл бұрын

There is no one like Tony. He is the best of the best of all time.

@charlie172011 6 жыл бұрын

Keith Emerson

@jamiemorgan4146 4 жыл бұрын

genesis0932 ...There are many greats... Not ONE ! They should all be appreciated for their unique talents .

@irysbrassens1239 4 жыл бұрын

It's funny... many years ago my pseudonym was "genesis..." almost your,,, cause I really love them... like you... Friendly, C

@irysbrassens1239 4 жыл бұрын

C. (from France, Bretagne)

@VasilyMusic 3 жыл бұрын

@@charlie172011 Emerson had a totally different songwriting style. I love him, but Tony's music is just closer to my heart and soul.

@gringochucha 5 жыл бұрын

1:20 And that's why Genesis was such an amazing group, because of all the monster musicians with their different influences.

@lflarry1 13 жыл бұрын

The whole point that Tony was trying to make here is: the end result sometimes can be better with the whole band contributing to a song like Firth of Fith; as to just writing the song solo. The end result was a pretty amazing progressive classical fusion rock work. Really super!

@darksolarium 15 жыл бұрын

With all respect to every band members, all of them are wonderful and very professional, but to be quite honest, Tony Banks was always a fundamental part of the Genesis classic sound. I love Genesis, oh yes :)

@bfdmudk 2 жыл бұрын

In a hundred years from now, people will marvel at Tony Banks' astonishing gift for melody.

@nigeltooby7681 4 жыл бұрын

The best part of that song was Hackett"s guitar. Lifted the climax to another level.

@voice_of_reason5604 2 жыл бұрын

Different layers in the same cake

@jhillst 14 жыл бұрын

I've always enjoyed Tony's interviews. He has such a plaintive, humble personality and such a dry sense of humor...you'd never realize that so many great musical ideas were running through his head.

@nectarinedreams7208 Жыл бұрын

Humble hahaha

@tomscott4438 4 жыл бұрын

I can hear this as just keyboard and flute, but can't imagine it without Hackett's guitar work. What a piece of music.

@irysbrassens1239 4 жыл бұрын

surrely !!!!!!! Friendly, (from France)

@skykeys 8 жыл бұрын

Just a beautiful piece. I've loved Firth of Firth since the first time I heard it, when Selling England by the Pound first came out in the U.S. It's my all time favorite album as a whole collection of beautiful music.

@DejanTesic 5 жыл бұрын

@Baz Bazdad "It sounded a bit too King Crimsony", lol... (Translation: it sounded AWESOME).

@irysbrassens1239 4 жыл бұрын

yyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssss

@keithf_ 3 жыл бұрын

Mine too. And it contains my two favourites of all Genesis tracks. Cinema Show and Firth Of Fifth

@TheRaivan354 12 жыл бұрын

Haha, "it sounded too King Crimsony" Obviously, that's a GOOD thing!

@plasticweapon 4 жыл бұрын

not if you don't want to sound like another band...

@Aethellis 13 жыл бұрын

I love playing this song in my band. Never get tired of it and it always brings a shiver to our collective spines!

@5jerry1 13 жыл бұрын

I have watched performances of this song on youtube (as I'm sure many people reading this have as well), from the Peter Gabriel era and the Collins-led era, and it doesn't matter. Hearing Genesis playing "Firth Of Fifth" live is an incredible listening experience.

@smigbabb 15 жыл бұрын

tony is one of the most talented and underated writers of our time!!!!

@Terragen 15 жыл бұрын

Yea! So glad I found this, Firth of Fifth is responsible for me getting back into Piano and REALLY applying myself- I can play it now and Cinema Show, and im learning more. Thanks Mr. Banks!!

@158shm Жыл бұрын

How talent exposé’s itself, and how people are brought together to make beautiful music , 🎼

@user-nd5jc8xv8v 8 жыл бұрын

tony it was a phenomenal piece

@davijohnson1397 3 жыл бұрын

"It was too King Crimson a thing." Like that's a bad thing?! That's why this era of Genesis is awesome. Because they actually wrote and performed songs that could be positively compared to the likes of King Crimson!

@nectarinedreams7208 Жыл бұрын

What he means is they didn't want it to be derivative of King Crimson. They wanted to have their own sound.

@jeffreysteck4710 2 жыл бұрын

Bravo Tony Banks and the rest of the Genesis band. Show us how teamwork can't work to a wonderful piece of music. One of my favorite Genesis songs while all the musicianship is top quality I have an affinity for Steve Hackett ' s tastefully done guitar solo. Much thanks to those who served in Genesis for our pleasure.

@shonieo 15 жыл бұрын

I have worshiped Tony Banks since 1978. He is a god!

@pucaramanga998 4 жыл бұрын

This is incredible greets from Argentina

@user-nd5jc8xv8v 8 жыл бұрын

one of the best tracks iv ever heard -----and i mean ever by any band. Ok genesis are my fav band but i mean it

@kathypillow3273 8 жыл бұрын

+Billy .S This one can certainly bring tears to my eyes.......so glad I got to see them back in the day.......age definitely has its benefits!

@dntlss Жыл бұрын

My main man, i could hear him talk all day,guy is so damn humble and uncomplicated,you're the best Tony.

@timpricedrums 4 жыл бұрын

Definitely up there with the greatest piano compositions of all time.

@voice_of_reason5604 2 жыл бұрын

Certainly in the prog genre

@chrisnolan5607 2 жыл бұрын

I hope Steve Hackett gets to hear this. There always seemed to be tension between Tony and Steve.

@johngreen3587 Жыл бұрын

Great for the rock genre but let’s not get carried away

@dickzirkzee656 Жыл бұрын

@@chrisnolan5607 he knows

@alessandrorigobello7551 3 ай бұрын

this is the composer. this is the musician. without him no genesis.

@DJVYEATES 14 жыл бұрын

I have listened to a lot of music in my time but this song has been my favourite piece of music of all time. Very refreshing how Tony talks about it too. I want this played at my funeral, it would be lovely to go out surrounded by such an air of genius. Alas, I never saw Genesis in the Gabriel and have to makedo with the very good tribute band Musical Box, which is what I'm doing tomorrow night at Fairfield Halls.

@MyNana420 13 жыл бұрын

I've never stopped finding inspiration from this song, I love the flute solo and the different movements within the very classical piece by them. It goes well with the musical box before or after for good meditation.

@claudioboafe6903 4 жыл бұрын

Uma linha melódica inigualável. Rara sensibilidade. Tenho predileção pelas composições de Tony Banks!

@SocietyOfMidnight 15 жыл бұрын

When he says "Massive Mellotron" he's talking about when the ideas for that piece were first pitched; like the first time it was ever played.

@irw4350 2 жыл бұрын

the piano intro is my favourite = majestic & thrilling - the amazing Tony Banks - what else can you say ?

@guesser7 14 жыл бұрын

Nice of Tony to mention Steve, quite simply these two guys are the best musicians who ever lived --- END OF

@blackmarketbingo 13 жыл бұрын

Hah, I love Tony's honesty. "Just flute and piano..without that bum note.." I agree, the flute/guitar solo makes the song, just as much as the intro does.

@trevizons 14 жыл бұрын

You are absolutely right guys, when Tony and Steve used to work and write together they made magic let alone Pete, Mike and Phil, but the main structure of those two virtuosos made the recipe for those old Genesis Masterpieces, whe I listen to their solo works ( Steve's and Tony's) it always comes to my mind a continuation of the Genesis classical sound, also with Peter first solo works, but not with Phil's or Mike's...

@Espectro101 2 жыл бұрын

"Just like that, without the bump note". Love it. He is so humble.

@10jpmorgan 9 жыл бұрын

This has always been one of TOP FAVORITE songs!

@IpCrackle 14 жыл бұрын

yeah the guy is my piano/keyboardish hero!

@metalheadnick555 14 жыл бұрын

I love the reference to King Crimson...when I first heard the song, my brother and I were both instantly reminded of "Epitaph"...in a good way :)

@polara01 6 жыл бұрын

great Insight from Tony and that's funny when he said "too King Crimsony"... I think when he said that it was more of a response of a fear that they would just sort of rip King Crimson off kind of a thing and needed to stick with their own sound I don't think he was taking a shot at them more of sort of hey guys that's too much sort of ripping their sound to make our own song kind of thing I think he meant it in that since which is totally understandable but even if they did end up sounding like King Crimson and bits and pieces that's not a bad thing it's actually a good thing and they did sort of intersect in some ways because the drama the storytelling and the mellotron backdrop just gives it that certain Erie mysterious sound that we all crave and Lust For and it's all good eating at that table. Peace, Bob

@PeapodEchoes 14 жыл бұрын

A humble musical genius.

@0Fdigital 11 жыл бұрын

He's my favourite composer, for sure.

@nasticanasta Жыл бұрын

One of my favs off this album

@janpierzchala2004 Жыл бұрын

Great melody. Obviously this is the finest hour (well) of lead guitar in Genesis history.

@rmartin7558 5 жыл бұрын

0:16 I could see David Banner hitch-hiking to this.

@theLukedishwasher 5 жыл бұрын

The original and the best by an absolute light year.

@theblastocyst 15 жыл бұрын

i love this man

@bierologeprof.prosten7792 8 жыл бұрын

Tony is a god

@marccosta7376 6 жыл бұрын

From 0:17 to 0:24. Lots of feelings in less than 10 seconds of music.

@salvonicotra3416 7 жыл бұрын

I love Genesis , I love Tony.

@SpaceCattttt 7 жыл бұрын

And Frank Zappa. You have to love him as well.

@cindycallis5487 2 жыл бұрын

Firth or Fithis a absolutely beautiful song . Tony Banks is a Amy composer it could be seen Genesis’s Career.

@arfurlife 12 жыл бұрын

My favourite Genesis tune. Pure genius.

@MilornDiester 3 жыл бұрын

I like their solo albums but I always have that feeling that it's only a part of somethin greater. Oh... I wish they make something together once again.

@grumpyflyweight 2 жыл бұрын

The flute solo is the best, but hearing Tony play it on the piano sounds more peaceful. Really strong tone there. Definitely something you would hear out of a drama film or drama series.

@Flatscores 14 жыл бұрын

To me the kicker is the piano intro + synth solo in the middle though. It's just classic.

@davidharvey4059 Жыл бұрын

I was about 13 when Selling England came out, I loved it to bits It's only now I realise how wonderfully complex and beautiful it actually is. It's a bit of a masterpiece. In those days Genesis were known far more for their shows than their songs. That was entirely wrong.

@JeffSharonLive 4 жыл бұрын

Tony Banks is a classical genius disguised as a keyboardist in a rock band.

@guyeylon 16 жыл бұрын

That's brilliant! I've never seen this before! To know the best song ever began as a joke- Brilliant!! :D

@maciejkrasuski 5 жыл бұрын

Tony Banks. Genius...

@irysbrassens1239 4 жыл бұрын

hello thank you for this moment about my favorite melody !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! . C from France,

@rachelmorosky2963 5 жыл бұрын

the height of their creativity

@sr14225 14 жыл бұрын

I used to play this song over and over so I could learn the piano part. I nearly wore out the record! So, so, so much better than that ABACAB crap. Old Genesis is the best.

@MrPstimolo 13 жыл бұрын

esta canción me puede ...siempre lo sentí así ...tiene algo profundo ...trascendental

@Tracey6961 14 жыл бұрын

This. I wish I could remember where I saw it, but I found a pic of the two of them taken at Steve's 50th birthday party. Both were smiling. If there was truly a feud between them, I doubt they would have been in the same room much less posed for a picture. Tony, being as stubborn as he is, will not be coerced into doing what he doesn't want to do.

@shonieo 10 жыл бұрын

ahhhh Tony Banks!

@0Fdigital 11 жыл бұрын

Sure, technically their music became more simple, but even their pop music was weird. Tony Banks has an amazing talent for writing gorgeous pop songs with really strange chord progressions. And in my opinion, it's more satisfying to write a really concise pop song than a sprawling progressive rock piece. Maybe I've been writing progressive music for too long though.

@voice_of_reason5604 2 жыл бұрын

No Tony Banks, no Genesis. His great keyboard work was the foundation of the band's sound throughout.

@luuhinz 11 жыл бұрын

It can never sound "too King Crimson" !!

@RubenRMunoz 7 жыл бұрын

Tony is very cool!

@BaumerRichie 5 жыл бұрын

Always wondered if Peter wrote that solo. Good to know!

@markthebest90 12 жыл бұрын

happy birthday, tony

@sluf6 15 жыл бұрын

LARGA VIDA AL PROGRESIVO

@ronniefranco512 11 ай бұрын

Tony wrote the riff and chords, but Steve turned them into the most amazing solo in prog, next to Comfortably Numb's.

@1PITIFULDUDE 5 жыл бұрын

Can’t sum it up any better than that.

@clontstable1 7 жыл бұрын

"Without the bum note," Hah, hah.

@AlainHubert 6 жыл бұрын

I'm sooo glad to see that even great talents like Tony do play bum notes from time to time, and honest enough to acknowledge them ! I feel better about my piano playing now.

@beamer.electronics 3 жыл бұрын

People speak of this (or that) individual from a band being the greatest etc., but the truth is a group is like a remarkable mathematical product: 4x4x4x4 = 256 and not just a sum = 16. However, the Achilles heel of a product is ZERO if any individual fails or leaves - the total product also becomes 0 (4x4x0x4 = 0) ! That is harsh in respect of this mega-multi-talented band (I've been a lifelong fan), but it illustrates/hints at a general point.

@hexonatapeloop 9 жыл бұрын

It's the intro that does it for me. And he has nothing to say about it!

@Drchainsaw77 6 жыл бұрын

Seriously! I've wanted to hear someone talk about that for ages, and no one ever does. Not where it came from, why it was dropped live (there are several explanations), and how it became what it was.

@ytnsanw 5 жыл бұрын

@@Drchainsaw77 It was dropped live (originally, in the 70's) because there was no way of adequately reproducing a decent grand piano sound live (Tony only had a grotty RMI Electra Piano at the time) and by the time he had the sound available, the song had been dropped from the live repertoire.

@Drchainsaw77 5 жыл бұрын

@@@ytnsanw That's one explanation I've read over the years, that he didn't like the sound; another was that Tony found it unnecessarily difficult to play without the weight behind the keys of a real piano; and another explanation holds that during one gig, he found his fingers getting tongue-tied for whatever reason, making a hash of it, and following along as Phil mercifully counted the band in at the verse to put Tony out of his misery.

@Marunius 5 жыл бұрын

Yeah I was hoping to hear about the crazy harmony and time signature changes in the intro too!

@TheCorrectAnswer56 4 жыл бұрын

Drchainsaw77 I’ve heard live versions from 73 where they go straight into the verse and then live versions from 74 (the black show) where he plays it on the RMI electric piano which sounded like a child’s toy piano. I’ve heard he didn’t like the sound and had trouble playing it consistently live however the timeline dictates that he added the intro later in the tour which is interesting. And yes, where is the rest of this video??? Whoever was interviewing had Tony Banks sitting in front of a piano discussing how he wrote Firth Of Fifth and this is all we get from it?? A minute and a half? There has to be more. I saw the Suppers Ready video too but someone needs to sit down with Tony and have him go over in detail his writing process behind all of these classic Genesis songs. Sounds like he did that a little bit here but WHERE IS THE REST????

@NineDimensions1983 11 жыл бұрын

I definitely agree. After Wind and Wurthering that was it for my listening.

@akio2730 6 жыл бұрын

NineDimensions1983 And then they .... is a beautiful album, with some kind of sadness and romantic atmosphere.

@keithf_ 3 жыл бұрын

Although I stayed a loyal Genesis fan right to the very end I do agree with you about Wind & Wuthering being the swan song of prog era Genesis. They really lost something when Steve left the band.

@7cColin 4 жыл бұрын

Tony has learned the value of being forced to accommodate others. His solo efforts didn't sell too well because they were too 'Tony'' if I could put it like that. I'm not knocking his talent here, just listen to what he says though. Working with the other guys produced the real goods. Tin hat on, but please know I love Tony Banks and I consider him to be one of the top prog rock creatives. McCartney wasn't the same without Lennon, Floyd without Waters etc

@GenesisFan01 14 жыл бұрын

the funny thing is that Steve and Tony actually do get along fine nowadays. I think the fans like to keep the feud alive, particulary the Steve fans, just so they can continue to hate the group.

@jenniferpratt765 3 жыл бұрын

Wow your natural tony banks

@ryadachaibou8098 2 жыл бұрын

It's funny to hear him call it too "King Crimson-y"

@0Fdigital 11 жыл бұрын

It's all really good, imo. Maybe 'I Can't Dance' is taking it a bit too far, but Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance still contain some incredibly amazing songwriting. And yes, even Calling All Stations has its awesome moments. Ray Wilson is actually a really great vocalist.. and I say this as a huge Peter fan.

@radbodascyltoscynewulflivius 3 жыл бұрын

I would never be the one to say you had no reason To want me somewhere else far far away But someday you may understand, someday you will see That someone who would die for you is all I've ever been

@cbast2 14 жыл бұрын

@AssociationAdmirer I was just thinking the same thing aboug "Firth of Fifth" the other day. The best parts of the song are the instrumental parts. In fact, I came to the realization that the main reason I like early Genesis songs is because of the instrumental parts, not the vocal parts.

@wicaksarosa Жыл бұрын

Genius indeed...

@GenesisFan01 14 жыл бұрын

Well, Mike has always been more of a rocker type, and Phil grew up listening to a lot of black music. So did Peter, but Peter also wanted to do different things from that. Phil was more groove-oriented...even in the early days. He had a very jazzy feel to a lot of the stuff they did, which took away from the grandiose element of the music in general. Bottom line, it took all of them to make the magic that they made throughout their career as a band.

@radbodascyltoscynewulflivius 3 жыл бұрын

You're very perceptive. Phil has already publicly criticised the early Genesis songs for their lack of groove. Whatever that means

@nectarinedreams7208 Жыл бұрын

@@radbodascyltoscynewulflivius I'd rather groove to Supper's Ready than Invisible Touch

@MyNana420 13 жыл бұрын

@degree7 Wow, you've given me alot to respond to so I'll just hit a few key points on all of your posts. 1. I very much like to hear keyboards over the guitar, simply a personal preference. 2. It's not that the fan base was underground, rather we weren't the main stream, listen to anything crowd. Almost everyone in the group I hung with was either a very talented musician of their own right or came from a family full of them and had been exposed toa better quality of music than most. O.K.

@keykrazy0 15 жыл бұрын

Yeah, same here! From '81, anyways, when i first heard them.

@Musiquesaecouter 11 жыл бұрын

Some would describe this like just a change, somehow it fitted to the times and so much other unexpected radio listeners, maybe it was not the best musical changes in words of sophisticated compositions, but sure Genesis knew the way to go for their success, and they deserved after all they had done. Today they offer to every listeners a good choice of different style albums, 5 heavy prog with Peter, 5 others in their progressiv changes with Phil until "Abacab", and then the 5 last poppy ones