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From: PLANx
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  • Banks, Rutherford, Gabriel - what a combination, and to think they started Genesis at school!

  • Suppers Ready is a revered song by me, one of the best ever written!

  • @whiterobin You got it. He is by far the master. No piece of keyboard work ever done compares to his live rendition of 2nd Home by the Sea and In the cage on the Mama tour. Indescribable. Not that YT took the shackles off go download all of it 

  • the part where gabriel sings "666! is the number of the lord!" is like busting all over your mom's face.

  • @benlorenc "666, is no longer alone, he's getting out the marrow in your backbone, and the seven trumpets blowing, sweet rock & Roll"

  • @whiterobin mmm, interesting opinion

  • It's great to see TB expressing the joy of making great music with a few of your mates!

  • @whiterobin He may not be as good at them but god, does he know how to get to the point and not lay solos that lack in melody better than them.

  • funny how most people ive tried to turn on to this song ,never mention it again..you either are all in or not in at all,,when it comes to old great fantastic genesis tunes,,why do so many never get it???

  • @neibobber Perhaps because some people prefer a 10 minute long song with different sections rather than a massive almost half-hour song made up by many smaller ones.

    Just guessing really.

    Myself I believe Battle of the Epping Forest and Get Them Out By Friday are better than Supper's Ready...

    And if you're trying to get people into prog rock I'd just tell them to listen to The Knife or Moonlit Knight because they 'flow' better than Supper.

    /personal input

  • @neibobber great comment,i know what you mean, with genesis you either get it or you dont,i just turned 41 and ive been listening to them since i was 9 thanks to my older brother and sister,i like both old and new,there is another clip on here where this idiot is bashing tony saying hes not a good keyboard player and all this nonsense, think its on the firth of fifth clip,banks is the master period.

  • what a genious! Tony was a classical composer working in a rock band (and pulled it off stunningly well). perfect balance of melody, harmony, restraint, stlye and class. equally stunning was that Steve, Mike, and Phil had a similar approach to their parts as well. all these elements added depth to Genesis that took them far beyond most other bands and after all this time are still infinately listenable : )

  • Phil was picked for Genesis by Peter Gabriel because his voice is just like Peter's. He was looking for someone to take his place as Phil used to take over vocals so Peter could change costumes. Peter wanted to go in one direction, and Phil Collins was bound for pop crap. Su-su-sudio.... ah come on!

  • @widswins Phil was picked because he was by far the best drummer that came for the audition....

    - the costume changes were not even thought of at the time...

  • @widswins Dude...you need to do some reading.

  • Notice he mentions Phil's input about how this turned out? I know many Peter fans like to dis Phil as "just a drummer" back then, as though Peter were kicked out of the band, but he did actually offer a lot of artistic input and did a great job after Peter CHOSE to leave...as did Mike when Steve CHOSE to. Believe me, I understand liking things how they were at some point, but if nobody's being a dick during changes, why be a dick ABOUT changes?

  • @luap1236 Take your five-album Genesis somewhere else, y'idiot.

  • You won't find a more musical genius than Tony Banks.

    And am I the only person who thinks Phil Collins' version is better than Gabriel's?

  • @wsperger I agree. Phil sings WAY cleaner, with WAY more passion and power. The version of this song from '76 with Bill Bruford on drums and Phil on vocals is one of the most godly pieces of music I've ever heard in my life.

  • oh yeah this just might be Tonys best work

  • WAITING FOR BATTLE! *deedle de de de duh de de de deedle le de de ti de deedle le de lee deedle lee* epic stuff! one of my favs prog rock at its best!

  • The thing that kills me is that none of them are happy about this or that...Pete thought the hook or chourus in "I Know What I Like" is boring etc.

  • @PeterMayer I think that chorus is totally awesome. With Phil singing it instead of Peter.

    It might just be my own bizarre interpretation but it makes me think of a smug, semi-senile old man. "I know what I like and I like what I know", as in "I am comfortable in my own parochial world-view". As in "I know how rockets are made, and I like the fact that I know that". "I know my neighbour is jealous of my new lawnmower, and I like the fact that I know that."

  • @whiterobin For the most part, he is humble, but if you read the book "Genesis: Chapter and Verse", there are instances where he does act full of himself or knowing he was important and acting it - but he doesn't do it constantly, so he's still all right in my book..if he was full of himself and amazing I might not love Genesis nearly as much as I do now..Tony is and will always be my favorite member of Genesis..if not my favorite musician! I even want to style my hair like his was in the 70s!:P

  • I have to say how surprised I am every time I hear anyone say how great this song is, how perfect, what a great epic, etc.. Those are my thoughts exactly. But what I don't understand is how hardly anyone outside the circle of Genesis fans bothers to ever mention this song. I've listened to thousands of hours of radio and interviews with musicians and music experts, watch TV endlessly, read everything in sight and, at best, a mention in some little know prog magazine. What an insult that is.

  • Sometimes it's great to watch videos at YT even if you own the original DVD just to read the comments ;-)

    Tony Banks IS. Period.

  • He still hasn't learned to be whimsical, always epic, always dramatic.. I think Supper's Ready wouldn't have been as fun if it had been named anything else. Maybe if it were named something like: 2012: The Return of Nibiru... That might have gone down as something a bit more EPIC. But a more perfect piece of music I've yet to find. Anywhere.. 

  • I have to agree with whiterobin...I like some of the stuff Wakeman & Emerson did...SOME of it...But Banks almost exclusively kicks my ass everytime I hear those older Genesis albums especially..he is brilliant!

  • @whiterobin At the end he casually says..."it ends with a nice relaxing kind of, triumphant kind of ..." . ha, ha! Dude, it's genius!

    And when he played, he played like not much is going on, while his fingers did the talking... just playing some tunes... ha, ha. Got to love it!

  • This is the single greatest song in the history of mankind!!!

  • @gritnom

    Without a doubt...even after hearing it thousands of times. Perfection never grows old.

  • @gritnom I agree with ya~

  • @whiterobin You've clearly not read McFerrin or Starostin's Genesis reviews.........

  • @whiterobin Me too! Wakeman and Emerson, for all their talent, are all over the place and way to much 'in your face' as musicians. I like bands to sound like - well, bands, not seperate musicians. Banks blended in so well with these other four/three great musicians in the band. Very subtle, but always there, laying a foundation for the band, and at times coming to the forefront. A bit like Rick Wright, Richard Barbieri, Richard Tandy or Ian McDonald. Althougt, I do like the odd ELP song...

  • you would think that he would slow down in the interview fucking English

  • @lungsounds What is your deal?

  • @lungsounds English-speakers often speak to other English-speakers, and don't have to apologize to us foreigners, innit ?

  • i don't know Tony.... This is one of the best progressions that I have ever heard... but you seem irritated about talking about it....good thing you don't sing! Call Me? I need a job......

  • Banks wasn't much before Steve Hackett and totally sold out after Steve Hackett.

  • @whiterobin you dont really mean THAT, do you? banks is ok, but, wakeman, and especially emerson, they´re the gods of the keyboards!! c´mon!! i have a lot respect for tony banks. really,but if you really think what you said, i really must say how MUCH i disagree with your opinion. forgive me, but you´re an asshole if you consider that to be true. banks does not stand a single chance against a keyboard player like wakeman and even less against an artist like emerson (wakeman also an artist BTW).

  • @juandhaltrich Technically, Banks wasn't quite on Emo or Wakeman's level but as a songwriter he is clearly the best of the three.

  • @PragueFanity that`s why wakeman didnt have to do the songwriting, cause he had jon anderson by his side to do it. lol.

  • @juandhaltrich

    However, even if Wakeman and Emerson are more gifted technicians, which I do respect both of their talents, there's something unique about Banks' style of composition. I find Wakeman and Emerson awe inspiring, but Banks' style and composing connects with me more. It not only a mental connection, but an emotional one too. It's as if his keyboard sounds color the whole world around me, a wash of magic. He's a gifted songwriter.

  • @krissyrose14 Amen. Right on the nose.

  • Comment removed

  • Tony Banks never really got true recognition for his greatness as a keyboard player & composer....but the on Suppers Ready (example) his playing is Epic ...it just builds and builds to an awsome climax.

    The value of having a classical training in music (which many scorn). He understand music and composition, whatever the genra.

  • Which dvd contains this interview ? Thanks.

  • @RockyF9

    Genesis- Songbook

  • Great song! Just don't think about ``Tales from the Crypt'' while hearing the song , you will be freaked out.

  • @whiterobin: He certainly is! Albums like "Selling England..." and "Lamb lies down..." are masterful showcases of Tony's musicianly and compositional skills. He is marvellous! I totally agree with you!

  • @whiterobin wrong!!!! 

  • I would absolutey love to hear Tony Banks describe all of the Genesis songs like this. It is so interesting to hear. There's gotta be more to this interview thing than just Supper's Ready and Firth of Fifth. Anyone know where I can find the rest of this???

  • @TheCorrectAnswer56 If you purchase the box set for the albums from 71-75 (from Trespass to The Lamb) there is a bonus DVD that comes with interviews from the band about what was going on during that time of their careers and how some of the songs came about. Well worth the investment if you are looking for that extra bit of info from the band.

  • I'm a drummer and this person is what inspires me the most.

    Just beautiful melodies that mark your face start twitching.

  • @whiterobin Disagree, he definitely didn't stay prog, because they are a commercial band… Wakeman and Emerson are both still with prog rock, and are my favourites… simply an opinion tho :)

  • @whiterobin Banks isn't as much of a virtuoso as the other two, but it is his restraint that makes what he does so special ^^

  • All those years I have loved Supper's Ready, and now thanks to the internet and YouTube, I get to hear the story of how it was written. Tony Banks is the best keyboardist in the world! When I die, Supper's Ready is the song that will no doubt play on my golden journey to Heaven.

  • I love Supper's Ready. For me and for most Genesis fans, it is without doubt their magnum opus. That said, the piece itself ( though not similar ) was very much influenced by Van Der Graaf Generators' " A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers " from their album Pawn Hearts , which was released on the Charisma label in 1971 - a year earlier than Foxtrot.

  • @whiterobin i completely agree. Take Emerson, for example. The only ELP song that really impressed me keyboard-wise, was Hoedown. And as you probably know, that is a cover. Tony might not play as fast as Emerson or Wakeman, but look at bloody Watcher of the Skies. the Mellotron opening has become the very symbol of prog over the days. And on a more general basis, think about Supper's Ready... the very first "consept song", without it there would never have been a Close to the Edge or Karn Evil.

  • @remnrone

    No! If Genesis never created Supper's Ready there would still be Close to the Edge. Foxtrot with Supper's Ready and Close to the Edge Were recorded 8/72. Yes didn't use Supper's Ready as an influence for Close to the Edge. ELP, Brain Salad Surgery with Karn Evil came out in 1973 so Supper's Ready and Close to the Edge might have been influences for that.

  • @remnrone

    You said, "... think about Supper's Ready ... the very first 'concept song' ...."

    I respectfully disagree. SUPPER'S READY was released in October 1972. King Crimson's first album definitely had "concept" songs on it, and it was released in 1969. Ditto The Who's TOMMY -- the whole album was a concept -- and it was also released in 1969. Pink Floyd ("Echoes") and the Beatles ("Sgt. Pepper's LHCB") had also done concept songs/albums before SUPPER'S READY came out.

  • @Ken5244 Yes, but i don't see any concept *songs* among those that you mentioned. However, as i commented on another video, The song In Held T'Was in I by Procol Harum(1968) were concept song. The year for concept songs seemed to be 1972: Supper's Ready, Close To the Edge, Thick as a Brick... and imho neither In the Court of the Crimson King, Echoes or any of the songs from Sgt. Peppers were concept, because i dont see a clear, linear story. feel free to prove me wrong :)

  • @remnrone

    OK, if that's how you want to define "concept song," I'll concede the point.

    I was coming from the angle that Genesis wasn't the first band to think of the idea of recording a musical concept idea. They'd certainly heard TOMMY and "A Day in the Life." And likely "Echoes." Moreover, Pink Floyd had begun recording DARK SIDE OF THE MOON in June 1972, four months before SUPPER'S READY was released.

    Nevertheless, I see your point vis-a-vis "concept song" and more or less agree.

  • Banks on the title: "I wanted something more epic".... To me, at least, "Supper's Ready" has become synonymous with "epic". I also have to agree with the other posters, Tony Banks doesn't seem to realize the God-like status his music holds for fans such as myself.

  • I like the subdued title, Supper's Ready!

  • Simply the best progressive rock song ever written.

  • @magog77 I fully agree

  • 666 IS NO LONGER ALONE!!!

    I can't ever listen to Supper's Ready without getting to that section and really belting out the lyrics right until the end of the whoel thing, so much energy and emotion it can either reduce you to a wreck or leave you exuberated. Marvellous stuff.

  • Isn't it good to hear someone talking from the heart about how it was and not trying to glamourise it in any way? A guy you feel you've been chatting with for years. Great interview, thanks for the up.

  • @stevies5

    Probably because if he hadn't been in the band he would have been an engineer. Just the facts mam, just the facts. For my money, Tony was and is Genesis. Everyone brought something to the table, but for me Tony was _it_.

  • @whiterobin Technically he's perhaps not as good as Wakeman, but he's a much better composer/arranger. With regard to Emerson, well is it just me or were ELP not much cop?

  • @whiterobin you are correct sir

  • "Apocalypse in 9/8" wasn't a good enough title ????

  • @xylin3 I think he was referring to "Supper's Ready" - he wasn't happy with "Supper's Ready" as the title of the song. "Apocalypse in 9/8" is just the name of one of the seven movements of the song (movement 6).

  • @SPeacock which is the one he's playing

  • Where can I get these kind of interviews??! Awesome video!

  • What is the "dramatic chord" he talked about...it's sounds so epic! Really though, Supper's Ready, particularly the "Apocalypse in 9/8" is definitely one of the high points of prog.

  • It's a C major chord, but the trick is to play an E at the bottom instead of the root C.

  • I love Tony Banks, but how the hell do you go from melodies like Firth of Fifth or Supper's Ready to absolute crap like ABACAB?

  • @sr14225

    oooo, nasty comment! LOL To each their own of course but they evolved by experimenting & kept it going for as long as they did because they didn't keep doing the same styles. Times change, tastes and interests change, they survived quite nicely. Abacab was my very 1st Genesis album I discovered modern music with (age 13 in 1981) & I LOVE it. Love the old stuff too (Lamb is my fav!) but everything Genesis did kept me interested right up through Calling All Stations (VASTLY underrated).

  • @sr14225

    The single was OK, but the album version of Abacab was crap. The jam at the end is too sparse. However, the live versions were great.

  • @sr14225 Blame the f***ing 80's!

  • @sr14225 artists change. How did Picasso go from painting conventional portraits to his abstract stuff?

  • it is strange that someone with his music ability who contributed the major part of genesis music had the least success in his solo projects .he comes across as very upper class public school i guess some people can't and wont see beyond that

    personally i think he is a genius

  • @centralscrutinizer9

    I think part of the problem is that Tony was unwilling to tour on his records. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered, but I always thought Still was a great album and that he should have taken it on the road. With all of those singers, he could have done his music, tossed in tracks from the various singers' material and you've got a show. Build an audience and he's set.

  • My favorite musician

  • does anyone know what this interview is from, I'd love to see more of it.

  • @paolos22

    From the 1970-1975 boxset. I'd assume it's on the DVD that accompanies Foxtrot

  • Tony Banks, my favorite member of Genesis. I like the Seconds Out version alot more than the studio version. Just my opinion. Alot more power, and Phil sings it real well.

  • Funny how it just rips off a tune on his keyboard from, oh, 1972! like it's nothin. So cool. Gives me the willows!

  • Like listening to a prostitute wistfully remembering love...

  • Haha yep...

  • I simply couldn't have put it better myself. Long live Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Poung and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway!

  • What a wonderfully applicable metaphor that is.

  • Love classic Genesis! I'm seeing "The Musical Box" January 30th! They are doing the "A Trick of the Tail" tour. I saw them (TMB) two years ago. Flat out AMAZING! I was too young to see the "real" Genesis in concert. Any classic Genesis must see The Musical Box. They sound exactly like Genesis. Great musicians.

  • No one will EVER reach that Level again....It´s just too good....I mean listen to the Song....no words for that...

  • Tony has always been sexy - he and Bob Weir look a bit similar.

    Also, he's friggin' genius. Not a bad package! : D

  • I find him sexy with dark hair or gray hair whatever floats his boat.

  • Some mediocre Phil Collins era tribute bands' singer thinks Willow Farm is crap and meaningless. Idiot !

    You tell the fat cheesy git, Tony.

  • ever heard of these holistic prog rock bands----Gong, Melting Euphoria, Ozric Tentacles, Eat Static, System 7, Aphrodities Child, Jade Warrior, Magma, Lisa Gerrard, Sphongle.

  • I get a kick out of Banks in general. On stage he's static as hell, but talking about the music in interviews he lights up like a fucking christmas tree. Really into his stuff without an ounce of pretentious bullshit.

  • I think that's more recent too, even in his older interviews he seems more subdued than he does now. I think he's just finally found an element of comfort in the interviews. He's definitely a man of his craft, no doubt!

  • Also, his hair is gray.

  • y que tiene que ver su color de pelito... sigue siendo estupendo y lo de el es la musica .... sea como sea que este su pelo !

  • Yeah I notice that on the "3 Dates" video from the bonus disc on "ATTW3" in the 1976-82 Box Set. Always got the vibe he was kind of a shy guy.

  • LOL, so true! :-)

  • @MrUpshotKnothole Tony Banks is pretty much awesome. That is all.

  • @MrUpshotKnothole agreed!

  • @MrUpshotKnothole Quite true and well said!!!!

  • @MrUpshotKnothole great comment ^^

  • @MrUpshotKnothole Potty-mouth...

  • if you love it, set it free. that is what tony seems to do with his writing. sets it free with the other bandmembers and it comes back to him even better. suppers ready tops my list of fav songs.

    thank you mr banks

  • he have all our respects ... without Tony .... no Genesis would be possible!

  • @genesisinsideme yeah but i think to understand them completely yuoll have to resort to gabriels solo efforts. which i havent met anywhere else..!

    well at least i cant remember, right now!

  • and nionionionionio

  • Wow! He's playing a CP-70!

  • Classic Tony Banks keyboard, Tony owns that sound! Love the sound of Apocalypse in 9/8 on it. Mmmmm, this is love, girl, call it what you will, this is love...

    Great interview too, very informative and detailed explanation.

  • mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... Tony is love...! all a great and wonderful musician ...!

  • Well, I just stumbled on this absolute piece of gold! How wonderful to have our digital world - to allow me to see and hear an interview with the man who impacted my musical life as much as any other of my music teachers. What a treasure he wrote...time tells all for classics, and Supper's Ready has reached that status for me.

  • Tony Banks is awesome. He sounds very humble- "it worked well". No, Mr. Banks, it is absolutely fantastic and amazing. Playing 9/8 in the rhythm section while he plays mostly 4/4 against it. Freaking Incredible.

  • long life to genesis and there musicians !

  • I think so! long life to genesis and their musicians...and Gog save Genesis!

  • Firth Of Fifth is the best thing Banks ever did .

  • mad man moon also ...!

  • as he moves his wonderfull fingers...!

  • Banks seems like a great interview whenever he's in front of the camera, unlike Emerson or Wakeman who look like they're about to fall asleep. He truly has a strong passion for his work. And rightfully so. It's fucking epic.

  • does tony have good or bad posture? i cant tell he seems like he hunches

  • Probably from sitting over keyboards for the past 40 years.

  • Tony Banks has always been the heart and soul of Genesis,to this day none of the band members dispute that he has been the musical force behind the band... he is a true musical genius,there will never be another like him.

  • tony, la vera anima dei genesis

  • noi tuutti le genesiani autentici avemo sempre le pensieri TONY E LA ANIMA DEI GENESIS.. senza Tony Genesis non aveva essistito! ma... le altre anche sono indispensabilli per l existenza de LA BANDA E LA SUA OPERA ! il mio cuore e diventato felice perche conosco sono felice!

  • I Love Tony Banks Very Much

  • The best song ever written. Banks here says that he just plays a melody over the 9/8 without concerning himself with the beat. I've always marvelled at how he comes out of the tune exactly at the right time every time ready for the 666 part

  • It's called a lot of practice. Something professional musicians do.

  • listening peter gabriel when he sing supper's ready is like sex.

  • did anybody knows where that interview is from

  • It's from the Genesis history retrospective dvd called "Songbook". Its actually much more comprehensive than the one they released in teh early 1990's. This is part of the bonus material.

  • yes it is... is a fantantastic retrospective , I have it too...!

  • What is the chord at 1:46? Sounds great

  • Its a C major with an E in the bass.

  • Thank you

  • Tony's always been great at taking standard chords and making them sound unique with unexpected bass or left-hand notes, love that sound.

  • It's quite brilliant how Tony discusses how he wanted Steve to just tie the main riff down on Apocalypse in 9/8 to just 3 notes so that he could alternate between major and minor chord tonalities. It's no wonder why I loved that section of Supper's Ready SO FRIGGIN MUCH because of that feeling of emotional ambivalence. You never knew when things would resolve until the big finale comes in.

    I LOVE TONY BANKS!!!

  • This man is a musical genius.

  • I love Tony's RP pronunciation...

  • This is great, band members actually talking about how they wrote the pieces,! They're normally so guarded or just say things like "we decided to get back to writing together instead of indiviually" - not very illuminating. Is there any more stuff like this anywahere?

  • why they didnt pick other songs for the tour? the last tour was the same they were doing 20 years ago! invisible touch and we cant dance!

  • This is really interesting. Is there any more to this interview besides Firth of Fifth?

  • Tony bilair more like

  • This is on of the best Tony´s riif ever mande by himself

  • THE GREAT TONY BANKS.

  • Where is that from? From The remasters Box?

  • Thank you PLANx for posting explanation from the main composer of the greatest song ever written.

  • Agreed with the greatest song song ever written

  • My favorite Genesis song hands down

  • tony banks = LEGEND!

  • living legend !

  • banks=genesis

  • Tony Banks = Cerveau du groupe Genesis.

  • He was only 21 when he wrote this stuff. I just turned 22. Eek!

  • its you and me against the world mate! And then there were two :-)

  • kinda all the graft, nobody notices him and takes him for granted, bit of an unsung or un-singing hero as it were. Spect he is happy with it all though - seen the world, made a living out of tinkling the ole ivories and a few bob to spend. Nice work if you can get it :-)

  • banks was the main man in genesis...

  • Yes Banks was a principal part in Genesis at the same Steve Howe was in Yes

  • i think you're right about steve howe being a bib part

    (at least in making fragile and close to the edge as good as they are)

    but to me, yes is Jon Anderson

  • do you know the title of Jon Anderson solo lp I listened to it long time ago and would like to buy it again if its available?thks

  • the earliest ones are "song of seven" and "olias of Sunhillow". both are really good

  • thanks very much for your info!!can't wait to listen to those again!!great!!cheers!

  • Wakeman although brilliant is always seen (by me) as a hired hand who just turned up for the beer and money. I can not imagine him coming to the studio with a "concept" whereas Banks was always the engine room in the Jenny choon-writing team. I wonder how they would get on if they played or wrote together?