I don’t know how this bad news slipped past me, but Peter Banks died last week.

If you’re a prog rock fan, you know who Peter Banks is.  No, he wasn’t the keyboard player in Genesis.  That’s Tony Banks.  Peter was a founding member of Yes.  He was the guitar player on their first two records.

Much like ex-Rush drummer John Rutsey, Banks has the misfortune of having his abilities rated not so much on his own playing, but by the guy who replaced him.  Rutsey was replaced by arguably the greatest drummer in the history of recorded music, Neil Peart.  Peter Banks was replaced by one of the most staggeringly talented guitarists ever, Steve Howe.

Don’t let the comparisons distract you though, Peter Banks could flat out play.  The guy was awesome.  This Birds cover from the first album is probably my favorite example of his playing…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4RpLAoprFI

When I was in High School I turned into a Yes fanatic. Unfortunately for me, Steve Howe’s playing was way beyond me. I could play a phrase or a riff here and there, but there were very few songs I could survive all the way through. Well… I could play a bunch of Asia songs, but there weren’t many Yes songs I could survive. I could fudge through Roundabout, and big chunks of Perpetual Change. Thanks to a very productive guitar lesson I could get through Siberian Khatru, but I had to hack through my own solo. Howe was just too fast for me. Thankfully, I had the first Yes record on vinyl, and I could get through pretty much all of that one. I played along with Peter Banks on that album about a billion times. Granted he left me in the dust every time, but I loved every second of it.

Rest in Peace Peter Banks. Gone but not forgotten.