Adrian Belew
By the early 1980s, guitarist Adrian Belew had quite a résumé:
...and he needed to let off some creative steam. Landing a three album deal with Island Records, he produced two pop and one instrumental albums, in between King Crimson commitments...and since then, he's done a lot more!
Adrian Belew's Life in a nutshell Like many virtuoso musicians, Adrian Belew is not just bored easily, he reacts against an imposition (e.g. working in a band) by creating music that's diametrically opposed to his day job. While that's good for a musician, as a fan, it creates some frustration in that his SOLO albums are experiments...and not just in one direction, sometimes in several. Mind you, looking at his SOLO work, there's no doubt that Belew:
Lone Rhino, Belew's first SOLO effort was quirky and original, yielding several good...but one great, song. It has now been packaged with his second SOLO album, Twang Bar King, a far more confident effort with a goofy sense of humor.
Desire Caught By The Tail As if to undo the song-writing discipline of his first two SOLO albums, Belew created the instrumental Desire Caught By The Tail. Actually, it makes sense in the Belew legend...with King Crimson disbanded, it was as if he had to let off steam before he committed himself fully to the commercial music of The Bears. Desire Caught By The Tail is weird, distorted, occasionally Islamic-sounding...and a real sonic experience. I'm sure that most pop fans won't like it, but I can assure you that I do, occasionally!
Adrian Belew: Desire Caught By The Tail "...This kind of beauty inspires mystics..." Amazon reviewerJeffrey B. Brown "...Composed and performed entirely with Guitar Synthesizer, Belew makes the guitar sound like anything he wants it to. A very dreamy and eclectic work, but not to the point of being ambient. If you like your music a bit left of center, buy this one..." Amazon reviewer Gary W. Young "...Hearing critics and reviewers call this a 'vanity project' in a world so obscenely self-obsessed is maddening, and ridiculous. This album is a brilliant and exciting work of instrumental guitar from a master. It's filled with humor and subtlety, and exhibits a wide range of expression and feeling. It's also boldly psychedelic...(and... plays) like a perfect companion to Harrison's Wonderwall Music..." Amazon reviewer R. Hendershot
When Atlantic threw Belew a lifeline he jumped from The Bears' ship and surprisingly found himself with a hit single, Oh Daddy...and a critically acclaimed piano-based album, Mr. Music Head.
There's an incredible difference between Young Lions & the previous album, Mr. Music Head...with Belew powering out of the speakers with confidence and swagger. Having David Bowie on lead vocals for two tracks didn't hurt, either and the seldom heard Young Lions is well worth having. There are also a couple of tracks, Men In Helicopters & Looking For A UFO, which some consider preachy, ideas that would be continued in Inner Revolution & Here. Let's get one thing straight: Belew's position is left-wing liberal/humanist...and to be fair, opposing Ecology is increasingly, downright stupidity!
Belew's marriage had been in trouble for a very long time...and when it finally broke, it gave him the emotional core to creat a truly wonderful, powerful piece of work. Inner Revolution is a real winner...and with its follow-up, Here, what I consider to be the two greatest albums that The Beatles never made.
If Inner Revolution was Rock'n'Roll, Here is Pop, exquisite pop:
...it's all here. Simply wonderful.
Op Zop Too Wah Undoing the finesse of Inner Revolution & Here, Op Zop Too Wah is greatly loved by many hardcore Belew fans...but I'm not really convinced. It's a dream-like, psychedelic series of tracks, half-tracks, meanderings, sound doodles & Beat poems. Unfortunately, it mostly sounds a half-cooked pie with a sloppy filling to me.
Adrian Belew: Op Zop Too Wah "...This is Ade's best work, bar none. Who says an album has to have uniform songs and ideas? The scattered, frantic pacing of "Op Zop Too Wah" is what I like about it..." Amazon reviewer William A Colrus "... If I told you that Op Zop Too Wah is one of my favorite albums ever made, I'd be telling the truth...There have been a lot of albums that I own and I don't listen to a lot simply because they've gotten old with me and I'm tired of listening to them. I have yet to get tired of this music. There's something about this catchy, experimental pop/rock that gets me after every listen..." Amazon reviewer Chris
If you really want to see this approach succeed, try Todd Rundgren's 1973 album, A Wizard, A True Star. However, because so many Belew fans like it, you may want to pay it a bit more attention than I suggest it warrants. Here's a transcribed online chat that Adrian did about Op Zop Too Wah.
Adrian has released:
Whew!
The Guitar As Orchestra: Experimental Guitar Series, Vol. 1 And so Mr. Belew presented a number of film soundtrack-like pieces to see what strange noises the guitar could make. I can only suggest that you listen to the snippets at Amazon...and see whether you like them.
Adrian Belew: The Guitar As Orchestra "...Although this record is more of an experiment than an actual album - neither rock nor classical in form - it does make for enjoyable ambient listening. As Adrian Belew himself concedes in the liner notes, the music 'is best suited as a backdrop to common daily events, such as reading, driving, or eating. It takes time to discover its hidden melodies. Trusting the composer's insight and advice, I've listened to the disc twice now while surfing the 'net and have found the whimsical works both interesting and stimulating, even humorous at times...' Amazon reviewer Alan L. Paris And at Adrian's Elephant Blog, you can purchase an unreleased track from the sessions directly from him.
Coming Attractions Coming Attractions was released as a teaser to a planned 4-CD Anthology-like retrospective, Dust, which never actually appeared, though bits and pieces are, referred to as Dust Particles, available from Adrian's site. Consequently, I find it impossible to look at Coming Attravctions as an official album as it's designed for fans and fans alone. Unlike The Beatles' Anthology the songs don't have that zeitgeist quality about them, so I can only suggest listening to Amazon snippets and see if anything takes your fancy. If you like 'em, buy 'em.
Adrian Belew: Coming Attractions "...Belew offers a preview/review of some seriously innovative pop tunes and a few unusual and pleasing guitar pieces. What is particularily outstanding about this record is that it is a true anti-greatist hits compilation. It a rare artist indeed that has the courage to give us such a personal look at his work. This CD is top notch start to finish. highlights - LIVE cuts from Argentina..." Amazon reviewer Chris Ryan
New Releases I have yet to hear the latest releases from Mr. Belew. They are...
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