banophernalia.com  | The Music Review Section Home
F
selected discography
from my personal collection

Lone Rhino (©1982 Island) / Twang Bar King (©1983 Island)

rhinotwangLone Rhino 1: Big Electric Cat 2: The Momur 3: Stop It 4: The Man In The Moon 5: Naive Guitar 6: Hot Sun 7: The Lone Rhinoceros 8: Swingline 9: Adidas In Heat 10: Animal Grace 11: The Final Rhino

Twang Bar King 1: I'm Down 2: I Wonder 3: Life Without A Cage 4: Sexy Rhino 5: Twang Bar King 6: Another Time 7: The Rail Song 8: Paint The Road 9: She Is Not Dead 10: Fish Head 11: The Ideal Woman 12: Ballet For A Blue Whale

I still smile and laugh to think my old friend Beth ever thought to compare my music with Adrian’s. I guess she figured weird was weird and was that I would know who he was since he was weird too. I didn’t know who this "other" weirdo was so I promptly went out and bought his stuff so I could see who was ripping me off (har de har har).

These two albums are the great Belew musical bookends. In 1983 Adrian Belew entered my world in a big way. Lone Rhino along with Twang Bar King served up a completely different musical stew than I was used to at the time. My head was full of mostly “commercial” rock. You know, Journey, Toto, Foreigner and stuff like that (Rick Springfield - shhh, you can't tell anyone, but I'm still a fan). Suddenly I’m dancing around to "The Momur" and "Fish Head" and dive-bombing my whammy bar.

Wow, and holy cow. Who was this skinny man with the beat to crap strat standing in a field with a Rhino? To quote Cheech & Chong, "This was some weird shit man." I bought both of Adrian’s albums on the same day, and taped them onto a single cassette and played in to death in my car over the next few years.

My artsy fartsy musical friends who hated anything that reeked of “selling out” cut me some slack because I liked Adrian’s stuff so much. They’d only roll their eyes when I mentioned Huey Lewis’ new album, rather than kicking me to death with their pointy black boots.

So it’s hard for me to separate the two albums, it was just one long tape. If I had to pick one over the other, I’d have to say I’d have to give the edge to Twang Bar King.

This is great cool and irritating music if you have a headache it's not recommended listening. Adrian twists the casabas (hey, that's a new one for me, I'll have to write that one down) out of his guitar and tortures some truly bent shapes from his instrument. Some of his stuff is so out there, you have to wonder what planet this guy is from (Uranus? Just cause I’m immature, and it’s funny to say out loud).

Of course my favourite songs were the ones where Adrian dusted off his melodic side, songs like "Another Time", and "The Rail Song" are astounding pop songs. Then we get songs like "Sexy Rhino" and "The Ideal Woman". "Big Electric Cat" kills me, and "Man in the Moon" is cool. I’m like a kid in a musical candy store at the moment, as I haven’t heard these in their entirety in a few years, and I’m really enjoying the odd looks my children are making at the stereo as "Adidas in Heat" is playing.

You’d never guess that 20 years have passed by. This stuff still sounds fresh and crisp.

Great stuff.

God Bless you Mister Belew, you are twisted in a good way. May your strings always stay in tune.

Reviewed May 16, 2003

Inner Revolution (©1992 Atlantic)

revolution1: Inner Revolution 2: This Is What I Believe In 3: Standing In The Shadow 4: Big Blue Sun 5: Only A Dream 6: Birds 7: I'd Rather Be Right Here 8: The War In The Gulf Between Us 9: I Walk Alone 10: Everything 11: Heaven's Bed 12: Member Of The Tribe

Inner revolution boasts a truly terrible cover, and frankly doesn't do much to make you want to check out the CD. Which I guess is fine if you want to keep Mister Belew a secret from the great unwashed legions of people who wouldn't know a decent album if it bit 'em in the, er - neck.

Released on Atlantic in '92, this one is pretty solid, but there's nothing especially moving on this one either. I always get the sense that if I had actually purchased this new before hearing some of his later stuff this would be staggering stuff. Of course it's filled with all of the quirky bits you'd expect from one of the world's greatest innovative players. Although frankly, I'm always amazed that his other abilities don't get equal praise. Considering he's his own backup band he should get a little credit for creating high energy music one layer at a time.

The songs this time around mesh well, and work well as an album. The freaky weirdness is somewhat toned down, and more or less straddles pop territory. Which is great for me, since I'm a sucker for a good pop song.

While not the best album he's ever done, it shouldn't be treated like a dirty little secret.

Reviewed September 24, 2004

Here (©1994 Caroline)

here1: May 1, 1990 2: I See You 3: Survival in the Wild 4: Fly 5: Never Enough 6: Peace on Earth 7: Burned by the Fire we Make 8: Dream Life 9: Here 10: Brave New World 11: Futurevision 12: Postcard from Holland 13: (None)

There's good, better, and best. This ranks up there as one of the best. It's like everything came together for Adrian this time and the result was a joyous and optimistic look at the world. Adrian assumes musical chores all around on this one (like that's something new), and the result is staggering.

Sometimes Adrian's artistic wanking can get a little overwhelming, but on Here he seems to have reined in his wild side and managed to capture John Lennon's essence and create a pop masterpiece.

Of all the great songs on this one, the best by far is "Brave New World". This one song captures the hope for the future and celebrates the time in which we live. What an amazing song.

Reviewed July 5, 2003

The Guitar As Orchestra (©1995 Virgin)

belewthe songs: Score With No Film / Portrait of the Guitarist as a Young Drum / Piano Recital / Laurence Harvey's Despair / Piano Ballet / Rings Around the Moon / Seven e Flat Elephants Eating the Acacia of a C# Minor Forest / If Only... / Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" Starring Robert Walker

My first exposure to Adrian Belew was back in 1983. A good friend of mine told me she thought much of the music I was writing was stupid, weird and sounded like a lot like Adrian Belew. Adrian who? Curious I rushed out and bought copies of The Lone Rhino and Twang Bar King (they would become two of my most treasured albums). Let me say right off, I'm no Adrian Belew (I wish).

Over the years I've managed to snag most of Adrian's solo releases. No one can question the man's talent. His ability to create music you can listen to is another story. Having said that, all I can say is God bless you Mister Belew. Someone has to push musical boundaries. This is not to say that the music on this album is all artsy noodling. It is often lush, textured, and deeply thought out. As Adrian says "It takes time to discover its hidden melodies." I've been working on it off and on for five years. I'm almost there.

Reviewed January 29, 2001

Op Zop Too Wah (©1997 Virgin)

belew1: Of Bow And Drum 2: Word Play Drum Beat 3: Six String 4: Conversation Piece 5: All Her Love Is Mine 6: I Remember How To Forget 7: What Do You Know? (Part 1) 8: Op Zop Too Wah 9: A Plate Of Words 10: Time Waits 11: What Do You Know? (Part 2) 12: Modern Man Hurricane Blues 13: In My Backyard 14: A Plate Of Guitar 15: Live In A Tree 16: Something To Do 17: Beautiful 18: High Wire Guitar 19: Sky Blue Red Bird Green House 20: The Ruin After The Rain 21: On

Adrien Belew never ceases to amaze me. This is an album I seldom get a chance to sit and try and digest all at once (I've had it for over a decade). It is frankly an overwhelming experience for the most part - however, when I get a chance to really sit and listen I am transfixed.

Right off the bat, this is not the most accessible music you can listen to, but it is right up there with the most creative stuff I've ever heard. Now I'll be upfront and state that I am drawn to the pop side of Mister Belew's aural arsenal. "Six String" is almost a straight ahead pop song. When he chooses to put it all together, he can be amazing - songs like "All Her Love is Mine" and Sky Blue Red Bird Green House" blend his absurd with elements of world music, and his guitarnoodling, and the results are extraordinary.

Of course there's a delicate line between being creative, and being self indulgent - thankfully most of the incidental pieces are short. I can't pretend to know when he's really trying, or if the joke's on the listener for trying to make sense out of the absurd.

Reviewed July 24, 2008
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
banophernalia.com | The Music Review Section Home | Top of Page
©2005 banophernalia.com. Not to be re-printed or posted elsewhere on the internet without the written permission of banophernalia.com's webmaster.

banophernalia.com feedback Leave Some | View Some