Release date - July 12th, 2005
Terrible, just terrible. I’d rather go to bed early without dinner then ever suffer through this disc again. Adrian Belew is a very well respected guitar talent. He was in King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club... and many others. You’ll need to know that going in, perhaps from a google search on his name… because this record is mostly ambient keyboards and poorly placed drum loops. I am a rock and roll purist, because I expect certain things from any and all music that I listen to: a melody, a verse, a chorus… and ideally a succinct little story being told. This record wanders aimlessly through a fictitious world of jazz rock fusion that has yet to exist. Granted, perhaps he is a visionary re-defining rock as we speak. Maybe he is way ahead of our time, and will only be understood in the future. My thoughts? Not so much.
Side Two is the second part of an ambitious trilogy undertaken by Belew. It began last year with ‘Side one’, which featured such impressive side musicians as Danny Carey from Tool and Les Claypool of… well I think y’all know who Les Claypool is. On this release, though, he handles everything himself... including the album art. The art I can forgive.
Now, for some reason I don’t hold jazz to these standards and I still love jazz. This is not jazz though. No sir, it sounds like outtakes of John Lennon’s fabled mellotron thing that played pre-recorded looped tapes for sound effects. It’s all over Sgt Pepper's. Now imagine a retarded cat with a broken leg spending 40 minutes on the keyboard trying to get comfortable… that is the sound we have achieved here.
I have often heard of ‘triggers’. Triggers (as I understand them, anyhow) are some kind of electronic links in a guitar with a synthesizer computer. Yes, the dreaded midi. I can’t stand it, and that Jerry Garcia used it still breaks my heart. Alex Lifeson legendarily used electronics like these to create the masterpiece Rush album Signals This isn't that, though. Guess what, I want a guitar to sound like a guitar. If I want keyboards, I’ll buy keyboard music.
Article comments
1 - SFC Ski
THat's a shame, Belew has always been "outside" but never unlistenable. THanks for the tip.
2 - Tom Johnson
I'll still pick this up, even if it is just him squanking about with his midi-fied guitar. I might not listen a whole lot if it really is this disappointing, but I'm holding out hope that it's simply a matter of taste. I like Side One quite a bit, and apparently Three will have Claypool and Carey back, which should be out before the end of the year. Hopefully that'll be more like One.
Oh, and not to be nitpicky, but Side One came out this year, not last year. I only say that because Belew intended this entire cycle of work to be released in a short period of time.
3 - Rob
"Now imagine a retarded cat with a broken leg spending 40 minutes on the keyboard trying to get comfortable… that is the sound we have achieved here."
That's the funniest thing I've read in a long time. Thanks for the laugh!
4 - Mark Saleski
not only is it funny, it makes me want to buy the CD!
5 - Tom Johnson
Just listened to some clips of this over at CDUniverse and I'm happy to report that it sounds excellent (and weird, but in a good way.) People who enjoy adventurous music will enjoy it. If you're looking for the usual straight-ahead, boring, been-done-to-death blues-guitar wanking, this is not the right album for you (nor is anything by Belew, for that matter.)
6 - Tom Johnson
Lono, were you listening to the same CD that I just did? Because Side Two follows very closely what was accomplished on Side One - which you seem to like. I seriously do not understand how anyone who liked One would not like Two just as much. Listening to the album a couple of times and reading your review again, it really doesn't read like you actually listened to the album - it sounds more like you had a preconceived notion of what was going on, which you decided you simply didn't like, and you skipped through most of the album and didn't actually listen to the music.
It's also clear you didn't even bother to look at the liner notes or do any research. As is noted in the booklet, "Dead Dog On Asphault" is about when Belew accidently ran over a dog, and event that prompted him to paint for the first time ever (which is what the cover art is - his first painting. As a former art student, it's not a fantastic piece but it certainly has an energy about it and shows a desire to grow.)
Seriously, dude, you do actually owe it to the readers to take some responsibility when you write reviews to try and be as informed as possible. You don't have to like everything, but you sure as hell should at least respect the artists in question enough to do a decent, well thought-out review, especially when the music in question is so obviously outside of the genre that you appear to enjoy most (blues-rock, from what I've seen.)
7 - Lono
Tom,
I listened to it several times, and just found it totally directionless. Honestly, my intent was not to slam the disc at all... I was hoping to enjoy it. Also, I have heard Side 1 and enjoyed that one better indeed. I think that is because there were other musicians and styles balancing out the space rock.
8 - Temple Stark
An honorable mention as a Music Editor pick of the week.
Thank you.
Go HERE for a nifty button you can put on your blog and to look at the other picks.
9 - dannybill
Belew is a fearless artist - check out amazon for some real reviews or this amazing work
10 - Jon
Try Op Zop Too Wah-It's great