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Thread: Adrian Belew Solo Works

  1. #1

    Adrian Belew Solo Works

    Huge fan of the "Sides" series and The Lone Rhinoceros...Any other solo records worth checking out

  2. #2
    Member progholio's Avatar
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    oh hell yes,

    Young Lions
    Here
    Op Zop Too Wah
    Twang Bar King
    e
    Mr Music Head
    Inner Revolution
    Desire Caught By The Tail

    I'm probably forgetting some but these are all certainly worthwhile.

  3. #3
    Love to get Side 4 Live but can't find it anywhere

  4. #4
    Cobra handling and cocaine use are a bad mix.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by progman1975 View Post
    Huge fan of the "Sides" series and The Lone Rhinoceros...Any other solo records worth checking out
    As you may expect, they're so different it really depends on what you want. My picks would be:

    Mr. Music Head - probably best of the early quirky-pop days (with Young Lions not far behind).

    Here - not sure if it's a huge standout, but a strong set of strong songs I return to often.

    Op Zop - really polarizing since it's a mishmosh at the weird/experimental end of the scale. Not my fav by far, but there are a couple gems and I can sort of see why some people are particularly drawn to it (much like, say, Lizard).

    Salad Days - an acoustic collection of mostly recycled material; an interesting slant on the material (such as that great solo "Three of a Perfect Pair" arrangement), and it's one the wife often enjoys more than the noisier stuff.

    e - great if you're in the mood for some Crimsony tightness and complexity, tied together with a lot of little tricks and repeating/shifting motifs and such. Plus the Slicks.

  6. #6
    Member rickawakeman's Avatar
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    I love the acoustic Salad Days. Also love Young Lions.

  7. #7
    Mr. Music Head is my favorite. "1967" is like a lost Beatles track -- possibly the best thing he's ever written.

  8. #8
    Member No Pride's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by progholio View Post
    Here
    Inner Revolution
    Adrian at his Beatlesy best!




  9. #9
    I've got most of Ade's solo releases, and I guess I'm the type drawn to Op Zop. It came out about the time of Thrak and was, at the time, heralded as his most Crimson-esque work since the first two albums. Time has passed, and while there are a few Crimson like tracks, I'd argue it's his most Beatle-esque album. Pop sensibilities, ambition, abstraction, creativity--man, I just love this one. It's just wonderful.
    I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.

  10. #10
    Member progholio's Avatar
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    Sorry to de-rail, but i heard this on the radio a few minutes ago, i was shocked to find out this was NOT some oddball track Belew was involved with but a 70's band called Bullet from the UK, sounds an aweful lot like Adrian if you ask me (or the other way around i suppose given the time period).

    Last edited by progholio; 06-03-2015 at 03:57 PM.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by polmico View Post
    man, I just love this one. It's just wonderful.
    Awesome. Even if I don't get it that much myself, I'm fascinated at that phenomenon where people are generally lukewarm on something at best, but then that contingent that loves it seems to really love it. Maybe this one will still click for me someday... you just never quite know.

  12. #12
    Member Digital_Man's Avatar
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    I only really know his early stuff especially Lone Rhino(which I think is very good btw). My brother had Young Lions on cd a long time ago so I got to hear that and enjoyed that quite a bit too. I don't know much else by him though.

  13. #13
    Op Zop Too Wah is my favorite so far, followed by e

  14. #14
    Side 4 Live is fantastic! My favorite of his, but the above mentioned are all very good too.
    "I want to be someone, who someone would want to be." Marillion

  15. #15
    Actually you can read what he thinks about his own records in the exhaustive interview I did with him for Guitar Connoisseur magazine that has just been re-posted online:

    http://issuu.com/guitarconnoisseurma...at_issue_issuu

  16. #16
    Twang Bar King is a fantastic record. Lots of good songs on there, particularly The Rail Song (one of the most achingly beautiful songs ever), She Is Not Dead, and The Ideal Woman. Ballet For A Blue Whale is an excellent instrumental also. And his version of I'm Down is one of my favorite Beatles covers.

  17. #17
    Member No Pride's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    Twang Bar King is a fantastic record. Lots of good songs on there, particularly The Rail Song (one of the most achingly beautiful songs ever), She Is Not Dead, and The Ideal Woman. Ballet For A Blue Whale is an excellent instrumental also. And his version of I'm Down is one of my favorite Beatles covers.
    Yeah, that's a good one too and "The Rail Song" is great, my favorite track on that album. I saw the tour with that band, including Motown and Nashville session drummer, Larrie Londin. It was a great concert!

    Op Zop Too Wah is a nice album too, marrying Ade's pop and experimental sides. As a matter of fact, I don't think he's ever made a bad album.

  18. #18
    Subterranean Tapir Hobo Chang Ba's Avatar
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    e
    Op Zop
    Twang Bar King
    Please don't ask questions, just use google.

    Never let good music get in the way of making a profit.

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  19. #19
    Member Kcrimso's Avatar
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    e And Side Two are my favourite ones.
    My progressive music site: https://pienemmatpurot.com/ Reviews in English: https://pienemmatpurot.com/in-english/

  20. #20
    Anyone (besides me) prefer the orchestral version of e?
    I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.

  21. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by No Pride View Post
    Yeah, that's a good one too and "The Rail Song" is great, my favorite track on that album. I saw the tour with that band, including Motown and Nashville session drummer, Larrie Londin. It was a great concert!
    Ooh, would have liked to have seen that. I remember Ade was on the January 1984 cover of Guitar Player, and he went into great detail about his rig on that tour, which was pretty elaborate for the time.

    I also remember the ad for the Ade's Electronic Guitar instructional video, which ran on MTV a lot a little bit later in that year, which used some live footage that was apparently filmed on the Twang Bar King tour (stage set was done by the same guy who painted the album cover and also the two souped Fender Mustangs Ade played onstage during the Twang Bar King/Three Of A Perfect Pair era). Unfortunately, at the time we didn't have a VCR, so I didn't get to see the video until a couple decades later when it surfaced on Youtube (where people were making wisecracks about how Ade was apparently wasted while shooting the video, though I don't think he was, he's just a massively mellow guy). I love the bit where he's demonstrating this early 80's synth module that "has a mind of it's own", he takes his hands off the guitar and it's still making weird noises, and he assumes the Jack Benny "Oh, really?!" posture.

  22. #22
    Not solo, but his stuff with the Bears (especially their debut with the Mort Ducker cover art) is great if you like "Prog Pop" or is it "Pop Prog"?

  23. #23
    I've only got Sides 1 2 and 3 and Desire of the Rhino King and think they're all superb. I really like both the catchy numbers and the experimental pieces and enjoy when the line between the two is blurred. Based on the recommendations here I think I'll try Op Zop Too Wah and Mr. Music Head next.

    I did manage to see him live for my first time a few years ago when he was touring with the Stickmen. It was a great show! A friend I invited enjoyed the Stickmen and Crimson sets but said he just couldn't wrap his head around the Belew trio pieces. At the time I don't think I had any of his albums so I didn't recognize what he was playing, although I enjoyed it. Does anyone know what his set list was like on that tour?
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  24. #24
    If it was the 2011 tour (that's when I saw him in PHX with Danny Carey of Tool subbing for Ralph), it was "Bow and Drum," "Young Lions," "A Little Madness," maybe "Neurotica." Memories fade.

    Setlist.fm doesn't fade as much:
    http://www.setlist.fm/setlists/adria...-2bd438aa.html
    I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.

  25. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by ProgArtist View Post
    I did manage to see him live for my first time a few years ago when he was touring with the Stickmen. ... Does anyone know what his set list was like on that tour?
    His middle-show set from the show I saw in late 2011 (as best I remember) was Of Bow and Drum, Madness, Beat Box Guitar, Young Lions, Neurotica and e. I think I remember a mention of Futurevision from a different show.

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