Some people have spotlight on them for no reason, because they suck and I won't get into that, and others need to be in the spotlight because of how underrated they are. He is always over looked and should be recognized for his great guitar playing. I mean how many artists can you say played with Frank Zappa, Talking Heads, David Bowie, and King Crimson all in one breath. Not to mention, he has had people play with him by the likes of Les Claypool, of Primus and Danny Carey of Tool. He has recently been a sideman for Trent Reznor and Paul Simon. But he did not start playing guitar, his first love is drums. It was his love of the Beatles that got him hooked on guitar.
He started in a cover band in Nashville playing "straight music" and was seen by Zappa who needed to fill a void in his guitar department. He needed someone to play on Zappa's European tour. It was quite an honor that he could not pass up and what led him to be the most important guitar players out there. If you see the DVD Baby Snakes you can see him play with Zappa it's a real treat. From there he went to play with David Bowie. He is only on one album Stage but he makes his mark. At that point he was introduced to Brian Eno and Robert Fripp. The rest is history.
If you have ever seen Adrian Belew then you know all about him. He is a very good guitar player and his lyrics are pretty damn cool too. He is the spokesperson for when King Crimson goes up on stage. Fripp does very little talking or non at all in my case when I have seen King Crimson or any of the Projekcts that Fripp set up after the band toured in 1996. Adrian jokes with crowd and is very talkative. I had a chance to meet him a couple of times and he was really nice. I have begged a couple times to get the album from his early career in print on CD and he has many times said the masters are lost in Japan somewhere.
Adrian Belew's early albums are wonderful and Lone Rhino is no exception. The album is full of those early King Crimson and Afro-Beat roots. Adrian was making his presence known in the music world with his first album and even more he was in front of the spotlight with King Crimson. From the first song to the last each song is Adrian's. There is even a track with his daughter.
So if you want to be hip and I know you do, I would go out and look for this album. It's a great start to the early career of Adrian Belew. It shows early on what Adrian was taught by everybody who came across him and wanted him to play with. Adrian is a true guitar hero to me because not only can he play but he does not show off and he shows his fans he is just a front man who loves to have fun. I have a story about seeing King Crimson in 1996 and he came out to tell the King Crimson fans they were here for our entertainment. He also made fun of Eddie Van Halen for using a drill and a guitar in one Van Halen song and mentioned the video. He laughed and tried the drill and handed it to the roadie and told him and the crowd if Eddie Van Halen was watching this how you play guitar. He did not show off he just went about his business and reminded all of he played with Zappa and Eddie did not. Play this loud and remember it's not how you show off your instrument it's how well you play it. Enjoy!
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I like Belew as much as the next guy or gal, but that EVH dig seems a bit rich, coming from a guy who regularly uses MIDI and other tech to show off a bit. I remember seeing K.C. in '95 in New Haven. It was the night before the Beatles 'Anothology' program was debutting on American tee vee. He played "Free As A Bird", but had set the MIDI so his guitar notes would sound like piano notes. Now, yeah, it was a heartfelt tribute to Lennon, but part of me thought he was posturing a bit, knowing all the guitar cats in the crowd would be letting out 'oohs' and 'aahs' at his technique.
ReplyDeleteSnobbery aside--to me, EVH revolutionized electric guitar playing far more than Belew has. EVH's finger-tapping seems right up there with Hendrix's feedback squalls and Page's riff-o-ramas. Sure, he lost his way in the late 80s and in the 90s, but those first couple of Van Halen records still blow me away.
I also differ on someone playing with Zappa and being an automatic genius. Steve Vai played with Zappa and to me, most of his solo albums seem like sheer wankery.
Gotta disagree with the Purple man above. EVH was great for a few years there but he doesn't have nearly the range nor the skill of Belew. Belew played with everyone from Nine Inch Nails to Paul Simon to Laurie Anderson to Talking Heads to hundreds of other people. There's no way that EVH could handle that range. He's a Hard Rock/Metal guy only, while Belew can play in any setting and add something. And Robert Fripp was doing the finger tapping thing in 1969 and I believe Steve Hackett did that in the 70s as well. EVH did not invent that. I think Belew is by far the better guitarist and more expansive artist b/c he is also a good singer and songwriter. EVH is more of a one-trick pony. Adrian is simply un-belew-vable!
ReplyDelete@DV77: I've seen that "EVH didn't invent finger-tapping" argument before, but to me, it seems to be an irrelevant point. EVH popularised the technique far more than anyone else. Sure, he inspired scores of wankers, like Yngwie Malmsteen--but still, I can't even imagine what it was like hearing "Eruption" in 1978--it blew my mind hearing it for the first time in 1983!
ReplyDeleteI don't agree that EVH doesn't have the 'range' to play with loads of bands--he just hasn't made himself as available as Belew. Dig EVH's solo on Michael Jackson's "Beat It". Check out his little solo bits on the early VH records (besides "Eruption")..."Cathedral" on "Diver Down" and "Sunday Afternoon In The Park" from "Fair Warning". To me, those ain't exactly 'hard-rock/heavy metal' offerings. They're more like ambient or drone to me...almost something like Eno would do if he played guitar.
I suppose Belew gets a few kudos for singing and writing lyrics. To me, his lyrics aren't that great and his singing seems passable most of the time. Once in a while, he goes for it and it sounds great. The rest of the time, seems just adequate to me.
So yeah, we agree to disagree.
Yeah, we agree to disagree. I don't have anything against EVH. I DO remember his impact in the late 70s and it was immediate and huge. In a sea of warbling New Wavers, Punks with three-chords and a snarl, and assorted Disco Polly Esthers, EVH came in with this very skilled playing and blew everyone away. That said, I still think Belew is a greater takent with a greater (yes) range. "Beat It" was nice but it was EVH's usual, in a Pop setting. I still can't see EVH contributing to a Paul Simon record one month and then playing with Talking Heads the next month (yeah I know those dates were several years apart but give me some poetic license). His work on "Remain in Light" had a huge imapct on how people viewed the guitar, moving toward textures rather than wankery or Townsend bar chords. I concede your argument that EVH popularized the tapping thing, but he gets two points off for also allowing David Lee Roth to usher in the spandex Hair Metal thing of the 80s which was reprehensible. Van Halen giveth with one hand and taketh away with the other.
ReplyDeleteSo, onward and upward!
Adrian is the man - so much intelligence and invention
ReplyDelete