Though he hasn't been a member of King Crimson in some time now, legendary guitarist/vocalist Adrian Belew continues to keep busy with a never ending onslaught of solo albums and projects, his latest outing being Elevator, his 25th solo album in a career that has seen him tackle just about every style and genre. With Elevator Belew once again returns to the quirky, artsy pop rock medium that he always seems the most comfortable with, this new release containing a dozen new songs, all falling within the 2-4 minute time frame and full of weird, angular guitar noises, his Beatles inspired vocal harmonies, and industrial tinged percussion. Adrian performs all instruments and vocals himself, but of course it's his guitar that really shines as always. "A13" and "A Car I Can Talk To" are edgy, fun, and quirky blasts of angular guitar led pop, "The Power of the Natural World" is atmospheric, somber, and has a great hook, and "Good Morning Sun" will brighten your day with wild guitar noise and breezy harmonies. His love of The Beatles shines through on the soaring acoustic based "You Can't Lie to Yourself", while the rhythmic King Crimson-meets-Peter Gabriel world music/prog of "The Saturday Morning Roar of the Lawn Mowers" sees Belew basically speaking some hilarious lyrics over a keyboard & guitar loop...it's a total blast. In fact, if you love that sort of thing, there's "Taking My Shoes Out for a Walk", another song filled with humorous lyrics that once again sees Adrian talking more than singing. It's silly, but charming at the same time, and his acoustic guitar playing is lovely. "Back to Love" sounds like early '80s Crimson with some noisy guitar shards and dissonant piano flying about the mix, and "Attitude" rocks with, well, attitude.
While it might be rank up their with some of his earlier classic solo albums like Lone Rhino or Twang Bar King, Elevator is certainly a lot of fun, and well deserving of your attention.
Track Listing
1.
a13 03:16
2.
a car i can talk to 03:08
3.
backwards and upside down 03:44
4.
the power of the natural world 02:57
5.
good morning sun 03:40
6.
you can't lie to yourself 03:06
7.
the saturday morning roar of the lawn mowers 03:41
8.
attitude 03:36
9.
taking my shoes out for a walk 03:38
10.
back to love 03:36
11.
beauty 02:37
12.
seventy going on seventeen 02:26
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