.:: Bass legend Tony Levin, who is the only bass player Peter Gabriel will take with him on tour and who has also toured and recorded with Paul Simon, Sarah McLachlan, Peter Frampton, and many others, as well as occupying the bass chair with King Crimson for over 25 years, has released music under his own name before. But Resonator is the first album to feature his vocals and lyrics, and while it's never safe to assume that instrumental brilliance will necessarily translate into lyrical skill or vocal ability, in this case Levin seems to have the hat trick.
That's not to say that his voice is especially exciting, but it's not embarrassing, and his lyrics are generally quite good. But as is the case with almost any recording with which he's involved, it's the bass playing that really rewards close listening. This is especially true on tracks like "Places to Go" (scored for bass, percussion, and vocals), the gorgeous and deeply moving "Beyond My Reach," and a darkly exquisite, faintly Crimson-esque instrumental titled "Shadowland." On "Utopia," his chord progression harks back to the Beatles, and his appropriation of classical material on "Sabre Dance" is both good-humored and sophisticated. Here's hoping for more of this type of thing in the future.
(From Tony) This music is different that what I've offered before, in that it's got vocals and lyrics on 8 of the 10 compositions. But it'll also be a little familiar to listeners of my previous releases in that my writing is (hopefully) distinctive, and I use the players in my band a lot (musicians details are below.)
With the lyrics I've tackled some deep subjects, though sometimes humorously. And the instrumentals (including a heavy rock version of Khachaturian's Sabre Dance) are pretty rocking.
I really think it's my best writing ever, and am excited to get it out to the public.
(We'll put the lyrics up on this page too.)
The core of the Tony Levin Band remains the same group that has recorded and toured together for years:
On synthesizers, Larry Fast, of Synergy, Nektar, and the Peter Gabriel Band.
On drums, and singing background vocals: Jerry Marotta, who has recorded with Paul McCartney and many others, in addition to the Peter Gabriel Band.
Playing guitar, Jesse Gress, who also plays with Todd Rundgren, and has written numerous books on guitar technique.
New in the band is Tony's brother, Pete Levin - an accomplished keyboardist and composer who's played many albums and film tracks. Featured on a few tracks is his Hammond Organ playing, which will bring a new dimension of solo-ing to the band's live shows. In addition, Tony had wanted another vocalist for the live shows - now there are four (in fact the band's European live shows have begun with a quite amusing Barbershop Quartet!)
Adrian Belew, the inimitable guitarist, has a guest appearance on the track Throw the God a Bone, which, in re-uniting the two King Crimson players, gets a flavor something like their famous Elephant Talk.
Steve Lukather, of Toto and countless hit records, plays guitar on the track Utopia. Tony had long wanted to give himself the gift of having Luke play the special solo on that piece (which Tony had recorded before, just as an instrumental.)
download: tony levin - renonator
pass: indie-ground.blogspot.com
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