Desire of the Rhino King

Adrian Belew | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 5, 1991)
• Original Release Date: November 5, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B000001DTU
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #83,602 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Final Rhino

2. The Lone Rhinoccros

3. Big Electirc Cat

4. The Momur

5. Hot Sun

6. The Man in the Moon

7. Swingline

8. Adidas in Heat

9. Fish Head

10. The Ideal Woman

11. Sexy Rhino

12. Twang Bar King

13. Paint the Road

14. She Is Not Dead

15. The Rail Song

16. Ballet for a Blue Whale

17. The Gypsy Zurna

18. Puprple Antelope Across a Sea of Tuna Fish

19. Portrait of Margaret

20. Laughing Man

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

This CD is an out of print collectible! It is the original 1991 release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Priceless, November 2, 2000

By 

Worgelm "The Grumpy" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Desire of the Rhino King (Audio CD)

Island apparently lost the masters for his early albums _Twang Bar King_ and _Lone Rhino_, both of which are irreplaceable and criminally overlooked early-80s experimental pop gems. They may never be released on CD again. The good news is, the absolute cream of the crop is here, remastered and collected on this outstanding CD. Although some of the early stuff veered off into forgettable Zappa-esque silliness without the vulgarity - "Fishhead" and "The Ideal Woman" come to mind - there is some absolutely stunning work here that shouldn't be ignored by anyone who is a fan of Belew's work in Crimson or his solo efforts. "Hot Sun" is one of the earliest examples of his "guitar as orchestra" concept - an eerie sound landscape made entirely of various different things hitting the guitar. The wistful "Rail Song" off of _Twang_ has the distinction of being the only song in rock history, I am certain, which has a train solo. (You have to hear the song to understand). There's "Paint the Road" which has Belew's screaming guitar battling it out with an alto sax, and the gorgeous and eerie "She Is Not Dead" which features some amazing percussive work and the melody to one of his early masterpieces "Man In the Moon", played backwards. That song, btw, was written for Belew's father, who passed away during the recording of _Lone Rhino_ - its a definite tearjerker. Finally _Desire Caught By The Tail_ is also represented here, an album which probably polarizes Belew's already miniscule cult following to this day. I think the surreal sound landscapes are bold, definitely the strangest and most inacessible stuff he has ever recorded, and the silly song titles are just that, not pretentious and self-indulgent as other people have suggested. Essential for Belew archaeologists and fans alike, its a great way to get acquainted with some of his early, less-polished stuff and see a side of Adrian that is not often displayed in his later works.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Far more interesting than meets the ear..., July 4, 2007

By 

Plattski "Plattski" (Walnut Creek, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Desire of the Rhino King (Audio CD)

Unknown to almost everyone except Adrian, this album represents a collection of "second" mixes that were used instead of the real mixes that appear on Lone Rhino. At the time this record was produced, the company had lost the original master tape to Lone Rhino, however, later the Lone Rhino and Twang Bar King albums were found by JVC, in their vault in Japan, and this past year they were re-released with the original mixes on Island - Japan. How on Earth would I KNOW that? Well, I'm the guy who mixed Lone Rhino, Twang Bar, and Here. The moment I heard Desire of the Rhino King, I immediately realized these mixes were out-takes, or "second mixes". The original masters are slightly different , but this record is fun to listen to because if you are a true Belew fan, you can compare these mixes against the re-released Lone Rhino original mixes and hear the differences. My personal favorite Belew song has never been released, it is called "Buy That Face" that we recorded for Atlantic in 1982.

It was certainly fun for me to listen to my mix outakes, realizing that the real mixes were better after all these years. . By the way, Adrian Belew truly is the musical genius you've heard about. Consider it confirmed by someone who would know...By the way, the Train Song music and mix was fully finished without lyrics - Adrian wrote them at his hotel in about an hour, came to the studio, sang them - bang! done. (I played ping pong with the assistant engineer while he wrote them.) Might be the first record fully mixed prior to a vocal - ha ha ha! Posted by Gary Platt (Plattski) engineer/mixer for Lone Rhino, Twang Bar King, Here, and various compilations.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'd buy it just for Big Electric Cat, May 25, 2000

By 

joe_n_bloe (Ester AK USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Desire of the Rhino King (Audio CD)

This compilation of early Adrian Belew albums features the quintessential Belew anthem, Big Electric Cat. A solo guitar squeals over steady marching-band-inspired percussion and Belew performs what others have called his "trademark paranoid vocals" while reversed reverb, vocals, and drums add a spooky note. You have got to love it. Lone Rhino is by far my favorite of the three albums represented in this compilation, but all of the material has merit. If you like this album, you've got to check out The Bears (Belew's late 80s group effort).