Customer Reviews

Double Espresso

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you have enjoyed Tony Levin's two most recent solo works ("Pieces of the Sun" and "Waters of Eden") then this live album will be highly enjoyable, since the track list is taken mostly from them. Now, if you are (like most Levin fans are) a follower of Peter Gabriel, Genesis and/or King Crimson, then there's WAY more to dig in this live production by Tony Levin and the boys (essentially, almost a repeat of the line-up of Peter Gabriel's band from the eighties, with Levin on bass and stick, Jerry Marotta on drums, Larry Fast on keyboards and Jesse Gress on guitars). The song written by Peter Gabriel "Dog One" is featured live, on disc 1 and even Led Zeppelin fans get a bonus, with an incredible rendition of the Zep classic, "Black Dog," but even better are the songs on disc 2, where "Phobos" by Larry Fast is featured, along with (YESSSS!!!) an amazing version of the 1974 song "Back in NYC," from the last album Genesis recorded with Peter Gabriel. This song became a classic performance with Gabriel and his band in his early solo years, before 1980.

King Crimson fans are up for an exquisite couple of songs from the band's 80's work: "Sleepless" (disc1) and "Elephant Talk," both of which are impeccable. Finally, California Guitar Trio, joins the band for a magnificent version of the Henry Mancini classic "Peter Gunn" that was made even more popular by Emerson, Lake and Palmer in the seventies. Closing the second disc is my favorite recent song by Tony Levin, but with a twist: "Belle," with Pete Levin on keyboards and Tony playing some of the most exquisite jazz bass you will hear around. So, who can ask for more? For someone who saw Tony Levin during his concert in Phoenix in 2000, this was a very rewarding addition to my collection: he's a gentleman on and off the stage, who opens up to his fans and is willing to devote time to them. Tony: we salute you, and thanks for putting this double-album together for us!

This new two disc by bass virtuoso Tony Levin and his band is one of the best live recordings I've heard in a long time.
The King Crimson, Peter Gabriel bass veteran and his talented band; keyboardist Larry Fast, guitarist Jerry Gress and drummer Jerry Marotta put out an unbelievably tight sound in concert and their no slouches in the studio either.
The disc was recorded live at Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, New York (with the exception of great cover of Peter Gunn, which was recorded in St. Louis). Most of the live tracks were off of Levin's two solo projects; "Waters of Eden" and "pieces of the sun". The band covers two King Crimson tracks; "Elephant Talk" and Sleepless and also does an outstanding rendition of Genesis' "Back in NYC" with Marotta doing an excellent job on vocals.
The band's sound live is phenominal. Buying this disc and listening to this very talented band makes me want to go out and see them live. Get this disc!

What can I say. This is the best release yet from Tony in solo mode. Actually strictly speaking this isn't solo in the sense that Tony has assembled a phenomenal band of musicians to play this material including Jesse Gress on guitars and fellow Peter Gabriel band members Jerry Marotta on Drums and some vocals and Larry Fast on Keyboards. As you can see from the list of song titles most of the set comes from his last two CDs Pieces of the Sun and Waters of Eden. The performances of these songs are infinitely better than the originals propelled by the crowd's enthusiasm and band synergy. In addition to these truly smoking performances, their are great versions of Genesis' Back in NYC and King Crimson's Sleepless and Elephant Talk with Jerry Marotta not only supplying brilliant drumming but a terrific vocal for Back in NYC. If you're going to by a solo release by Levin make it this!

This is definetly my favorite live album of 2002. Tony Levin is the consumate musician: he can play as either a soloist or an accompanist (due to his unique instrument the Stick, which has both treble and bass ranges). This group is made up of some of the most accomplished musicians today, such as TL himself (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, just about everyone), Larry Fast (who has created numerous Synergy recordings), Jerry Marotta on drums and sax, as well as Jesse Gress. I can't even begin to describe just how talented these guys are.

I won't get into specific track listing, but I will say that there is not a single clunker here. It is instrument rock, new age, a few vocal pieces, as well as many different varieties and styles. I'd also like to add that you SHOULD NOT MISS these guys in a live setting. Very entertaining as performers, and just extremely gifted in their musical approach. While i've lost a lot of interest in King Crimson, now that Levin is no longer an active member (the fifth man?), the music on "Double Espresso" is fresh, exciting, and unpredictable. You owe it to yourself to listen to these guys, if you've gone as far as to read this review. Don't miss it!!

This album is the end result of Tony Levin touring with two of the other three members (in Jerry Marotta and Larry Fast) of Peter Gabriel's touring band of the late 70's and early 80's.

I bought this album after seeing them play live about 2 1/2 years ago at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, CA. The band performs many of Tony's studio tracks from his two solo efforts, which I bought right after seeing this group play, and salivated over the live album until its release. Having not heard their version of "Tequila" prior to seeing the show, it turned out quite hilarious. They also do quite well in covering King Crimson's "Elephant Talk" and Genesis' "Back in New York City". The only bad track on here has to be "L'Abito Della Sposa" - sorry Tony, your English-accented Italian leaves a lot to be desired.

If you are a fan of Peter Gabriel at all, and don't mind listening to music that is primarily without lyrics, you won't be disappointed. This is hardly New Age stuff, as another reviewed dubbed it, but the logical step in the career of a progressive rock bass virtuoso.

It's too bad they don't have any bits on here with Tony actually talking to the crowd. He's quite personable, and really enjoys having fun up on stage.

This album is worth it, especially if you appreciate fine musicmanship.

You know, there's something to be said about "gentility." Perhaps I'm slightly partial in this case because of the sheer magnitude of the musicianship here, but Tony Levin is a not just a great musician; he's a gentleman. I saw the Tony Levin Band in the front row at the Rosebud in Pittsburgh. Having already found Pieces of the Sun to be ten times more interesting than most of what King Crimson has released in the past decade (with perhaps Thrakattack and Vroom Vroom being exceptions), I was not terribly surprised to find the new songs being given a terrific life onstage. Tony Levin is perhaps not the world's greatest composer (he'd be the first to say so), but songs like Apollo, Dog One, and the ingeniously deconstructed Tequila were performed with a passion, grace, and a bit of humor. Levin's decision to perform L'Abito Della Sposa, which he sang in Italian, was a true risk; the audience couldn't really follow the words, but they could see that Levin was honest in his performance, and that's what counted. Jesse Gress, whom I'd never heard of before, (I've since learned of his pedigree with Todd Rundgren with whom, oddly Gress also shares a startling physical resemblance) was an awesome force on guitar, waxing belew-esque and page-esque where appropriate, and otherwise dropping jaws with his stylistically mish-mashed virtuosity. Jerry Marrota - well, he never really got the chance to stretch out much when he played with Peter Gabriel, but BOY can he PLAY... and sing! Belle and Peter Gunn are very welcome additions, since they were only played once on the tour, at the shows where they were recorded.

Perhaps even more tellingly, in his banter with the crowd, Levin made a point of announcing that photography was allowed, if not encouraged, unlike some "other band" he had been in. And, of course, he took a couple of snaps of the audience for post on his website. Levin related the story behind the title of his song "The Fifth Man:" apparently he ran into Robert Fripp at some point while working out material for the Pieces album. He expressed regret to Fripp that he couldn't participate in the current (four person) King Crimson lineup because of prior commitments to Peter Gabriel, his own band, etc. Fripp apparently replied, "That's alright, Tony. You'll always be the fifth man." Levin was as baffled as the rest of us at that bit of very Fripp-y bit of nonsensical pretentiousness, and couldn't resist titling using that phrase to title the roller-coaster ride of a song that he was writing at the time.

If I could, I would give this live album 4 ½ stars, if only because the mix lacks a certain *oomph* in the bottom end, which is ironic given that it's a band led by a bass player. As it is, I'm happy to give this album 5 stars, if only because it's so head-and-shoulders above the derivative, unimaginative ... that Levin's "other band" has been putting out over the last couple of years.

There is a little bit of everything here. Some rather harder electric, to some nearly ambient. The recording quality is good, not super polished, but that makes the recorded document all the more authentic feeling. Excellent snapshot of a true giant in the industry. You can certainly find more cohesive studio projects, but this is an excellent package from Mr. Levin. It definately deserves repeated listening.

The best way to characterize this album is to think of the band as a prog band that thinks of them selves as a jazz group. I love prog but a lot of the time groups sacrifice texture and creativity for technically impressive shows of force. This has it all. It has some very progy parts, some quiet smooth parts, and a few good old rock parts. It also has some down right fun covers on it.

Tony Levin siempre ha sido un respetado músico de sesión (Peter Gabriel, especialmente) e integrante de King Crimson. Sin embargo nunca ha sido excesivamente valorado su trabajo en solitario. Antes de este disco ha sacado 3 mas bajo su nombre. También ha participado como integrante de diversos proyectos: Bozzio-Levin-Stevens, Liquid Tension Experiment, etc.
Todos estos trabajos demuestran la heterogeneidad de un artista que, quizás, pueda confundirse con falta de personalidad. En efecto, nada tienen que ver "Waters of Eden" (disco claramente "new age") con su aportación a Liquid Tensión Experiment ("Heavy metal" sin concesiones). Este disco que aquí comentamos supone una síntesis de todas estas facetas. Hay ecos de King Crimson, de Peter Gabriel, de música "new age", etc, pero unificados bajo una misma producción. Es evidente que Tony Levin no ha descubierto la piedra filosofal pero lo que hace lo hace muy bien.

Nice work on the part of all players involved. A pretty decent live recording to boot. Definitely worth a listen or two and more for sure.