Customer Reviews

Lone Rhino

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

 

 

Listening to this material after 10 years literally brought tears to my eyes. This is one I have been waiting for on CD ever since I wore out my cassette copy. This CD mastering job does the material justice, and the packaging (with lyrics!) is nothing short of top-notch.

For those of you not familiar with Adrian Belew's music, this is an ideal place to start. I recommend starting with track 2. Like a co-worker said upon hearing it for the first time, this is fun music you don't have to think about.

Then the track 7-8-9 segue is a religious experience!
Highly recommended. Now, on to that new Joe Jackson Band release...

Yikes, this is dating me. I purchased Lone Rhino on vinyl when Island released it shortly after King Crimson's release came out. I still have the vinyl. I've been meaning to transfer it for some time and burn a decent copy. Now I don't have to. Belew's first solo album has some of his sharpest songs on it. The Zappa and Beatles influences are all over the place but it's still uniquely Ade. From the stomping Big Electric Cat with its yowling guitar and backward drumming to Man in the Moon Ade's (I assume)moving song about his father, Lone Rhino is top notch. So why only 4 Stars? It's not his best album. Meet The Beatles (or Please Please Me & With The Beatles if you're discussing the CD releases and/or vinyl releases throghout the world expect the US)wasn't The Beatles best. It was a remarkable blast of fresh air. So is Lone Rhino.

I know a number of Belew fans who dislike the instrumental pieces. I find them to be moving and melodic. Belew makes music do the talking here. The mournful Lone Rhino is an instrumental highlight. In many respects Lone Rhino reminds me of McCartney's first solo album. It's simple but never simplistic; it's direct but never blunt; it's melodic but doesn't meander.

It isn't a perfect album. It does have its flaws but those flaws seem less of an issue twenty years later. Occasionally Belew goes for the easy humor of Adidas in Heat. It's a bopping little tune that deserved better lyrics or, perhaps, deserved not to be on the album. Still, it's got charm and the brass band coda does make up for the shortcomings of the lyrics.

Lone Rhino sounds great. It has been remastered from the original analog masters using the 24 bit mastering popular now. The sleeve (and it is a sleeve)is an exact replica of the original one from 1982 except that there is no paper sleeve with the lyrics (they're printed on a folded one sheet in Japanese and English). Issued (if memory serves) right around the time of Beat, Lone Rhino proved that Belew had much more talent than was evident in Crimson.

Lone Rhino es el primer disco en solitario de Adrian Belew después de haber pasado por lo más granado del rock anglosajón: Bowie, Zappa, Talking Heads, King Crimson, etc. En este disco recoge todas esas influencias y las pasa por su propio tamiz. El resultado es un buen disco que, sin embargo, ha sido frecuentemente sobrevalorado. Posiblemente por su imposibilidad para conseguirlo en CD hasta este momento. Aún siendo bueno, aún esta lejos de otras joyas como "Here".

Before Adrian Belew was a guitar player, he was a drummer, and a good one obviously. On Lone Rhino, his first solo release, Adrian plays guitar, sings, and pounds the skins like a pro. The music is upbeat, solid, entertaining and the lyrics are ingenious. Adrian uses effects/pedals like no one else and the unusual sounds he gets out of his guitar (roars, grunts, squeaks, atmospheric tones, etc.) are completely original and refreshing. The effects are secondary of course, as his rhythm and lead work rival the best guitarists around. The man has played with Zappa, Bowie, King Crimson, Talking Heads, and others, for good reason. Amazing talent. Other musicians on the record are: J. Clifton Mayhugh (bass/vocal), Christy Bley (piano/vocal), William Janssen (sax/vocal), and his daughter plays piano on the final track.

The Japanese import sounds wonderful and the layout, a mini-replica of the album complete with plastic sleeve for the CD, is very cool, but it will not fit in a (non-shelf adjustable) CD storage unit because it's too high. Small complaint for such a great album!

For any aspiring rock guitarist, this just so happens to be one of those essential listening for you. The work on this album is simply stunning! And now we get in this mlps version an equally stunning remastering job for an excellent sound quality too. The only gripe I have about this is the way the mlps is put together. Having an insert that has all the lyrics in both English and Japanese is nice but the quality of the cardboard used is thin and poor unlike some of the better designs that I've seen that is out there and looks like pretty shoddy work too. To get an idea of how good mlps designs can get, just take a look at the mlps releases of any of the Hall & Oates albums or the Sly and the Family Stone "Greatest Hits" or the Patti Smith "Horses" albums and you'll see what I mean about this version looking cheap and shoddy in comparison.

Still, content-wise, any lover of good guitar playing will want to have this in their cd collection and as mentioned earlier, anyone wanting to learn good rock guitar has absolutely got to hear this cd.

When I saw the video for Big Electric Cat back in the 80's it completely blew me away. That song alone makes this record an indispensable addition to your record collection. It was guitar playing from another world for someone who had very strong new wave roots.

Adrian Belew's first album, "Lone Rhino", is a somewhat inconsistent effort clearing bearing the stamp of the ensembles he had most recently played with.

While Belew's Beatles influence is often talked about, this record bears the stamp of David Byrne and to a lesser extent David Bowie far more than Lennon or McCartney. Several tracks sound as though they'd fit in nicely on contemporary Talking Heads records ("The Momur") or on a Bowie's "Station to Station" ("Stop It"). And certainly the influence of King Crimson partner Robert Fripp is felt throughout ("Big Electric Cat", "Adidas in Heat").

When the record excels is when Belew discovered his own identity-- "Man in the Moon" is poorly executed and has an annoying guitar line doubling the vocal, but it shows signs of the Belew songwriting, and it certainly sounds like more than the sum of its influences. Likewise, "Animal Grace" is a bit under-realized, but it is uniquely Belew and while he'd conjured sea gulls for Crimson, the effect never grows old. But it's "The Lone Rhinoceros" that's the gem on this one-- easily the standout of the record. A great, melodic piece with all the Belew cliches-- rhino guitar growls, a driving rhythm, and a witty lyric.

Belew would go on to much better work on his future solo records-- this feels like a sideman trying to find his own identity. Get the twofer that's come out recently (and includes the album's followup "Twang Bar King") instead for a somewhat better value. If you're new to Belew, start off with "Young Lions", its a much better effort.