Side One

Adrian Belew

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 25, 2005)
• Original Release Date: January 25, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sanctuary Records
• ASIN: B00070EBSK
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #40,219 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Billboard.com
"a member of King Crimson, Belew played with everyone, David Bowie & Frank Zappa to Trent Reznor & David Byrne."

Product Description
Belew's latest project is the solo album Side One. It's a "power trio" album featuring Primus bass guitarist Les Claypool and Tool drummer Danny Carey. Side One is also the first of three albums (already completed) exploring Belew's eclectic creative tastes.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Side of Adrian Belew., February 5, 2005

By	Louie Bourland (Garden Grove CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Adrian Belew - member of King Crimson, famed session musician and multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire - has reemerged with a brand new solo disc entitled "Side One"-the first in a series of three CDs to be released throughout 2005.
Although almost all the music was written and performed by Belew alone, he does have a little help from some friends on this disc most notably Primus's Les Claypool and Tool's Danny Carey who provide respective bass and drums to the albums opening three tracks.
"Side One" only runs for 33-minutes total but there is still plenty of great and varied music in spite of this. The opening track "Ampersand" sounds almost like a Beatles tune performed with an extremely odd time signature while other tracks such as "Writing On The Wall", "Matchless Man" and "Walk Around the World" resemble Belew's work with King Crimson (the latter track sounds like an outtake from "Three of a Perfect Pair"). Elsewhere on the disc, Adrian shows off his experimental side with the 7-minute instrumental "Madness" which features a thick distored bassline, heavy percussion and layers of sustained delayed guitar phrases. "Beat Box Guitar" is also experimental and also echoes King Crimson in their current phase.
The closing three pieces are short in nature and form sort-of a mini-suite. "Under The Radar" is an atmospheric ballad with a slight Pink Floyd vibe to it which leads directly into "Elephants" a minimalist piece in which Belew improvises some wildly outrageous guitar leads over a repeated riff. This leads into the short final track "Pause" which consists of ambient sound effects and a very brief phrase of guitar arpegggios.
This is a very well-put-together and entertaining CD and displays Adrian Belew's eccentric talents at their best. Fans of King Crimson will no doubt enjoy this disc as it does resemble the band quite heavily at times. With this disc containing music of this high intensity, I can hardly wait for Belew's next two "Sides" to be released.
Excellent CD!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Performing Arts are Still Alive!, February 4, 2005

By	J. L. Pottorf "Underground Doughboy" (Atlanta, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First: This is Adrian Belew. Don't buy this CD expecting to hear Adrian sing TOOL. With an active drummer such as Mr. Carey, Claypool's job is to solidify the rhythm. Between Msr's Claypool and Carey, they lay down a sonic canvas on which Mr. Belew paints with broad sonic strokes. "Madness" is pure genious. "Beat Box Guitar", "Under the Radar", and "Walk around the World" are really one masterpiece in 3 sections. This is the best work of Adrian Belew by far. Fantastic.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flawless complexity...a high point of Belew's long career..., January 25, 2005

By	Nick Ackerman "Nick" (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews

Adrian Belew is in hard Crimsonesque mode here (though occasionally pulling in his other musical incarnations as well). The talent bleeds out of every corner, from Belew's multi-instrumental attack, to the powerful support work of Les Claypool and Danny Carey, among the other contributors. While that should be assumed on a Belew project, there are no dead moments, no frustratingly short snippets (like on his Op Zop Too Wah or on King Crimson's Thrak, both very good & enjoyable, but imperfect albums), and no lyrical misfires.

The sound is tight, and the words are impressionistic & evocative. The music has a powerful and intricate rhythmic feel & consistency, going from hard crunching ("elephants", "madness", parts of "ampersand"), to bright sounding rock or pop ("writing on the wall" or "walk around the world"), to the sinister fluttering-cool air of "matchless man". The transitions happen quickly and organically, without any seeming out of place.

It is a quick tour at 33 minutes, but the length felt right for the material. I do not believe in throwing around five star ratings recklessly, but this release deserves it.