Customer Reviews

Situation Dangerous

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Side projects are such a risky venture, aren't they? At first you never know whether they'll be genuine collaborations or mutual wank-fests meant to be sold on name recognition. I'll admit to being a little biased since I approached this album as a huge fan of Bozzio and Levin.. and since all I knew about Steve Stevens was that he'd been Billy Idol's guitarist, I was just hoping he wouldn't be too annoying. I'm not proud to admit that. I am, however, glad to say I was very wrong indeed. Steve is all over the place - heavy here, quiet there, soloing here, adding layers of texture to the recording I probably still haven't heard yet. Terry Bozzio is like a man possessed. I imagine him thrashing madly behind the drum set, jumping from one percussive oddity to the next with the manic grin of a mad scientist at work. Tony Levin (once again) adds a monster low end like no one else, laying a foundation so solid you could walk on it yet sneaking in licks that are nothing short of masterful. I guess he missed the memo that bass players aren't supposed to do that stuff.

Enough. On with the music. It's a little different from their previous album Black Light Syndrome in that it's not all improvised. It's instrumental hard rock that'll appeal to fans of Jeff Beck or Liquid Tension Experiment (which also included Levin - coincidence? I think not.). It manages to twist your mind through wild solos, time changes executed with mathematical precision, and a level of musical variety almost worthy of a Steve Morse album. There's a lot of hard rock, a quiet moody tune or two, just a little jazz and a touch of flamenco. "Spiral" and "Endless" are quiet and atmospheric enough for Brian Eno fans, while prog-heads will just love trying to count the time signatures throughout "Crash." I could almost joke that the title of "Dangerous" refers to the risk of a copyright lawsuit, considering that they practically quote outright from Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" and King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man." Instrumental magic, technical brilliance, hard rock, intelligent prog, call it what you want. If you like music that'll fire up your brain cells and still shred wallpaper, this is worth a good listen or two.. or two dozen. Enjoy.

The 2nd album from these instrumental superstars is even better than their first one in my opinion. The album features more variety with blistering rock and soft acoustic interludes. All 3 musicians shine throughout with Steve Stevens again displaying much more versatility than any of his work with Billy Idol. His flamenco guitar flourishes are a highlight of the softer tracks on the disc. Bozzio is all over the place as well adding various percussion nuances that lesser musicians would never even dream of. Levin, of course is as solid as ever. Overall I think this is a stronger release than the debut. If you love fun instrumental workouts this album is a great one. Let's hope they put something else out one of these days.

BLS' first cd, BLACK LIGHT SYNDROME, was so good I actually had great hopes for the then-fledgling Magna Carta label. Although they were thrown together as per the standard MC formula - Supergroups While U Wait - the resulting music was wonderfully organic-sounding, as if these three guys had been waiting all their lives to play in the same band without knowing it. (It helps that none of them have a signature 'day-job' band they're vacationing from - and I consider Papa Bear too much of a Renaissance man to refer to him as 'King Crimson's Tony Levin'.) SITUATION DANGEROUS is the just-released followup, one I wasn't expecting, that's every bit as good as its predecessor. A little different, though: it definitely sounds as if, this time, they had longer than 3 days to whip up something from scratch. A little heavier, too. But what put the debut over the top was the equal contributions of each member in terms of styles, influences, ideas, and, oh yeah, chops, and I'm happy to say that hasn't changed, except that this time they had more time, more resources, and a better feel for one another - do the math for yourself. Bozzio's ferocity puts the majority of today's progmetal double-bass thunder merchants to shame; he's equally masterful when finesse and restraint are called for. Steve Stevens continues to reveal levels of subtlety and taste that go far beyond the big-hair flash he's unfairly identified with, as exemplified by not only his playing but his classy liner-notes tribute to the late great Curtis Mayfield. And Levin? You need me to tell you how fluid, seamless and exciting a player HE is? There's no Stickmeister extant who coaxes more lyrical sounds from that odd-looking doohickey. SITUATION is as satisfying an audio purchase as I've made recently; you could do plenty worse than to grab yourself a copy.

If you like the wild brilliance of Liquid Tension Experiment, (and who could not be just blown away by the ending of Biaxident ?) then this is as good a compliment to LTE as you can get ... I rarely play a single track form this album, as the whole album is sheer brilliance.

categorize under: Complex, interesting, rocking, melodic, crazy, and if you dont have those categories, then just stick it in "EXCITING"

Ok this album is a good example of outstanding good music executed by excellent musicians. Situation dangerous is a mixture among flamenco, heavy metal, jazz, i.e, progressive music. You can appreciate the difference between this album and the first one released in 1997, because the songs are more structured and "it's not as extended or jam-oriented" as Terry Bozzio says in an interview. Indeed there are more flamencoish parts in songs like "Tziganne". There is a remarkable influence from Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, King Crimson and this is because Tony Levin's bass. This guy is the best rock bassist of all time. And last but not least is Terry Bozzio, whose drumming is one of the most interesting in the last ten years owe to his style that mixes jazz, arabian music, flamenco, metal. He made a great job also in "Explorers Club" album, in which you can appreciate his performance with very talented musicians like John Petrucci(Dream Theater) and Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big) If you don't have Situation Dangerous, please go for it.

It's hard to beat the "sophomore slump" syndrome, but the Bozzio-Levin-Stevens troika has superseded their first effort gloriously. The overall feel of these eight composition is a much richer musical, mystical tapestry which begs repeated listenings. When I first encountered BLS I was a little wary, knowing the fruits of guitar/bass/drums PLUS keyboards, as exemplified by Mike Portnoy's Liquid Tension Experiment. I thought that without the benefit of an additional tonal pallet this "power trio" would be deprived of the textural richness that a foursome can bring...let's just say I needn't have worried.

Steve Stevens, quite simply, fills all--and I do mean ALL--of the holes where a keyboardist would normally be, overdubbing layer upon layer of guitars, nylon-string guitar, electric sitar, treated guitars, guitar synth, and industrial noise samples. He's like a flamenco-ized Fripp, weaving his lush textures in between strident Spanish nylon-string flourishes and screaming slabs of metalist fury. Tony Levin is no less remarkable, treating the listener to his vast arsenal of lower-register instruments such as funk-fingered bass, upright bass, electric cello, and Chapman Stick, often counterpointing Stevens and anchoring the manic songs with solid, indestructable grooves. Terry Bozzio presides over the progressive smorgasbourg like an ancient shaman or drum master, mystically wrenching a thunderous fabric of restless rhythm from his forest of gongs and cymbals, keeping time with his kick/tomtom polyrhythms and ostinatos like an entire Taiko drum troupe.

If there is any disc of progressive rock/fusion which NEEDS to be purchased and cherished this year, it is this. The combined magic worked by these men will draw you into a more dangerous kind of musical alchemy than you bargained for.

I haven't heard a more *urgent* opening tune since Led Zeppelin's 'Immigrant Song'! The song 'Dangerous' kicks off the CD in a *big* way. From there, the listener is treated to one top notch instrumental after another, all the while touching base with almost every genre of music along the way. Each musician leaves his mark on every song, and if you liked the first CD (Black Light Syndrome) you will find this one is better, with a more cohesive overall feel to it. The last track 'Lost' makes things come full circle by using a theme from 'The Sun Road', the opening tune on the first CD. A must-have CD for music fans that enjoy expressive instrumentals that have a definite edge to them.

This CD at least sounds like it had more thought and effort behind it than Black Light Syndrome. It is a better engineered and recorded album, and the music sounds much more refined rather than the hurried rushed tracks of the former. Still I would expect more from these 3.

And once again, any one expecting something to the effect of Liquid Tension Experiment...as these 3 have been compared to....forget it. You'll be disappointed if you like LTE.

This is Bozzio/Levin/Stevens's second effort. Stevens insisted on 5 days of prep work, and it shows. Where the songs on "Black Light Syndrome" are rough and a little ragged -- although fascinating and occasionally inspired -- "Situation Dangerous" is a real gem. There is no single style that describes the album: some of it is meditative and gentle, and some of it is crackling.

"Crash", in 9/8, will have you *trying* to tap your feet (or thrash your head) to the beat, and the melody will give you chills -- this is Steve Stevens as rock guitar virtuoso, not flamenco guitarist, with Bozzio and Levin driving the song at a breathtaking pace; the only song that I know of that's even in the same galaxy with "Crash" is "Take it off the Top" by the Dixie Dregs -- and the comparison is only approximate.

The other song that will blow the top of your head off is "Tragic" -- which morphs from a quiet, contemplative piece to a flamenco-tinged rock anthem.

This has instantly become my favourite CD of all time! The muscianship by these guys is phenomenal. I was simply blown away by the playing. It has been on high rotation since I purchased it and it keeps getting better with every listen. These three muscians are very distinctive. They are stars in their own right, yet from quite different musical schools. However, when they come together the end result is dangerous alright! My only regret is that the album only lasts 48 mins. But is 48 mins of sheer musical nirvana. The music is at once passionate, precise, emotive, evocative - essentially each track is a sonic landscape. The styles are a combination of rock, jazz, flamenco, funk, blues blended together into an electric fusion.

Buy this CD and take yourself on a musical odyssey that you wish will never end.