Young Lions

Adrian Belew | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 18, 1990)
• Original Release Date: May 8, 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Atlantic / Wea
• ASIN: B000002IPJ
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,951 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adrian Belew's Best?, February 22, 2002

By 

G. YEO "gyeo" (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Young Lions (Audio CD)

This is a great album. Though I was familiar with Adrian Belew for his work with King Crimson and David Bowie, Young Lions surpassed my expectations.

The album resonates with its own verve. The songs are all good, the lyrics are full of images and the guitar work is as belew as it gets. It's a very listenable album, and representative of an idiosyncratic pop stylist. Belew carves his own niche with his manic guitar style and vocal wail (reminiscent of Bowie in some ways yet distinctive in itself).

The killer track here for Bowie fans is "Pretty Pink Rose". (As a sidenote, Bowie seemed to fare better in one-off outings with other artists in this era including Pat Methany and Mick Ronson.) PPR is easily one of Bowie's best songs from this period, and Belew makes it click all the way.

Certainly underrated by pop and rock pundits, you'll find this often in bargain bins or not at all. Worth getting.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Complete Belew., February 28, 2000

By 

Jason Stein (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Young Lions (Audio CD)

If you are interested in Adrian Belew, Young Lions is a good place to start. What you should REALLY begin with is Inner Revolution from 1992. It's been out of print for some time, but you might get lucky. Otherwise, Young Lions and Mr. Musichead are places to start. Young Lions is Belew at his most commercial. 10 solid tracks of guitar genius. Adrian is an experimental guitar player so if you are looking for Eddie Van Halen or Steve Vai or Johnny Lang or Stevie Ray Vaughn, you will have to look elsewhere. I became a fan of Adrian when I saw his video for Oh Daddy on MTV back in 1989. Since then I have collected everything that's in print (though I wish Island records would re-release his first two albums). However, if you want an early overview you can pick up Desire of the Rhino King which compiles key tracks from his first three Island albums. If you really LOVE Belew then try King Crimson's Discipline, Beat, Three of a Perfect Pair and Thrak cds. He's also done much session work on Talking Heads, Paul Simon, David Bowie and Nine Inch Nails albums. Young Lions won't disappoint, unless you like more non-commerical fare, in which case you could try Mr. Musichead or Op Zop Too Wah.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Young Lions Bite The Hand That Feeds Them, March 25, 2000

By 

Lunatic Muse "southwestreview" (El Paso, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Young Lions (Audio CD)

In 1989, Adrian Belew released his crowning achievement, the understated masterpiece "Mr. Music Head". The following year, he followed it up with a decidedly schizophrenic recording, "Young Lions". Once again, Belew opts for the one-man-band approach, playing all of the instruments himself. He also gains ample support from friend and collaborator David Bowie, who rocks out full tilt on the first single from this release, "Pretty Pink Rose". Belew's guitar prowness is in full display and his vocals are emotional without sounding shrill. "Young Lions" also contains three absolute classics in the Belew canon; the title track is a majestic sonic landscape depicting the African veldt with drum rhythms and tribal chants working a formidable backbeat. Two tracks later, Belew reworks "Heartbeat", a song he wrote for King Crimson, and outshines the original with his shimmering guitar flourishes. The overall effect is brilliant. Track number nine, "Phone Call From the Moon", is evocative of the title; Belew's guitar work is slow, almost bluesy, and his electronically modified voice sounds distant, almost awash in the vastness of space. On these and several other pieces, Belew's songwriting is clear, focused and undeniable. However, the spectre of Belew's environmental concern raises its head in three cuts ("Looking For A U.F.O.", "Men In Helicopters" and "Gunman") to put a damper on this otherwise fluid, coherent recording. On these three tracks, the artist becomes condescending, preachy and pushy, all elements that would come to haunt his subsequent work. "Young Lions" hints at the darkness that would overtake Belew's later releases. It is the calm before the storm. It is also, along with "Inner Revolution" (strangely no longer in print) and "Mr. Music Head", Belew's best work. Personal Favorites: the propulsive beat of the African rhythms found in "Young Lions" and the wonderous retooling of his Crimson classic, "Heartbeat". Representative Lyrics: "Hot tribal night underneath florescent skies/ bonfires rage strange/ wild waving shouting Picasso faces/ in the guise of a lioness/ the wind kisses her burning dress" ("Young Lions"); "Men in helicopters fly/ shooting rhinos from out of the sky/ why do we always assume/ the planet is ours to ruin/ what a legacy we're leaving behind..." ("Men In Helicopters")