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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Second Side Of Adrian Belew!!, July 13, 2005
"Side Two" is the second in a series of three CDs to be released throughout 2005 by the talented King Crimson guitarist/vocalist Adrian Belew.
Like "Side One", "Side Two" finds Adrian Belew performing the music in an near-entirely solo context. The main difference between "Side One" and the present disc is the experimentation heard throughout the entire album. For the most part, Belew puts his rock persona off to one side in favor of electronic elements and purely avant-garde experiments. The lyrics on "Side Two" are also an experiment. Instead of using the standard verse/chorus/bridge-style lyrics, Belew uses the Japanese Haiku writing as the basis for the lyrics this album.
The two opening tracks, "Dead Dog on Asphalt" and "I Wish I Knew", are almost purely instrumental and feature Kraftwerk-esque percussion alongside atmospheric backgrounds and minimalist guitar phrases.
"Face To Face" is a more typical Belew pop song with a conventional straight-forward beat, jangling guitars and Belew's soaring dynamic vocals.
The experimental/electronic element picks up again with the two-part mini-epic "Asleep". The first half of the piece is built around another Kraftwerk-style rhythm, a repeated bassline and sustained lead guitar phrases. The second part of the piece uses live drums, acoustic guitar and a string section. Although this piece does have lyrics, the vocals act as another instrument that enhances the mood of the overall structure.
"Sex Nerve" is a minimalist-style piece which is in the same vein as the German avant-garde group, Cluster. The piece is unchanging throughout focusing on a dry electronic rhythm, repeated chords and whispered vocals.
"Then What" is an instrumental consisting of a dance-oriented beat centered around a sequenced bass and some rock-solid lead guitar. The mood of the piece shifts towards the end as it shifts into an avant-garde sound collage with backwards effects, keyboard drones, a lone cello and finally, to close the piece, a single piano chord.
"Quicksand" is another typical Belew pop piece that shows off a slight hint of David Bowie during his Berlin-Trilogy period. The backwards drums and chords give the piece an odd off-balance feel but fits in perfectly with the overall mood and style.
The next two instrumentals, "I Know Now" and "Happiness", are both very short and are in complete contrast to each other musically. The former piece is centered around a wild acid-style guitar lead while the latter is a gentler keyboard-based piece that has a slight dissonant feel especially in the bell-like sounds that dance around the central repeated chords.
The closing piece, "Sunlight", features several different musical influences melded into one. The rhythm once again is very much in the style of Kraftwerk while the chordal structure and vocal arrangements are similar to the Beatles classic "Tomorrow Never Knows". The koto line heard throughout the piece not only gives an obvious oriental flavor but also is reminiscent of Bowie in the above mentioned Berlin-Trilogy phase.
Like "Side One", "Side Two" is a fantastic CD. Adrian Belew tackles several musical elements at once here and makes the album's 33-minute running time seem a lot longer. His experimentation with a variety of moods, textures and styles is also very successful on this album.
With the first two "Sides" now being available and including music of the highest standard, the final album in the trilogy "Side Three" is highly anticipated.
Excellent CD!!
Footnote: If some of the music on "Side Two" sounds familiar to some listeners, it was because some of the tracks were included as an instrumental backup to DC Talk singer Kevin Max on the Max/Belew music poetry collaboration "Raven Songs 101". Another Great CD.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Experimental side, January 21, 2006
Adrian Belew is a talented guy. Fronting two groups (King Crimson, The Bears)and with his own solo career the guy keeps trying new stuff all the time. "Side Two" is the experimental side of Belew with atmospheric songs and melodies decorated with lyrics and played (with the exception of two tracks) all by Belew.
Inspired by the way albums used to be made (such as "Revolver" one of Belew's favorite albums)with two sides that would sometimes have music quite different from each other on each side the record, "Side Two" showcases Belew's more experiemntal style melded with his songwriting instincts. "Dead Dog on the Asphalt" opens with Belew playing his guitar sythesizer creating different textures and then adding the unmistakable guitar work he's noted for. The evocative and moody "I Wish I Knew" is an eerie soundscape not unlike something you might hear on something by Brian Eno. "Face to Face" with its mix of a bluesy guitar lick that sounds almost Indian and Belew's expressive vocals is the closest this album comes to sounding like a conventional song. "Asleep" continues the sonic experiments with Belew's guitar work dominating the track. The fragmentary "Sex Nerve" is dominated by unusual percussive effects. Most of the rest of the album is a mix of unusual instrumental backing tracks, Belew's guitars and fragmented impressionist lyrics.
Recorded at Belew's home studio the album is unusual to say the least combining the best elements of Belew's instrumental albums with that of his more conventional prog rock albums. The beautiful "Sunlight" closes out the album with a bright melody underpinned by the sound of drum machines and sythesizers. "Side Two" is a nice companion piece to "Side One" and completely different.
At 33 minutes "Side Two" would have fit on the same disc with "Side One" (which also was about the same length)but the purpose was to break up the experience much as you had to do with vinyl as each side would end. While it is a bit overpriced considering how short it is, it's still a compelling bit of music to listen to.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
amazingly refreshing, cool and crisp, zesty yet introspective, August 20, 2005
I'm a fan of mr belew's music and i honestly haven't found all of his recordings to my liking. This one or "two" is very intrigueing and listenable. i don't own alot of music made with loops, electronic drums and whatnot. belew really makes this stuff very musical with his mastery of all of the instruments here, mostly the employment of guitar. I'd like it if there was at least a list of instruments used. I realize he's sort of a minimalist. yet this is a rich full bodied cup. His voice is clear. I like it a little better than "side one" which is also very good but different and sometimes same
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