Distinctive session stalwart/Crimson alumnus on the up.
A side from high-profile, career-defining stints with Zappa, Bowie, Talking Heads and, most notably, King Crimson, Adrian Belew has steadily racked up an impressive catalogue of invariably engaging solo albums. Elevator, his 25th, finds the Kentuckian operating at the peak of his form.
From its opening shimmer A13, which is immediately reminiscent of Discipline-era Crimson, producer/sole instrumentalist Belew’s broad and idiosyncratic stunt guitar sound palette is as instantly recognisable as his ageless voice. He can be forgiven odd detours into the twee (The Power Of The Natural World, the decidedly McCartney-esque Good Morning Sun), because when he’s good – Attitude’s skewed collage of abstruse tones, Taking My Shoes Out For A Walk’s eccentric wordplay – he’s excellent. Back To Love’s mellifluous ingenuity could…
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Prog (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 132