Adrian Belew - The Atlantic Years 1989 – 1992 

Adrian Belew’s early career kicked into gear when he started playing with Frank Zappa followed by working with the likes of David Bowie, Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club.  In the ensuing years he recorded the first three of his albums with King Crimson, released three solo albums and two with his band The Bears.  At this point he focused again on his solo career, resulting in three more albums, all of which were were released on Atlantic Records, and brings us to the three CD Box Set The Atlantic Years 1989 - 1992.

The first of these releases was Mr. Music Head, which was an all-digital release that found him playing all the instruments with the exception of Mike Barnett playing bass on two cuts.  The album’s opening track “Oh Daddy,” is a really fun duet with his then eleven-year-old daughter Audie that reached number five on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks.  It’s a super catchy pop tune with humorous lyrics where she asks questions about when he will be rich and famous.  Some of the other highlights include the lighthearted pop of “One Of These Days”, “Coconuts,” a percussion heavy track full of twangy guitar, the bouncy, piano-driven “Bad Days,” the experimental blues of “Bumpity Bump” and the intriguing yet gorgeous, everchanging, stripped down “1967.”  While the majority of the album shows a poppier, albeit offbeat, side to Belew, there is still plenty of experimentation on tracks like “Peaceable Kingdom,” “Hot Zoo” and “Cruelty To Animals” (this track was originally only found on the CD version).  

While he was working on the follow-up album, Young Lions, Belew joined Bowie as musical director and guitarist on his Sound+Vision tour.  That resulted in Bowie co-writing and singing lead on two of that album’s tracks, including “Pretty Pink Rose,” which hit number two on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in the US.  It’s a catchy tune with a rock edge that’s not so unlike his work around that time with Tin Machine.  The other Bowie contribution is “Gunman,” a hard driving track with a tense vocal performance and some really creative guitar work from Belew.  Other standout tracks include “Looking For A U.F.O.,” a fun little tune that sounds like ELO crossed with Motown, “Men In Helicopters,” a quirky, yet very catchy, pop tune with a strong environmental warning (another hit, reaching seventeen on the US Modern Rock chart), the laid-back, jazzy “Phone Call From The Moon” and “I Am What I Am,” somewhat of an instrumental that really showcases his guitar playing and incorporates taped excerpts of sermons from Nashvile radio evangelist Prophet Omega.  The album also contains a couple of covers with a reworked version of “Heartbeat,” a song he originally released with King Crimson, which has a similar vibe to that version, but is a little more stripped down with more of a pop feel, and a fairly faithful version of The Traveling Wilburies’ “Not Alone Anymore,” that was a tribute to Roy Orbison.  Also included on this disc are a couple of bonus tracks that were originally released on the “Pretty Pink Rose” maxi single.  “Shoe Salesman” is a nice little acoustic guitar and vocal track with some witty, pun-filled lyrics and “Neptune Pool” is a gorgeous, dream-like instrumental that sounds like it could be a movie score.  

Inner Revolution was Belew’s final album for Atlantic and often shows the influence pop music had on him and his affinity for more pop influenced hooks.  The album open with the title track, which is a more straight-on rock song with some strong pop sensibilities.  The midtempo “This Is What I Believe In,” is reflective of his work with King Crimson and really showcases his impressive guitar work.  The pop really shows itself on the next two tracks with “Standing In The Shadow,” which has an edgier side with distorted guitars and vocals and “Big Blue Sun,” a super catchy tune that, along with “Birds,” is strongly reminiscent of ELO.  Further mining the pop world, the bouncy, upbeat “I’d Rather Be Right Here” is a bit reminiscent of George Harrison’s version of “I’ve Got My Mind Set On You,” while “The War In the Gulf Between Us” sounds a bit like Squeeze.  The diversity of pop music and bands that influenced him can be heard in tracks like “I Walk Alone,” which finds him once again channeling Roy Orbison, the upbeat Beatles-esque “Everything” and “Heaven’s Bed,” with its XTC sounding quirkiness.  The album closes out with “Member Of The Tribe,” a more classic upbeat rock and roll tune that again showcases his innovative guitar work.  Although definitely not without its unique quirkiness, this era of Belew's contained some of his most accessible music and make for a really fun listen.  

(Esoteric Recordings)

Dark River Darling - Everywhere But Here

Everywhere But Here is the debut release from Dark River Darling, alter ego of Erin Royer.  It is an album full of tracks largely rooted in mountain folk and bluegrass but mixed with a variety of other styles and instrumentation, along with Royer's distinctive vocals.  In addition to the more traditional instruments, the notable use of horns (flugelhorn and trumpet) on almost every song, is a touch that really makes the album stand out. “Spirit & Ash” gets the album started and is a laid-back, haunting and mystical track with an interesting chorus with vocals that twist and turn in quite an interesting way.  The more traditional folk tune “The Ballad Of Josephine and Josephine” tells the tale of two women in love who can’t be together and end up living separate lives.  The musicianship on this one is great, with some fantastic banjo from Royer and an interesting vocal deliver that has a rushed feel to it, sounding almost like there are more words than should fit, which gives it a sense of tension.  Next up is “I’ve Been Riding With The Ghost,” written by the late Jason Molina for his project Songs:Ohio and the first of two covers here.  They do a brilliant job of conveying the sadness of his lyrics through the music and give the song a cinematic quality through a folk filter.  “Cross Country Baggage” is a wistful and dreamy folk tune with a hint of psychedelia, enhanced beautifully with the horns, and “Pomegranate Gin” is a gentle, laid-back acoustic tune with some great harmonies.  The band kicks things into high gear on “Dirty Dog Blues,” a gritty, bluesy bluegrass rocker with some stellar banjo and slide guitar from Royer and Gena Lanette, respectively.  With a galloping beat and more outstanding banjo, “Merry Maggie” sounds like a classic mountain folk song that if you didn’t know better, you would think it had been around forever.  “Sarah” is another great mountain folk track and does a great job of showcasing the band with everyone getting a chance to stretch out on instrumental passages.  They close the album with Lucinda Williams’ “Blue” and while the arrangement hearkens back to the original, instrumentally it’s rootsier with more reliance on banjo and fiddle.  Everywhere But Here is a very refreshing listen and well worth checking out.  

 (Guernsey Beat Records / Dark River Darling)