SOARING, MULTI-TEXTURED

ONE OF PROGRESSIVE ROCK'S MAJOR TALENTS is bass guitarist Tony Levin. He has played with such greats as King Crimson and Peter Gabriel. He is a virtuoso who is content to allow his contribution seek its own level depending on the needs of the composition. His own projects are often edgy and musically invigorating, fusing elements of jazz and world music with straight forward progressive rock. Always creative yet rarely stealing the lime light Tony Levin makes a great contribution to the progressive rock catalog with Shadowland. The sample is representative of the basic feel of the song but misses many of the interesting transitions (sample below):

REVIEW

This song begins with some nice synthesized drum rhythms soon joined by vaulting synthesizer chords that spiral upward in a series  minor/major key shifts. At 1:30 we get some very nice bass drumming with a guitar that begins to shread a bit as the tension rises. Lots of electronic noises are scattered throughout as an electric piano begins to take center stage that slowly intertwines with the shredding guitar. An orchestral sounds is blended into the mix at 3 minutes to fade away leaving the drum doing a lopping, slo-mo, micro-drum solo with a more soaring guitar riff completing the song which ends at 4:57 minutes.

MUSICAL ROOTS

Brad Teare In the Court of the CrimsonKing 1971

AFTER NOT LISTENING TO MUSIC for several decades I recently began enjoying it again. In fact I'm probably more enthusiastic about music now than when I was a teenager. It’s difficult to explain my long musical drought between teenage and middle age. I played in a progressive rock band in my younger years and maybe having successfully dodged the sex and drugs I simply overdosed on rock n’ roll.


Or it might have been a mild depression from the onset of tinnitus and hyperacusis brought on in early middle age by my highly physical drumming technique. I clearly remember our bass guitarist mouthing during a performance “you’re gonna go deaf!” as I wailed away at my ride cymbal (actually the bass player was screaming flat out. I just couldn’t hear him).


But for whatever reason I gave up music that previously gave me a lot of pleasure. I’m grateful to have rediscovered a body of music that is truly enjoyable and worth sharing with others.


Early favorites included Yes, Pink Floyd, Genesis, and King Crimson. But sadly I have grown tired of most of these bands and listen to them only for the occasional nostalgic experience. I doubt many such songs will make it onto this blog. I suspect many of the tunes will have a progressive flair. It isn’t an affectation but a true expression of my taste. I have an aversion to what Oliver Sacks in his book Musicophilia calls brain worms, those catchy tunes that persist long after the tune is over. The Beatles were masters at creating songs writhing with brain worms (and thus their amazing commercial success). I always preferred less catchy, more complex songs, with a bit more shelf life, thus my early preference for progressive rock.


I hope this list will contain a lot of divergent material and that these reviews will prove useful in expanding your catalog. Your suggestions are warmly welcomed.

Copyright © 2011 by Brad Teare