Review - Rick Altizer - Blue Plate Special

What's it like to be such a talented musician like Rick Altizer and/or Adrian Belew? You can play every instrument out there to perfection, you can write catchy sugary tunes, and yet you are mostly unknown. BOOO HISSSS!

There is no easy way to categorize Blue Plate Special, the first disc by Rick Altizer: guitar driven, twitchy rhythms, nimble pop/rock hooky melodies, sky-high production values (compliments of Adrian Belew) and lyrics that are mature and honest make this an unusually tasty offering. Rick's vocal style is a cross between Tom Petty and David Bowie and his songwriting style borrows from U2, Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and the Cars. Aside from two or three overly-derivative tracks, the majority of the songs are amazingly fresh and original. And to top it all off, except for a few guitar solos (and I use this term loosely) from Adrian Belew and drums on a few songs, Altizer plays every instrument on the CD! Even so, Altizer doesn't take himself too seriously, as evident by the plentiful humor in the lyrics as well as the CD packaging.

The album opens with "Make A Monkey", a dark song with plentiful layers of sound and a suprisingly singable chorus. "Amy and Her Baggage" is full of nervous electric guitars that mirror the psychological state of the title character, and "Oxygen Tank" speaks of clearing ones life of clutter with a hypnotic melody a la' U2. The bouncy "Jan the Best" is a cute ode to his wife and "Never Shake His Hand" is a spooky warning of the pitfalls of justification and temptation. I feel I must also mention that his web site (www.rickaltizer.com) is hands-down the best musician/album web site I've ever seen, continuing the theme of leftovers that starts (and is carried to extremes) in the CD art. Download MP3s, play games, watch videos, or do nothing more than stare at the dead fish... to each his own. With a package this incredible, Altizer has his work cut out for him in topping, or even trying to match, this CD with this next effort, but I'll be the first in line to hear what he has to offer.

This review first appeared in WhatzUp, June 1999.

Review - Rick Altizer - Neon Fixation

This guy writes a great tune! Sometimes it all sounds alike and the ear gets fatigued, but it's still good stuff. Time to give his albums more listens into my brain.

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Rick Altizer's debut album Blue Plate Special was so packed full of hooky guitar riffs, infectious melodies, and a complete, polished sound that I wondered how he would ever top it. The simple answer is, he couldn't. What he did with Neon Fixation, however, was to create an album that is every bit the equal of his first, a sonic twin. Opening with fuzzed out, wiggy guitars, and layered vocals, "Disco Ball" combines first class songwriting with some great guitar licks as Altizer presents the theme of the album, that of our societies fixation on glitzy, cheap folderol. From this frantic, danceable sound, Altizer turns the heat up further with "TV Preacher", a rocking, rollicking roller coaster ride. "Ray Guns and Plastic Flash" continues to theme of the album with Altizer's characteristic choppy rhythms and distorto guitars. Songs such as "Let It Go" show his Dylan influence while "Untitled" shows a definite nod to Tom Petty... I'd say we're missing George Harrison and Jeff Lynne but the entire album has an underlying Beatles Sgt. Pepperish tone with an ever-changing cascade of timbres. Altizer knows he has a distinct sound and isn't afraid to let the world know it.

As on the previous album, Altizer plays nearly every instrument aside from a few guitar solos that erupt from the fevered mind of guitar innovator Adrian Belew. The melodies are upbeat and bright with a sound that is a cross between Mr. Music Head era Belew, Todd Rundgren, and The Traveling Wilburys. As with most do-it-all studio gurus, the music is heavily produced but not in an attempt to cover up deficiencies in the material. Indeed, one of Altizer's strengths is his ability to craft quickly appealing songs that belie their true depth. Repeated listens reveal multiple rhythmic and instrumental layers, subtle sonic textures tightly woven behind the flash, and mature lyrics that gain wisdom with each revelatory spin. All in all, an auditory delight and a true pleasure for fans of studio albums!

This article first appeared in WhatzUp, January 2000.

Review - Adrian Belew - Coming Attractions

You're not making any new fans, Mr. Belew.... Oh yeah... this is post # 500!

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It has been a long time since Adrian Belew has put out an album of all new material. Not that he's been idle! Aside from producing albums for other groups and recording with Nine Inch Nails, it seems that Mr. Belew currently has five personal projects in the works. Not wanting to keep his fans in the dark, he has released Coming Attractions, a collection of songs from each of these upcoming albums, a kind of "best of" album in reverse.

By far the best cut is the raucous opening track, "Inner Man" from his next solo record. Singing of the frustration of being a nice guy, everything on this song is touched with distortion; the guitars roar like an angry beast on a thin chain and even the vocals crisp around the edges. "117 Valley Drive" is from the next The Bears album, a project with Rob Fetters, Bob Nyswonger, and Chris Arduser that has casually been in the works for over a year. This song looks back nostalgically at Belew's first band, a Beatles cover band, with lyrics "Though it was a different age/ Nothing's gone and nothing's changed/ In my mind". Yes, there is a bit of a Beatles feel to the song (how could they not) but it is subtle. Other songs are acoustic versions of his solo material and selections from his upcoming twenty-year retrospective box set Dust which promises to include unreleased songs, instrumentals, demos, live recordings and more from his solo projects, The Bears, and King Crimson albums. Included is a unique instrumental track with a running dialogue by the Prophet Omega plus alternate mixes of "Bird In A Box" and "House of Cards" from the album Mr. Music Head. The most disappointing track is also the last, a selection from the second in the Experimental Guitar series in which every sound is created with the guitar. With the aid of guitar MIDI, Belew creates a broad palate of jungle sounds, animal noises (lions, peacocks, rhinos and more), and African percussion, each one made exclusively on the guitar. The overall impression is more of jungle ambiance than an actual song; technically interesting but not something I personally find interesting. This does not detract from the album as a whole, however, as Belew fans are sure to find this album a tasty sampler of treats to come.

This review first appeared in WhatzUp, February 2000.

Review - Adrian Belew - Salad Days

Nice but unnecessary. It's been years since Adrian put out anything, and that would be the amazing instrumental album e. Before that it was the "Sides" albums and I didn't hanker to them much.

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"The acoustic Adrian Belew" might at first seem like an oxymoron. After all, he has spent his entire career redefining what you can do with an electric guitar, coaxing exotic, imaginative new sounds from a slab of wood and some wires. And for once, I can say with great confidence that everyone reading this, and I mean everyone, has heard his playing. In addition to his solo work, he is a much sought after studio player, lending his unique sound to everyone from Paul Simon to Nine Inch Nails to Frank Zappa (not to mention extensive producing including the song "Flood" by Jars of Clay). The songs on this CD are taken from his past solo CDs and his work with King Crimson, plus two aural montage songs for the devoted Belew fan. By reducing his music to a purely acoustic format, Belew has boiled away everything but the bare bones, revealing song writing skills that are normally hidden behind layers of guitars and effects, giving these songs new life.

Fittingly, he opens with "The Lone Rhino", the first song from his first solo album. Belew captures the sorrow of a rhinoceros trapped in a zoo, longing for his homeland, with humor ("I know the zoos protect my species/They give me food, collect my feces") and sensitivity. Belew's ecological concerns are to be found on a number of tracks including "Men In Helicopters" which he sings against a string quartet that adds an urgency to his message. Other tracks include the haunting and hypnotic "Fly" ("After all I'm only sand to irritate the oyster and to wait for a pearl") and the nostalgic "The Rail Song" in which he sings the part of a rail employee lamenting the fading of the railroads. "Never Enough" and "Dinosaur" prove that you can rock on just an acoustic guitar, although from reading the extensive session notes at www.murple.com/adrianbelew/ I learned that these songs contain what he calls "super-tracking" which is layering up to sixteen tracks of the same guitar part to create an immense, full sound.

Belew has always had a strong Beatles influence, with McCartney's gift for melody and Lennon's penchant for experimentation. It has been this Lennon side that has turned people off in the past as they are unable or unwilling to understand his lean, "weird", angular soloing style (imagine an atonal, alien bird call). In this acoustic format, such "offensive" soloing is gone leaving only well written, tasty pop songs with hooks aplenty and thoughtful, humorous lyrics. This review first appeared in WhatzUp, March 1999.

Review - The Bears - Car Caught Fire

I really wish this album was better. Oh well. At least there's that amazing Mr. Bonaparte song with it's flash video.

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The Bears started recording songs for their third album, Car Caught Fire, a mere four years ago (there's nothing like not having a record deal to allow one the luxury of time). It's not likely they'll remain without a label for long. After all, The Bears is composed of such longtime cult mainstays as Chris Arduser, Rob Fetters, Bob Nyswonger, and Adrian Belew, representing bands like Psychodots, The Raisins, and King Crimson. Fear not, fearless musical listener, this is not a Belew side project for here he blends effortlessly into a member of the band. Indeed, the song writing duties are split almost metrically with each member getting an even share. Even the drummer gets two songs in, and these aren't Ringo songs either. The .002% of the readers familiar with the two earlier Bears projects will be pleased to hear that The Bears have continued their practice of filling an album with well-crafted pop/rock songs. "Life In A Nutshell" opens the album with an acid-tinged Mersey Beat, a song that would have fit on Belew's Inner Revolution album. "Caveman" is the oldest song on the album (a ripe eight years) but full of ratty, distorted guitar and a primal rock beat. In the touching "Dave" Fetters sings about when he was fourteen and his best friend committed suicide- touching without being saccharine. The only song written by all The Bears is "Waiting Room" which has a very odd vocal effect on the verses, a cheesy organ, and the great lyric "I've put a lot of pavement on my shoes / Made a lot of payments on my dues." "As You Are" feels much like vintage Elvis Costello, albeit with seven guitars stacked high, and "Safe In Hell" finds the singer humorously "free from [his] creditors." My favorite track, and indeed the one that prompted me to buy the album, is Belew's "Mr. Bonapart", an odd counterpoint to "I Am The Walrus" with a staccato guitar rhythm and an eerie refrain of "I live in my lonely mind" woven throughout. You can hear this song, order, the album, and see a disturbing flashtoon video of this song at www.thebearsmusic.com. Despite this blinding bright spot, the album suffers a bit from inconsistency. Perhaps it's due to the variety of singers and writing styles (although all of the styles are derived from The Beatles and all the songs are full of catchy melodies) but you finish the album feeling that as good as it is, it could have been better. Were I a tenured third grade teacher named "Velma", I'd give this album a B+. Fortunately, my secret life has yet to be discovered so I'll just say it's a really good album of 60's-derived pop songs.

This review first appeared in WhatzUp, October 2001.