Assignment #5
Tony Levin: Resonator, the CD and the Tour
Tony Levin’s new CD, Resonator, is a bit of a departure from his previous two Narada releases, Waters of Eden and Pieces of the Sun. It has a harder rock edge to it, and on 10 of the 12 tracks Tony provides lead vocals. That may come as a surprise to listeners who are only familiar with his music from his session work for others and his previous studio CDs, but for those of us who have seen him perform, especially with his own band, it seems like a natural progression from what the Tony Levin Band has played live for years.
Tony is one of the premier bass players in the world and is the only person I know who has performed with both Leopold Stokowkski and Alice Cooper. He's also one of the best-known players of the Chapman Stick, a multi-stringed instrument that looks like a flattened guitar fingerboard that is played by tapping the strings with both hands. The list of people he has played and recorded with is in the hundreds and includes David Bowie, Karen Carpenter, Tracy Chapman, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Yes, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Buddy Rich and Lou Reed to name just a few. He is best known for his work with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson; he's played with Peter on his albums and on every one of his tours. It was on those first Gabriel tours where he met guitarist Robert Fripp, co-founder and driving force behind King Crimson. Robert asked him to join the 1980's version of that band and Tony has been a member of "the Greater Crim" ever since.
The music on Tony's previous solo CDs focused more on his classical background and his interest in World Music; Tony is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and played in the Rochester Philharmonic. Resonator shows a much stronger rock and jazz influence. As is increasingly common with CDs, each contributing musician recorded most of the parts separately, many on their own home recording studios. When the band members got together on April 5 for a CD release party at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, NY they hadn't performed any of the new songs together as a group; this was their first time even listening to the completed recording together. During one song I watched band member and guitarist Jesse Gress play air guitar and mouth harmonies while he discussed with synthesizer player and band-mate Larry Fast some of the details they needed to address when performing this piece live.
The third member of the original touring band is percussionist Jerry Marotta. For this tour Pete Levin joins his younger brother and provides additional keyboard work and a bit of a jazzier edge. A few days after the CD release party I had the opportunity to sit in on the first "dry run" of their concert set in support of the new CD. In addition to the new material, it included a few songs from the previous CDs along with some of their concert standbys, including an instrumental version of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog."
The live band has always played some edgier material. I saw them perform at Palookaville in Santa Cruz, California during their first tour in 2000. In addition to live arrangements of the music from Waters of Eden they did covers of pieces that Tony, Jerry and Larry had performed on tour with Peter Gabriel as well as a few King Crimson pieces. Jerry added some vocals to a few of these songs, and usual backup singer Tony even sung lead on the classic King Crimson Stick piece, "Elephant Talk."
Personal nostalgia is a theme that runs through Resonator. Musically many of the pieces reflect, as Tony puts it in his song “What Would Jimi Do?” his “salad days.” Jesse’s emulation of a few of Jimi Hendrix’s guitar licks in that piece are spot on; not surprising as Jesse makes part of his livelihood transcribing music, including most of Jimi’s catalog. The interpretation of Aram Khachaturian’s 1947 composition “Sabre Dance” harkens back to some of Larry’s earlier performances as Synergy; it is also reminiscent of some of Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s 70s interpretations of classical music.
The nostalgia and personal reflection is even stronger in the lyrics. This is a new addition to Tony's composition. When I asked him why he added lyrics to most of the new pieces he said, "There was a lot I wanted to say; music wasn't enough." In the lyrics of "Break it Down" Tony talks about how we analyze the world. "Places to Go," was inspired by the scientific theory called Panspermia which holds that life on earth came from elsewhere, but it includes verses about Tony's early career in Boston and his grandparents. Even the whimsical lyrics of the heavy-metal-inspired "Throw the God a Bone" talks about his Westie, Lilly and incorporates her barking in the music.
Those who have heard the Tony Levin Band 2002 live CD Double Expresso have an inkling of what it is to see them perform live. Above all they are accomplished performers. For the Resonator tour they start and close with a barbershop quartet, yet another reflection of Tony's past. At some venues they even perform the classic, Spike Jones-inspired version of "Close to You" that Tony and Pete, along with drummer Steve Gadd, recorded in the early 70s with their short-lived band, The Clams.
Resonator is a different album, and some fans criticize the lyrics and Tony's singing. Tony may not be the best singer or lyricist, but these songs reflect a more personal view of Tony than he has shown before in his solo work. This gives them power that transcends any technical imperfections in his singing and lyrics, and when combined with music performed by a extremely talented and experienced musicians they illuminate the musician that is Tony Levin.
You may need to listen to this CD a few times, but the music will grow on you. And for a special experience try to catch the Tony Levin Band in concert; here in the Capital Region we are lucky in that the band members are nearby neighbors and play frequently in the area. And check out Tony’s websites: www.tonylevin.com includes information on Tony and his tour diaries; www.papabear.com/store/store.html has all of his solo CDs, including those released on his own Papa Bear Records. He also sells tee shirts, photo books of pictures he took during his early touring days and his book about the life of a professional bass player, Beyond the Beyond the Bass Clef.
Tony Levin’s new CD, Resonator, is a bit of a departure from his previous two Narada releases, Waters of Eden and Pieces of the Sun. It has a harder rock edge to it, and on 10 of the 12 tracks Tony provides lead vocals. That may come as a surprise to listeners who are only familiar with his music from his session work for others and his previous studio CDs, but for those of us who have seen him perform, especially with his own band, it seems like a natural progression from what the Tony Levin Band has played live for years.
Tony is one of the premier bass players in the world and is the only person I know who has performed with both Leopold Stokowkski and Alice Cooper. He's also one of the best-known players of the Chapman Stick, a multi-stringed instrument that looks like a flattened guitar fingerboard that is played by tapping the strings with both hands. The list of people he has played and recorded with is in the hundreds and includes David Bowie, Karen Carpenter, Tracy Chapman, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Yes, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Buddy Rich and Lou Reed to name just a few. He is best known for his work with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson; he's played with Peter on his albums and on every one of his tours. It was on those first Gabriel tours where he met guitarist Robert Fripp, co-founder and driving force behind King Crimson. Robert asked him to join the 1980's version of that band and Tony has been a member of "the Greater Crim" ever since.
The music on Tony's previous solo CDs focused more on his classical background and his interest in World Music; Tony is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and played in the Rochester Philharmonic. Resonator shows a much stronger rock and jazz influence. As is increasingly common with CDs, each contributing musician recorded most of the parts separately, many on their own home recording studios. When the band members got together on April 5 for a CD release party at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, NY they hadn't performed any of the new songs together as a group; this was their first time even listening to the completed recording together. During one song I watched band member and guitarist Jesse Gress play air guitar and mouth harmonies while he discussed with synthesizer player and band-mate Larry Fast some of the details they needed to address when performing this piece live.
The third member of the original touring band is percussionist Jerry Marotta. For this tour Pete Levin joins his younger brother and provides additional keyboard work and a bit of a jazzier edge. A few days after the CD release party I had the opportunity to sit in on the first "dry run" of their concert set in support of the new CD. In addition to the new material, it included a few songs from the previous CDs along with some of their concert standbys, including an instrumental version of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog."
The live band has always played some edgier material. I saw them perform at Palookaville in Santa Cruz, California during their first tour in 2000. In addition to live arrangements of the music from Waters of Eden they did covers of pieces that Tony, Jerry and Larry had performed on tour with Peter Gabriel as well as a few King Crimson pieces. Jerry added some vocals to a few of these songs, and usual backup singer Tony even sung lead on the classic King Crimson Stick piece, "Elephant Talk."
Personal nostalgia is a theme that runs through Resonator. Musically many of the pieces reflect, as Tony puts it in his song “What Would Jimi Do?” his “salad days.” Jesse’s emulation of a few of Jimi Hendrix’s guitar licks in that piece are spot on; not surprising as Jesse makes part of his livelihood transcribing music, including most of Jimi’s catalog. The interpretation of Aram Khachaturian’s 1947 composition “Sabre Dance” harkens back to some of Larry’s earlier performances as Synergy; it is also reminiscent of some of Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s 70s interpretations of classical music.
The nostalgia and personal reflection is even stronger in the lyrics. This is a new addition to Tony's composition. When I asked him why he added lyrics to most of the new pieces he said, "There was a lot I wanted to say; music wasn't enough." In the lyrics of "Break it Down" Tony talks about how we analyze the world. "Places to Go," was inspired by the scientific theory called Panspermia which holds that life on earth came from elsewhere, but it includes verses about Tony's early career in Boston and his grandparents. Even the whimsical lyrics of the heavy-metal-inspired "Throw the God a Bone" talks about his Westie, Lilly and incorporates her barking in the music.
Those who have heard the Tony Levin Band 2002 live CD Double Expresso have an inkling of what it is to see them perform live. Above all they are accomplished performers. For the Resonator tour they start and close with a barbershop quartet, yet another reflection of Tony's past. At some venues they even perform the classic, Spike Jones-inspired version of "Close to You" that Tony and Pete, along with drummer Steve Gadd, recorded in the early 70s with their short-lived band, The Clams.
Resonator is a different album, and some fans criticize the lyrics and Tony's singing. Tony may not be the best singer or lyricist, but these songs reflect a more personal view of Tony than he has shown before in his solo work. This gives them power that transcends any technical imperfections in his singing and lyrics, and when combined with music performed by a extremely talented and experienced musicians they illuminate the musician that is Tony Levin.
You may need to listen to this CD a few times, but the music will grow on you. And for a special experience try to catch the Tony Levin Band in concert; here in the Capital Region we are lucky in that the band members are nearby neighbors and play frequently in the area. And check out Tony’s websites: www.tonylevin.com includes information on Tony and his tour diaries; www.papabear.com/store/store.html has all of his solo CDs, including those released on his own Papa Bear Records. He also sells tee shirts, photo books of pictures he took during his early touring days and his book about the life of a professional bass player, Beyond the Beyond the Bass Clef.
posted by Erwin Bush at 10:30 AM
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