Tony Levin's Pieces of the Sun is a refreshing return to his prog rock roots. Of course, he never left them but as a solo artist he has explored new horizons through world music .
Levin has assembled a great band that has provided the background sound to a solid and well played record. The record was written and produced with a prog rock band in mind and not only as a showcase for Levin to play bass.
The songs on this record remind the listener of great tunes by Yes, Genesis, King Crimson but they are original and interesting. After all, Tony Levin has had a starting role in many of these bands music over the years.
In this recording Tony Levin has structured his performance on heavy use of the Stick Bass and in the texture and sounds that this instruments adds to the music.
Mr. Levin and Co. plan to tour behind this album for what promises to be another innovative set of prog material for old and new followers.
The reader probably knows Tony from Peter Gabriel's band and King Crimson, and here he steps out on his own with a rousing set that recalls some of the best work of his employers. Apollo itself is a wonderful 3-part opus with Crimsonic mayhem, lilting Yes/Genesis acoustic passages, and a soaring finale that keeps ascending like the morning star itself. The band is in in top form--Jerry Marotta has a perfect balance of solid groove with just enough chops and flair to wow the listener, Larry Fast coats the compositions in lush synth textures that bring the work of Tony Banks to mind, and Jesse Gress (a new face for me) alternately waxes Beck (Jeff Beck!) and Belew as he proves a versatile foil for Levin. Levin himself, as always, is the consummate musician, never unnecessarily flashy, but always very tasty and anchoring his compositions with rock-solid, unbreakable grooves. He gets quite a bit of mileage out of his arsenal including fretless upright, 5-string bass with "funk fingers", and his well-traveled Chapman Stick. Parts of the album recall the synth-laden, pulsating drama of his former employer Peter Gabriel, especially the title track and the "Fifth Man." For me, the high point was the remake of Synergy's "Phobos", which has one of the hookiest odd-time riffs one will ever hear, and features stunning playing from the whole lineup. Amazing, and highly recommended.
Like John Paul Jones and Jeff Beck, Tony Levin is a musician's musician whose collaborations sparkle (in Levin's case with such eclectics as Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, and Lou Reed), but it's his solo stuff that really sails off the chart. And like the aforementioned players, Levin is anything but an oldies machine; he uses each new recording as a way of further juxtaposing his primary instruments (bass and Chapman stick) against the weirdest, most challenging stuff he can score. Consequently, Pieces of the Sun is, predictably, wholly unpredictable, with Levin and his 2001 touring band lighting into a set of headphone-melting instrumentals best described as pulsing prog-rock built on the kind of awesome playing that, in a concert setting, attracts packs of drooling amateurs to the stage to watch the musician's hands. "Dog One"--an unreleased recording with Gabriel--appears rerecorded here as a jittery, piano-and-guitar speckled opus with muffled call-and-response vocals, while the percussive "Tequila" shines the spotlight on a mournful tenor sax before turning things over to ambient synth and lazy electric guitar. With the exception of the languid and loose closing track, "Silhouette," everything on Pieces of the Sun feels urgent, with Levin once again acquitting himself and his generation of charges of stagnation.
Track Listing:
01 - Apollo (6:49)
02 - Geronimo (3:11)
03 - Aquafin (5:13)
04 - Dog One (5:15)
05 - Tequila (5:20)
06 - Pieces of the Sun (7:20)
07 - Phobos (7:08)
08 - Ooze (4:16)
09 - Blue Nude Reclining (3:08)
10 - The Fifth Man (5:47)
11 - Ever the Sun Will Rise (9:08)
12 - Silhouette (4:37)
Musicians:
Tony Levin - Basses, Stick, Cello
Jesse Gress - Guitars
Larry Fast - Synthesizers
Jerry Marotta - Drums
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