Adrian Belew Biography
23 December 1949, Kentucky, USA. Guitarist Adrian Belew has enjoyed a rich and varied career, with a number of left-field stars having used his skills. His chameleon-like style, which ranges from overwrought progressive rock to impish and self-deprecating pop, has helped make his contributions more anonymous than otherwise might have been the case. Having cut his teeth with Frank Zappa, Belew contributed admirably to Talking Heads' tensely orchestrated early 80s output (Remain In Light, The Name Of This Band Is ..., Stop Making Sense, etc.). His other clients included the Talking Heads spin-off group the Tom Tom Club. He also joined the re-formed King Crimson before Robert Fripp decided to resurrect his solo career, and spurred Belew to do the same. The funk-influenced style with which he had spiced Remain In Light resurfaced on his 1982 debut. Ill-focused and without a prevailing musical ethos to guide it (the album lurched from funk to rock), it failed to illustrate his proven skills to their best advantage. Twang Bar King concentrated on technique and, although occasionally draining, would have appealed to committed King Crimson fans. The 1986 release Desire Caught By The Tail, its title taken from Picasso's play, was a one-man home studio exercise, which prefaced Belew's sojourn with the Bears. Recruiting with former friends the Raisins (guitarist/vocalist Rob Fetters, bass player Bob Nyswonger and drummer Chris Arduser), Belew embarked on creating a set of originals that could accommodate his musical effects and guitar improvisations within an offbeat pop framework. The Bears' debut invoked comparisons with Squeeze and XTC, and for good reason. Far more accessible than previous offerings, Belew clearly had a knack for pop composition and performance that had previously been buried under layers of musicianship. Even the lyrics, though not yet quite in the stately Difford/Tilbrook or Moulding/Partridge sphere, were coming along well. The same was true of the second and final Bears album, which repeated this successful formula. Despite their obvious qualities and rave reviews in the more discerning musical papers, sales were not great and the three remaining Bears formed the Psychodots. Belew carried over some of his new-found accessibility and pop instinct to his second attempt at a solo career, this time on Atlantic Records. It became clear that Belew was now composing songs on the piano, which altered the feel of subsequent recordings, even if they retained the occasional outbreak of fretboard abandon. 1990's Young Lions featured two songs written and sung by David Bowie, with whom Belew was about to tour as guitarist and musical director. Bowie's "Pretty Pink Rose" was certainly a highlight but so were some of Belew's own songs. "Men In Helicopters" was a particularly affecting one, depicting rogue hunters gunning down rhinos. The cover versions of Buddy Holly's "Heartbeat" and the Traveling Wilburys' "Not Alone Anymore" filled out the set. The 1992 follow-up Inner Revolution, meanwhile, saw a full-scale Beatles pastiche, with superbly observed singing and playing. Belew regrouped with Fripp for a new King Crimson album, Thrak, in 1995, and also worked with Nine Inch Nails and Jars Of Clay. His late 90s releases varied from two acoustic collections to the Experimental Guitar Series album. By the start of the new millennium Belew was becoming increasingly prolific, working with King Crimson and reuniting with the Bears for a number of new recordings. He completed three solo albums in 2004, the first of which (Side One) was released the following January. This energetic recording featured backing from Primus' Les Claypool and Tool's Danny Carey.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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