Infinite MonkeysBoingBoing posted this series of links to YouTube postings of a Talking Heads show from Rome in 1980, with Adrian Belew just tearing it up on lead guitar. Not to belittle the material from "Speaking in Tongues" but I sure wish "Stop Making Sense" had been filmed during this tour instead.
Belew had quite an amazing stint there - going from Zappa to Bowie to Talking Heads and finally King Crimson over the course of just a few years. A little over 10 years later, his KC bandmade Tony Levin had a similar run - playing bass/stick for Pink Floyd, Yes (actually Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, but close enough), King Crimson, and Peter Gabriel over a like period of time. I think Belew got the better deal, musically speaking.
Posted by RobbL at July 23, 2007 01:18 PMFirst you mock my gubmint, now you mock my music?
You kids and your rock and roll. No wonder the terrorists hate us. I blame David Byrne.
Posted by: JamesPh. at July 23, 2007 09:07 PMLet the record show that I really dig the Pink Floyd, love virtually all eras of King Crimson with an almost blind devotion, and have very strong feelings for the first four Peter Gabriel albums. In addition, I was at one time a rabid Yes fan, but gave up some time soon after Steve Howe decided his considerable talents would be put to better use playing for f***ing ASIA. I still haven't forgiven John Wetton for that one, either. [hypocrisy disclosure: I will save my Asia-penned guilty pleasures for another post]
But Belew got the better deal. He got to play with Zappa, Bowie, and Talking Heads during the height of their creative and performing powers, and he has been an integral part of King Crimson for over 25 years. Tony Levin is an amazing musician, and I don't want to belittle the opportunities he's had. That said, in the case of Pink Floyd and ABWH, he was playing with bands that were well past their prime, doing tours that were cashing in on their previous success, and was basically "the guy playing bass instead of Roger Waters" and "the guy playing bass instead of Chris Squire" rather than "that wild skinny guitarist who stole the show."
So Belew got the better deal. It's all relative, baby. Didn't public school teach you anything?
Posted by: Monkey RobbL at July 23, 2007 09:38 PM