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SIDE ONE
(Sanctuary)
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This, the first of a trilogy of new Belew CDs, is built around the King Crimson songwriter/guitarist, Primus bassist Les Claypool, and drummer Danny Carey. It’s also a reasonable substitute for a new Crimson album, albeit one that turns toward the artfully balanced blend of composition and improvisation heard on 1984’s Three of a Perfect Pair rather than the brooding tone of the band’s recent work. Early on, "Writing on the Wall" evolves into a kind of suite, moving from its lyric themes to Belew’s expressive soloing over clattering polyrhythms. And that seems to be the session’s strategy: trading between romantic pop idylls like the pining "Matchless Man," which benefits from Belew’s sweet tenor, and exploratory rambles like "Madness," where his guitar notes swarm like clouds of bees with tiny violins. Claypool and Cary are deft accompanists, but Belew is always in charge, spinning busy guitar melodies under his sparely phrased vocals or leading the dash toward musical liberation. And the band sound thoroughly free, whether they’re layering a pop song, jamming around a spine of drum loops, or defining new territories as their organic jams develop.
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