Search - Adrian Belew :: Lone Rhino / Twang Bar King

4 stars for the music 2 stars for the sound quality

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 02/25/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First I like both of Belew's solo albums but this isn't the disc to buy when it comes to "Twang Bar King". Along with Richard Thompson's "Across a Crowded Room" this has got to be one of the worst reissues put out. While the highlights of both albums earn a solid four or five stars, the sound quality on "Twang Bar King" sounds like it was played through speakers and recorded again for this master. My guess is that they used the wrong (the vinyl)master vs. the new remaster created for the Japanese reissue. The same problem occurred with Richard Thompson's "Across a Crowded Room" which also sounds pretty bad (plus that CD has one track sped up slightly in order to allow the song to fit on an LP side). Perhaps they used the masters prepared for the compilation album but even that sounded better than this.



I'd suggest going for the Japanese remaster if you can find it. Personally I found "Lone Rhino" the more ambitious of the two. Sure Belew wears his influences on his sleeve but he also deftly makes them his own on all the songs. Some of the material doesn't quite work on both albums but both are worthwhile additions to your CD collection."