Search - Adrian Belew :: Young Lions/Pretty Pink Rose

Adrian Belew Goes Native

Timothy P. Young | Rawlins, WY, USA | 10/10/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Well, not really. He goes environmentalist with this collection, originally released in 1990. Throughout the album, the lyrical concerns, such as they are, involve allegories to the natural world ("Young Lions"), dark commentary on helicopter hunters ("Men In Helicopters"), and fantasies about being helped out of our mess ("Looking for a UFO").



The album, with all instruments played by Belew, is at once a piece of splendid pop, with the David Bowie duet "Pretty Pink Rose" (possibly the catchiest thing ever recorded by Belew), a poppier version of King Crimson's "Heartbeat," and a cover of the Traveling Wilburys' "Not Alone Anymore," which in many ways surpasses the original (a hard thing to do, considering the talent involved there). However, he also indulges his experimental side, most notably in "I Am What I Am," which consists of a spacey sermon by the Prophet Omega ("Friends seen and unseen...") backed by a trademark Belew instrumental. He also turns the microphone over to Bowie completely for the original album's closer, "Gunman."



In its original form, Young Lions is at once awesome and frustrating. He makes nods to pop, then goes off and indulges his experimental side. It's very, very good, but it makes for a disjointed listening experience.



Wounded Bird's bare-bones reissue adds the Pretty Pink Rose EP that came out around the same time to promote the album (back in the day they were called 'CD Singles'). We get a replay of "Pretty Pink Rose" (no changes), an interesting instrumental, a so-so folk-pop tune, and "Oh Daddy," Belew's cult hit from 1988 (incidentally, the first thing I ever heard from him). It's not a bad addition, but I'd rather have the two unreleased songs as bonus tracks. Wounded Bird doesn't do that, though. They put the music out in its original form or not at all. I'm actually grateful to them for keeping some pretty hard to find stuff in print. Graham Parker and Kris Kristofferson are just two of the many artists Wounded Bird's reissued. True, it's bare bones, no lyrics or essays or anything like that, but the music's the important thing, right? If the music is what drives you, Wounded Bird comes through in spades.



Young Lions is a good album that deserves to be in print. It's also very much worth your time, although a bit challenging or frustrating at times. Kudos to Wounded Bird for issuing it, and kudos to Belew for following his muse when most of us would have been satisfied with another Mr. Music Head."

This a great album.

HOWARD L. JONES | denver | 12/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one album that I would want if I was stranded on a desert island. It has the flavor of Roxy Music, David Bowie, Adrian, and the best music I have heard. This is a must for those who think the 70's were the best years for music. This disc cost a lot of money to buy for a long time. I paid a great deal more for it after I lost all my CDs in a house fire, but it was one of the first I replaced. I wish I could have replaced it at this price 3 years ago."