Search - Tony Levin :: Waters of Eden

The bassist Tony Levin, widely known for his work with cultural luminaries such as King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, and John Lennon, maintains an active (though lower-profile) solo career. Waters of Eden, officially Levin's second solo outing, is assuredly his most mature. While the album can loosely be termed New Age, it meets with streams of art rock, eddies of jazz, and even tributaries of classical. But whether in the Gabrielesque intensity of "Bone & Flesh," the graceful title cut, or the sinister "Pillar of Fire," there's a coherence to the album imparted by Levin's characteristically dreamy, fluid bass lines--fat, lyrical sinews that twine the songs together. Levin makes frequent use of homophony, doubling the high and low parts for sonorous, trancelike effect. And while he's careful not to let the bass playing dominate the record, it's wonderful to hear Levin's unbridled spirit on cuts such as "Icarus" and "Boulevard of Dreams," a haunting duet with the pianist Warren Bernhardt. More homogenous than Levin's 1993 solo debut, World Diary, and less forced than From the Caves of the Iron Mountain (a fascinating collaboration with drummer Jerry Marotta and the flutist Steve Gorn), Waters of Eden is nothing if not whole--both seamless and complete--and it's undoubtedly the most personal statement in Levin's 30-plus-year recording career. --Michael Mikesell