Tony Levin - Bringing It Down To The Bass

Tony Levin's most recent solo album before now was titled "Stick Man" and was released in 2007. That's a long time ago. One might wonder why the newly released album took so long, perhaps even suspecting the man had been lazy.

The opposite is true. "Stick Man" gave birth to the group STICK MEN, with which Levin not only released four studio albums, two EPs, and plenty of live recordings, but also - as the live albums suggest - toured almost constantly around the globe.

Of course, he continued to work "on the side" as a studio musician. More crucial for the 17-year break, besides Stick Men, was his involvement in various tours with Peter Gabriel (2007, 2009, 2012-14, 2016, 2023) and King Crimson (2008, 2014-2021).

He was also temporarily involved with Eddie Jobson's Ultimate Zero Project, and he toured with his own "Crimson Project" (a collaboration of Stick Men with the Adrian Belew Band) from 2012-2014.

One should also not forget that before King Crimson's resurrection, he was involved in the ProjeKct studio album of 2011, recorded a full-length album with David Torn and Alan White, and subsequently recorded two albums with the LMR (Levin Minnemann Rudess) project. And then there were the "Levin Brothers" - Tony and his brother with fellow musicians - who were quite active at times-

Given these numerous "jobs," it was rather surprising that a genuine solo album from him is being released at all. However, the timing fits: Crimson is no longer active, Gabriel is currently inactive, and with Stick Men, Reuter seems to be increasingly taking the reins. The timing is therefore good to go all the way down to the bass.

Participating Musicians

The list of participating musicians immediately reveals that this album is not a rushed job: on drums, you can hear Manu Katché, Jerry Marotta, Jeremy Stacey, Vinnie Colaiuta, Mike Portnoy, Steve Gadd, Pat Mastelotto - all except Marotta on one song. According to Levin, he specifically selected these drummers for the respective songs. One can conclude that the songs were created at very different times and probably in many different locations. However, the album was only completed now.

And of course, insiders already know some of the pieces: Fire Cross The Sky was already released in 2016, and On The Drums is also already known. Tony Levin himself can be heard, as expected, on bass, but also on cello, Stick (the instrument with bass and guitar strings played by tapping), and piano, and he occasionally sings. The latter might cause concern for some, as his very vocal-based album (Resonator from 2006) was ultimately weaker than the others.

The Tracks

Now to the music, although - to keep the text length from getting out of hand - not every song will be introduced individually.

As expected, the title track and thus the album begins with the bass. But quickly, guitar (Dominic Miller) and drums set in, and then - unusual for a Levin solo album - the trumpet (Chris Pasin) begins, and soon after we hear an organ. This instrumental song thus doesn't fulfill expectations, as the result is a jazzy-tinged piece reminiscent of a big band. This overall not-so-bass-heavy intro to a diverse album then briefly switches to a bass-heavy final part accompanied by a saxophone solo (Jay Collins) after four and a half minutes.

Another song (Espressoville) with trumpet and trombone follows later and might be a bit strenuous for those less inclined towards these instruments.

With the second track Me And My Axe, there's immediate reconciliation for listeners who might have been startled by the intro: the song could just as well have appeared on Pieces Of The Sun, and not just because Larry Fast is involved. Very melodiously, guitar (Steve Hunter) and bass caress our ear canals, and attentive filmmakers should immediately engage it for a soundtrack. The song title can probably be interpreted as irony from the protagonist, who is little known in metal circles.

Road Dogs continues seamlessly, and here, in addition to rippling keyboards (this time Pete Levin), there are rocky guitars (Markus Reuter) and distorted Stick, all carried by Jeremy Stacey's direct drumming. It fits, both in the song and at this point in the album. For the first time, vocals can be heard - singing would be saying too much - as Tony's distorted voice repeatedly intones the phrase "Road dogs" and even raps a little at the end. Cool!

Song number four, Uncle Funkster, puts Levin's Stick properly in the spotlight. Here, in the best Stick Men manner, and accompanied only by drums, the bass is played. It actually sounds somewhat funky, but it's not funk in the true sense, as the proximity to jazz rock is also given
These first songs point the way for the rest of the album. Sometimes quieter, sometimes louder, with a lot of guitar (Earl Slick and David Torn also make an appearance) or rather more bass, Tony presents us with the whole spectrum of his compositional art. The gentle cello is brutally interrupted by a very distorted cello. Or the bassist points out in chorus with himself that the first side of the album is now over. Shankar's wonderful violin adorns the piece named after Levin's first book (Beyond The Bass Clef). And occasionally, thoughtful tones are also struck. For the fan, much sounds familiar and yet a little different than before. This includes the vocals, which are predominantly spoken word and then usually don't cause any concerns because they fit the respective songs.

A special feature is the title On Drums, where no instruments other than Tony Levin's voice can be heard. The multi-voiced sung lyrics consist exclusively of the names of drummers with whom Levin has played at some point. This is funny and, according to the sole singer, was also very labor-intensive, without being able to include all the drummers from the original list. In the end, however, it's a curiosity that one will probably listen to less often.

Conclusion

In summary, Tony Levin has succeeded in creating a very colorful and listenable album! And even if the title suggests it, the bass is often not so much in the foreground, but the pieces are rounded out by the other instruments.

Tony Levin is now 78 years old. He has dedicated his life to the bass, and in the accompanying commentary on his website, he himself ponders how it came to be. An artwork by his father, showing a bassist merged with his instrument, could have unconsciously influenced him. And with this idea, another interpretation of the album title emerges: everything becomes bass in the end. This image also fits from a physical perspective, as the (acoustic) waves of the bass are particularly long, and in energy conversion processes, shorter waves are predominantly converted into longer ones rather than vice versa.

Since Levin had worked on at least twice as many pieces before completing the album, we can hope that another album will come someday. However, he shouldn't take another 17 years to do so...

Author: Harald Köhncke (October 2024)
Photos: Tony Levin (Website info for the album)

Note:

Unfortunately, the delivery of the physical version of this album has been delayed, so it was not possible to refer to the information in the booklet, such as song lyrics and photos of the basses used. The album is also available as a Blu-Ray, which contains Dolby Atmos and surround mixes. These variants and a purely digital version can be ordered from Tony Levin's Bandcamp page. The Dolby Atmos mix is also available on Apple Music.

Album-Tracklist:

01 Bringing It Down To The Bass
02 Me And My Axe
03 Road Dogs
04 Uncle Funkster
05 Boston Rocks
06 Espresso Ville
07 Give The Cello Some
08 Turn It Over
09 Beyond The Bass Clef
10 Bungie Bass
11 Fire Cross The Sky
12 Floating In Dark Waters
13 On The Drums
14 Coda

Musicians

Tony Levin (Bass, Cello, Vocals)
Manu Katche (Drums)
Jerry Marotta (Drums)
Jeremy Stacey (Drums)
Vinnie Colaiuta (Drums)
Mike Portnoy (Drums)
Steve Gadd (Drums)
Pat Mastelotto (Drums)
Dominic Miller (Guitars)
Steve Hunter (Guitars)
Earl Slick (Guitars)
Marcus Reuter (Guitars)
Joe Caro (Guitars)
David Torn (Guitars)
Pete Levin: (Keyboards)
Larry Fast (Keyboards)
Gary Husband (Keyboards)
Chris Pasin (Trumpet)
Josh Shpak (Trumpet)
Don Mikkelsen (Trombone)
Alex Foster (Alto Sax)
Jay Collins (Baritone Sax)
Shankar (Violin)
Colin Gatwood (Oboe, Horn)
Robert Fripp (Soundscape)
Linnea Olsson (Cello)
Bess Brydolf (Cello)