(((O))) Review: Tony Levin – Bringing It Down to the Bass

There’s something special coming across the wonders of the Earth as Tony Levin reaches the mountain top. It should be a celebration for him because, he has started originally as a session musician in the 1970s. Ranging from Alice Cooper, Paul Simon, David Bowie, Stevie Nicks, The Roches, Steven Wilson, Bryan Ferry, Pink Floyd, Levin puts his hands with his electric bass, upright bass, and his fellow Chapman Stick.

And then later on, it’s his work from King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Liquid Tension Experiment, Stick Men, and on the road doing 65 performances in the States this year with Beat which covers the 1980s era of King Crimson (Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair) featuring Steve Vai (Zappa alumni), Adrian Belew (Crimson alumni), and Tool’s Danny Carey. Levin is a hard-working musician to bring his music to life.

His seventh solo album, and his first that goes back 17 years ago with the Stick Man album, Bringing It Down to the Bass is a reflection of his story, top to bottom. With a little help from Robert Fripp, Earl Slick, Larry Fast, Steve Gadd, Mike Portnoy, David Torn, his older brother Pete, Markus Reuter, Pat Mastelotto, and Jerry Marotta to name a few, they give Levin the benefit of a doubt to make his creation come to life.

This album has various forms of the adventure Levin has embarked on. He brings in the fiery arrangements when he takes it a step further to give each of his fellow crew members advice on where to come in, and when to come out.

Why do you think he uses his own espresso machine to create the sound of his homemade coffee being made for his fellow horn sections to smell that delicious aroma on ‘Espressoville’? Because their nose is waiting for them to sip in Levin’s brand of coffee that’s waiting for them in a harder, edgier funk-rock turned bossa-nova attitude.

‘Give the Cello Some’ sees Tony changing his vocal lines in the styles of the godfather of shock rock Alice Cooper, returning to the Nightmare-era with a blaring organ section thanks to Pete and pounding keg drum work by Marotta’s arrangements. He gives an introduction who’s who on this track before ending with the ‘Canon in D’ nod.

‘Side B / Turn It Over’ is Levin’s tip of the hat, returning to his Barbershop roots, characterized in these four-part chords with each vocal part to come full circle while the sunrising swift on ‘Me and My Axe’ gives an insight of an orchestral waltz that Larry Fast and Pete handle the start of a brand-new day before Hunter’s bluesy-sque guitar section lets listeners know how far we’ve come.

Meanwhile, across the homestead wonders of Wimborne Minster, the soundscapes of Robert Fripp’s arrangements set up this eerie, yet mysterious hallucinating vibe in these ominous, cavernous locations by ‘Floating in Dark Waters’. Here, Levin uses his Steinberger, followed by Marotta’s bossa-nova percussion groove to put you in a deep trance that can be unsettling, but give an insight for meditation at its best.

Speaking of mystery, ‘Beyond the Bass Clef’ features the wonderous violin work of L. Shankar taking listeners through this magic carpet ride, witnessing the beautiful landscapes of the Middle East as Levin uses his cello and his chapman stick, creating the score to look at different locations of the region before taking us into the loony bin that becomes a ticking time-bomb, waiting to happen with some crimson motifs on the ‘Bungie Bass’.

Torn and Mastelotto are like two peas in a pod, swimming together, lending Levin a helping hand to create the nightmarish cat-and-mouse chase that is needed. There are vibrations of Sonar, vibrations of THRAK, it’s all there. Nods to Tchaikovsky’s ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies’ that comes to mind, what do you think was going to happen.

They are having a ball with each other. But it’s the dark, folk-like spoken poetry Levin delves into the ‘Fire Cross the Sky’, going through the troubled times the characterisation of this person’s troubled romantic relationship they’re under with its nod to Jim Croce’s ‘Time in a Bottle’ that comes to mind. Once it starts to ascend to the mountain top, you know something bad is going to happen.

Listening to ‘On the Drums’ there’s some stronger atmospheres of David Axelrod’s production of The Electric Prunes’ Mass in F Minor and Queen’s ‘The Prophet’s Song’ from A Night at the Opera that comes to mind. It’s Tony’s tribute to his fellow comrades. Ranging from the who’s who of Chad Wackerman, Terry Bozzio (Frank Zappa), Nick Mason, Jerry Marrotta, Steve Gadd, Steve Smith (Journey), Steve Jordan, Billy Cobham, Bill Bruford, Mike Portnoy, the list goes on.

He is making sure to name check each of his fellow comrades that has been with him for the ride. ‘Coda’ closes the album as we watch the sun setting into the west, knowing Levin’s journey has come full circle. For all of the hard work, the albums he’s been on, his collaborations, Bringing It Down to the Bass is an album that’ll make you understand why it deserves so much recognition for all of the hardship he’s done.