Lone Rhino

Lone Rhino Artist: Adrian Belew
Label: Universal Japan
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 4988005323309
ASIN: B00007DXIG


Release Date: 2007-05-24

Lone Rhino


Related Categories:

General General
Categories | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Experimental Rock Experimental Rock
Categories | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music
Pop Rock Pop Rock
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Rock | Styles | Music
Progressive Rock Progressive Rock
Categories | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Rock Guitarists | Rock | Styles | Music
Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) Album-Oriented Rock (AOR)
Categories | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Experimental Music Experimental Music
Categories | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
Rock Rock
Categories | Imports | Stores | Music

Tracks:

  1. Big Electric Cat
  2. Momur
  3. Stop It
  4. Man in the Moon
  5. Naive Guitar [Instrumental]
  6. Hot Sun [Instrumental]
  7. Lone Rhinoceros
  8. Swingline
  9. Adidas in Heat
  10. Animal Grace
  11. Final Rhino [Instrumental]

Similar Items:

  1. Twang Bar King

Album Description

Japanese exclusive reissue, limited to 5,000 pieces, of 1982 album that's out-of-print domestically, packaged in a miniature LP sleeve. Island. 2002.

Album Details

Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Great Rhino.......2006-11-08

When I saw the video for Big Electric Cat back in the 80's it completely blew me away. That song alone makes this record an indispensable addition to your record collection. It was guitar playing from another world for someone who had very strong new wave roots.

5 out of 5 stars Lone Rhino Rips.......2006-08-03

Before Adrian Belew was a guitar player, he was a drummer, and a good one obviously. On Lone Rhino, his first solo release, Adrian plays guitar, sings, and pounds the skins like a pro. The music is upbeat, solid, entertaining and the lyrics are ingenious. Adrian uses effects/pedals like no one else and the unusual sounds he gets out of his guitar (roars, grunts, squeaks, atmospheric tones, etc.) are completely original and refreshing. The effects are secondary of course, as his rhythm and lead work rival the best guitarists around. The man has played with Zappa, Bowie, King Crimson, Talking Heads, and others, for good reason. Amazing talent. Other musicians on the record are: J. Clifton Mayhugh (bass/vocal), Christy Bley (piano/vocal), William Janssen (sax/vocal), and his daughter plays piano on the final track.

The Japanese import sounds wonderful and the layout, a mini-replica of the album complete with plastic sleeve for the CD, is very cool, but it will not fit in a (non-shelf adjustable) CD storage unit because it's too high. Small complaint for such a great album!

2 out of 5 stars Feels like a sideman's debut........2005-07-12

Adrian Belew's first album, "Lone Rhino", is a somewhat inconsistent effort clearing bearing the stamp of the ensembles he had most recently played with.

While Belew's Beatles influence is often talked about, this record bears the stamp of David Byrne and to a lesser extent David Bowie far more than Lennon or McCartney. Several tracks sound as though they'd fit in nicely on contemporary Talking Heads records ("The Momur") or on a Bowie's "Station to Station" ("Stop It"). And certainly the influence of King Crimson partner Robert Fripp is felt throughout ("Big Electric Cat", "Adidas in Heat").

When the record excels is when Belew discovered his own identity-- "Man in the Moon" is poorly executed and has an annoying guitar line doubling the vocal, but it shows signs of the Belew songwriting, and it certainly sounds like more than the sum of its influences. Likewise, "Animal Grace" is a bit under-realized, but it is uniquely Belew and while he'd conjured sea gulls for Crimson, the effect never grows old. But it's "The Lone Rhinoceros" that's the gem on this one-- easily the standout of the record. A great, melodic piece with all the Belew cliches-- rhino guitar growls, a driving rhythm, and a witty lyric.

Belew would go on to much better work on his future solo records-- this feels like a sideman trying to find his own identity. Get the twofer that's come out recently (and includes the album's followup "Twang Bar King") instead for a somewhat better value. If you're new to Belew, start off with "Young Lions", its a much better effort.

4 out of 5 stars Strong first solo release from Crimson & Bears vocalist.......2003-07-23

Yikes, this is dating me. I purchased Lone Rhino on vinyl when Island released it shortly after King Crimson's release came out. I still have the vinyl. I've been meaning to transfer it for some time and burn a decent copy. Now I don't have to. Belew's first solo album has some of his sharpest songs on it. The Zappa and Beatles influences are all over the place but it's still uniquely Ade. From the stomping Big Electric Cat with its yowling guitar and backward drumming to Man in the Moon Ade's (I assume)moving song about his father, Lone Rhino is top notch. So why only 4 Stars? It's not his best album. Meet The Beatles (or Please Please Me & With The Beatles if you're discussing the CD releases and/or vinyl releases throghout the world expect the US)wasn't The Beatles best. It was a remarkable blast of fresh air. So is Lone Rhino.

I know a number of Belew fans who dislike the instrumental pieces. I find them to be moving and melodic. Belew makes music do the talking here. The mournful Lone Rhino is an instrumental highlight. In many respects Lone Rhino reminds me of McCartney's first solo album. It's simple but never simplistic; it's direct but never blunt; it's melodic but doesn't meander.

It isn't a perfect album. It does have its flaws but those flaws seem less of an issue twenty years later. Occasionally Belew goes for the easy humor of Adidas in Heat. It's a bopping little tune that deserved better lyrics or, perhaps, deserved not to be on the album. Still, it's got charm and the brass band coda does make up for the shortcomings of the lyrics.

Lone Rhino sounds great. It has been remastered from the original analog masters using the 24 bit mastering popular now. The sleeve (and it is a sleeve)is an exact replica of the original one from 1982 except that there is no paper sleeve with the lyrics (they're printed on a folded one sheet in Japanese and English). Issued (if memory serves) right around the time of Beat, Lone Rhino proved that Belew had much more talent than was evident in Crimson.

4 out of 5 stars

Music Album:

  1. Kick Up the Fire, And Let the Flames Break Loose ~ The Cooper Temple Clause
  2. That's All Right ~ Elvis Presley
  3. There's a War on ~ Rainbow Press
  4. Turbo Mattress ~ The Chinese Stars
  5. Lullabies to Paralyze ~ Queens of the Stone Age
  6. Falling on Deaf Ears ~ This Beautiful Mess
  7. Burrito Deluxe ~ The Flying Burrito Brothers
  8. Christmas of Hope ~ Various Artists
  9. Colonized! The Best of New Colony Six ~ New Colony Six
  10. '70 Concert: Recorded Live In Europe ~ Canned Heat

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Back on the Block ~ Quincy Jones

Barbados Heat ~ Peter Appleyard

Saxophone Colossus ~ Sonny Rollins

Coffeehouse Christmas ~ Brandon Fields

Way I Really Play ~ Oscar Peterson

Djazaïr Johara ~ Hasna el Becharia

10 Anos de Toquinho & Vinicius ~ Toquinho E Vinicius

Thapsos ~ Riccardo Tesi & Banditaliana

Grandes del Tango, Vol. 2 ~ Julio Sosa

Sweet Candy Rain ~ Yoshii Lovinson