Adrian Belew: Salad Days

Adrian Belew is a guitarist most people have heard whether they realize it or not. From the late '70s on, Belew has recorded or performed with a who's-who of prominent left-of-center pop stars, including Frank Zappa, David Bowie, King Crimson, Talking Heads, and even Graceland-era Paul Simon. Yet somehow the geeky guitar god has also found time to release several excellent solo discs that find the talented sideman singing and handling all instrumental duties. Considering that Belew comes from an edgy art-rock background, the results have been surprisingly Beatles-like, demonstrating Belew's diverse gifts in an explicitly pop-oriented context. Of course, those familiar with Belew by name already realize just how much of his own personality he puts into his collaborations, but Salad Days—a collection of rare acoustic recordings of many of Belew's most wonderfully eccentric songs—makes his many talents audible. Stripped of any Baroque prog-rock trimmings, these songs exude a casual coffee-shop sensibility, demonstrating Belew's joy in exploring different facets of his playing. A live rendition of King Crimson's "Three Of A Perfect Pair," recorded in Argentina, accents the curious flamenco spirit of the song that was disguised in the original electric album version. Belew has long been enamored of various guitar effects, but the acoustic environment allows him to show off the taut songwriting of "Men In Helicopters," "Young Lions," "Dinosaur" (another Crimson song), and "Never Enough" sans squeals and solos. Granted, he tosses in two tape-splice workouts ("Return Of The Chicken" and the all-percussion "Things You Hit With A Stick"), but for the most part, Salad Days shows that "progressive" and "pop" aren't mutually exclusive, and that Belew is equally at home in both worlds.