In Appreciation of Tony Levin

[HOF]

I was YouTubing around last night and this cool little video of Tony demoing a Chapman stick came up:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=78hlYpydv5g

Then this morning I see that Tony was ranked 42 in Rolling Stone’s Top 50 Bassists list (low maybe, but who cares really?):

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/50-greatest-bassists-of-all-time-1003022/tony-levin-1003071/

We all probably know Levin from LTS, King Crimson, and Peter Gabriel, and I think most people know he’s done hundreds of sessions and played with a ton of notable people (Lennon, Paul Simon, Bowie, Lou Reed, and so on). But I was looking over the partial list on Wikipedia this morning and spotted a couple higher profile recordings I wasn’t aware of (Pink Floyd’s Momentary Lapse of Reason, Alice Cooper’s Welcome to My Nightmare for example).

Anyway, I’ve always had a soft spot for Tony’s playing, and I think I could just watch him mess around on a Chapman stick for hours. Also, he looks exactly the same as he did 30+ years ago. Ageless and endlessly talented.

[Max Kuehnau]

And really really consistent and inventive and constantly evolving as a player IMHO. One of my personal alltime favourite bass players

[HOF]

And really really consistent and inventive and constantly evolving as a player IMHO. One of my personal alltime favourite bass players

Yes! He plays in several different styles with different bass instruments, and has innovated in a number of ways (the “funk fingers” being a notable example). And he’s just so darn creative. That Elephant Talk opening lick is so cool and a great example of his creativity.

[lonestar]

Fantastic showman, seen him with King Crimson, Gabriel, and Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe, and he was always tremendous.

[The Walrus]

Love his playing on the Levin Minnemann Rudess albums.

[HOF]

Oh, neglected to mention, he not only plays bass but he also *sings* bass. Dude literally breathes low end.

[Indiscipline]

Oh, neglected to mention, he not only plays bass but he also *sings* bass. Dude literally breathes low end.

And he plays tuba as well.

[HOF]

Oh, neglected to mention, he not only plays bass but he also *sings* bass. Dude literally breathes low end.

And he plays tuba as well.

Yeessss

[Max Kuehnau]

Oh, neglected to mention, he not only plays bass but he also *sings* bass. Dude literally breathes low end.

in the words of Peter Gabriel, he is "the king of the botom end, the emperor of the bass guitar"

[HOF]

Oh, neglected to mention, he not only plays bass but he also *sings* bass. Dude literally breathes low end.

in the words of Peter Gabriel, he is "the king of the botom end, the emperor of the bass guitar"

Love that quote!

[KevShmev]

Amazing player.  He is on my Mount Rushmore of bass players, on the strength of his work on the LTE albums, with Peter Gabriel, and on KC's Discipline.

[SwedishGoose]

Absoluteley marvellous musiscian.

Have seen him live with Peter Gabriel, 3 times and King Crimson 3 times.

Wish I could have seen him much more, also doing his own music.

[The Letter M]

I was thinking, a few weeks ago when I was putting a ton of music on my new phone, that I have a lot of albums with Tony Levin playing on them, and not just King Crimson either! Of course, there's LTE, but also the Bruford Levin Upper Extremities (BLUE) studio and live albums, the two Bozzio Levin Stevens albums, Levin Torn White, Levin Minnemann Rudess, and the ABWH album. I'm probably forgetting a couple, but I know i don't have any of Peter Gabriel's albums yet (I've been waiting to see if he'll release them in a box set like Tony and Phil have had in the last few years).

Personally, I'd rank him a lot higher than 42 out of 50, as he is a beast at the bass and Chapman stick, and pretty much anything else he can get his fingers on!

-Marc.

[HOF]

Don’t know if a Peter Gabriel box set is something that ever happens or not. He remastered everything about 20 years ago (man its been that long), and he more recently did a 25th anniversary edition of So. Maybe a full remix of the catalog happens at some point, but I don’t know that he would ever be able to finish something like that the way he works.

I will say that the remaster editions tend to be priced somewhat cheaply on Amazon ($9-12 range).

[Max Kuehnau]

Don’t know if a Peter Gabriel box set is something that ever happens or not. He remastered everything about 20 years ago (man its been that long), and he more recently did a 25th anniversary edition of So. Maybe a full remix of the catalog happens at some point, but I don’t know that he would ever be able to finish something like that the way he works.

I will say that the remaster editions tend to be priced somewhat cheaply on Amazon ($9-12 range).

everything he released to date (audio wise) is on Bandcamp (including Flotsam And Jetsam)

[goo-goo]

Love his photography. You should check it out as well.

[Max Kuehnau]

I was thinking, a few weeks ago when I was putting a ton of music on my new phone, that I have a lot of albums with Tony Levin playing on them, and not just King Crimson either! Of course, there's LTE, but also the Bruford Levin Upper Extremities (BLUE) studio and live albums, the two Bozzio Levin Stevens albums, Levin Torn White, Levin Minnemann Rudess, and the ABWH album. I'm probably forgetting a couple, but I know i don't have any of Peter Gabriel's albums yet (I've been waiting to see if he'll release them in a box set like Tony and Phil have had in the last few years).

Personally, I'd rank him a lot higher than 42 out of 50, as he is a beast at the bass and Chapman stick, and pretty much anything else he can get his fingers on!

-Marc.

I love everything Peter has done to date. Well worth listening to.

[Nekov]

I saw him play a couple of times with Stick Men and boy is he good. One of my favorite bass players as well. He is extremely versatile, creative and skilled. You can hardly ask more of a musician.

[TAC]

Tony Levin plays on one of my all time favorite albums: Alice Cooper Goes To Hell

[goo-goo]

Seen Tony play with King Crimson, Stick Men, and Peter Gabriel and the way the approaches the bass and the Stick is magical. It’s an art the way he plays it.

[HOF]

Now listening to Red Rain. This TL performance maybe gets overshadowed on So by Sledgehammer and Big Time (or even Don’t Give Up), but it’s a freaking powerful bass line.

[HOF]

Now listening to a 1976 album by Andy Pratt (who I’ve never heard of before today) that features some really tight and melodic bass work by Levin. Very cool melodic pop rock album. Very late 70s style and production.

Edit: though now I see Hugh McDaniel played some of the bass on the album, so not totally sure what’s what!

[SwedishGoose]

Now listening to Gorn, Levin, Marotta - From the Caves of the Iron Mountain.

[ytserush]

I'd have to think about it but I think I may have seen him in more bands than Portnoy.

Great bassist and great guy too. 

Since we're naming all of these amazing albums he's been on, check out Buddy Rich's The Roar of '74.

[Polarbear]

Tony Levin is one of my favorite bass players in the world full stop!

[HOF]

Now listening to Clouds About Mercury by David Torn, which is apparently the predecessor to the Bruford Levin Upper Extremities lineup. It’s basically like a Discipline era KC album but with trumpet. I had no idea Chris Botti did anything this progressive actually. He shows up on a bunch of albums I really like (The Blue Nile’s Hats, Eric Johnson’s Venus Isle, Kip Winger’s first solo album), but never heard him in a context quite this experimental before.

Anyway, classic Tony Levin throughout this thing.

[ytserush]

Now listening to Clouds About Mercury by David Torn, which is apparently the predecessor to the Bruford Levin Upper Extremities lineup. It’s basically like a Discipline era KC album but with trumpet. I had no idea Chris Botti did anything this progressive actually. He shows up on a bunch of albums I really like (The Blue Nile’s Hats, Eric Johnson’s Venus Isle, Kip Winger’s first solo album), but never heard him in a context quite this experimental before.

Anyway, classic Tony Levin throughout this thing.

Sounds like I need to check that out.

[HOF]

Now listening to Clouds About Mercury by David Torn, which is apparently the predecessor to the Bruford Levin Upper Extremities lineup. It’s basically like a Discipline era KC album but with trumpet. I had no idea Chris Botti did anything this progressive actually. He shows up on a bunch of albums I really like (The Blue Nile’s Hats, Eric Johnson’s Venus Isle, Kip Winger’s first solo album), but never heard him in a context quite this experimental before.

Anyway, classic Tony Levin throughout this thing.

Sounds like I need to check that out.

So I had misread Wikipedia about this album. Botti played on the Bruford Levin Upper Extremities albums, but not on this one. The trumpet on Clouds About Mercury is a guy named Mark Isham. Still a very interesting album. A bit freeform at times, but an interesting mix of sounds.

[ytserush]

Now listening to Clouds About Mercury by David Torn, which is apparently the predecessor to the Bruford Levin Upper Extremities lineup. It’s basically like a Discipline era KC album but with trumpet. I had no idea Chris Botti did anything this progressive actually. He shows up on a bunch of albums I really like (The Blue Nile’s Hats, Eric Johnson’s Venus Isle, Kip Winger’s first solo album), but never heard him in a context quite this experimental before.

Anyway, classic Tony Levin throughout this thing.

Sounds like I need to check that out.

So I had misread Wikipedia about this album. Botti played on the Bruford Levin Upper Extremities albums, but not on this one. The trumpet on Clouds About Mercury is a guy named Mark Isham. Still a very interesting album. A bit freeform at times, but an interesting mix of sounds.

I knew Botti played on Upper Extremeties. Really like that one a lot. Heard of Mark Isham but haven't heard his music.

[Ben_Jamin]

I actually had his Resonator album. I wasn't really into it at the time but did enjoy some tracks. Places To Go and Utopia, along with Sabre Dance.

Need to check it out again

[ytserush]

I actually had his Resonator album. I wasn't really into it at the time but did enjoy some tracks. Places To Go and Utopia, along with Sabre Dance.

Need to check it out again

I like Resonator. I think it's one of his better Narada albums.