I go back and forth on Adrian Belew: some of the music he has put out is absolutely brilliant, other things are a real affront to my ears.
I do have a pretty good way of figuring out, before hearing a piece of his, whether I’ll like it or not: If it’s instrumental, I’m interested. If it has lyrics, I’m extremely wary. (of course, that’s my attitude with music, in general) That being said, the man can write the occasional set of lyrics that work for me. This week’s song is such.
(I am seriously frustrated to be unable to share instrumental music with you on a weekly basis – if I could, the music featured here would be predominantly instrumental – I sometimes think the breadth of the musical would be so much more the richer had we all been born sans vocal chords … )
What I like best about this particular version of the song is that the string arrangement perfectly captures all that is catchy and beautiful and bleeding-heart sad about the song. Along with Adrian’s plaintive yet at the same time outraged vocals, it hits me right in the solar plexus. A nearly perfect 9.9 out of 10 for this listener. (my one complaint? it sounds as if he thinks rhinos can fly)
To be honest, the trilogy of albums this song comes from – Side One, Side Two, and Side Three – may be the best thing I’ve ever heard from Adrian, combining powerful and intricate rock instrumentals, humorous, thoughtful lyricism, and patented Belew quirkiness (not to mention the help of friends such as Les Claypool and Robert Fripp) onto each album. It’s a real tour de force. Check it out.
Men In Helicopters (version 4.0)
Adrian Belew – Side Three
Wouldn’t it be great
To see the African plains
Before they lay them to waste
And only the bones remain
Wouldn’t it be poetry
To shoot holes in the poachers we see
With an elephant gun
Men in helicopters fly
Shooting rhinos from out of the sky
Why do we always assume
The planet is ours to ruin?
What a legacy we’re leaving behind
What a legacy
Wouldn’t it be something
For the men killing dolphin
To be caught up by their necks
In their greedy fishing nets
Wouldn’t it be irony
If the tuna fish canneries
Were to fall into the sea
The dolphins and the whales still left alive
Cry to the stars in the deep blue night
“there’s nowhere to hide,
The people on earth will not be denied”
What a legacy we’re leaving behind
What a legacy
Wouldn’t it be odd
If there really was a god
And he looked down on earth
And saw what we’ve done to her
Wouldn’t it be just
If he pulled the plug on us,
And took away the sun
© Adrian Belew
