BEAT

Friday is fun. It's about music. Playlists. Links. Etc. Today, a mighty new supergroup. But, be warned, it's going to get...proggy!

The internet’s music focus for most of the last week has been Beyonce. And the country album she’s made, which means everyone loves country now. But earlier this week it was confirmed that a new supergroup has formed and will tour. BEAT is Steve Vai on lead guitar, Adrian Belew on guitar and vocals, Tony Levin on bass and Danny Carey on drums. Nobody loves prog ever. So I thought we could just talk about that.

Vai we know from Frank Zappa and Whitesnake, from sitting in on a killer Public Image record, from being Jack Butler in the movie Crossroads, for holding Joe Satriani’s hand when he crosses the road, and of course from his solo records — most importantly Passion & Warfare.

Adrian Belew has been part of bands formed around Frank Zappa and David Bowie. He’s been a member of both King Crimson and Talking Heads (the larger, supporting cast; crucial member though!) And he’s done sessions with everyone from Peter Gabriel to Paul Simon, Cyndi Lauper and Laurie Anderson. He’s been a regular contributor to Nine Inch Nails albums, oh, and he’s made about two dozen solo records too!

Tony Levin has long-running associations with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson, but he’s also been on records by almost anyone you care to name: Tracy Chapman, Lou Reed, Ringo Starr, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Warren Zevon, Yoko Ono, James Taylor, Bryan Ferry, Art Garfunkel, Joan Armatrading, and our own Tim Finn. That’s Levin’s bass-line beneath Steve Gadd’s signature drum feel on Paul Simon’s 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover. I mean, come on…

And Danny Carey is best known as the best reason to listen to TOOL. But he has popped up on records by Carole King and Skinny Puppy. He was once in the band Pigface (who had an album I loved called Eat Shit You Fucking Redneck) and that’s him in the band Green Jelly that we all loved for about a week back in the 90s and then pretended we never said that. Carey even briefly played in a country band with Jeff Buckley. No, really. But as yet, no one from Pitchfork or The Spinoff has traced this back to the very long list of influences for Beyonce’s country record. Disappointing. Carey is a big Boston Celtics fan too, and wears a Larry Bird singlet a lot, so I’d like him for that, even if he wasn’t a phenomenal drummer.

As BEAT, these four legendary musicians will be performing music from the 1980s incarnation of King Crimson. They have Robert Fripp’s permission and blessing — he even suggested the name.

In 1981 Levin and Belew joined a brand new version of King Crimson. The band hadn’t made a record since the mid 70s, and all that remained from that lineup was Fripp and drummer Bill Bruford. Belew came in with his Bowie/Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club ideas and influences and took over the lead vocals and sent the band in the direction of new wave.

First was Discipline.

And then Beat.

And then Three of a Perfect Pair.

These albums are weird and wonderful in equal measures. They are agitated art-pop. They are funky in the very whitest of ways. There are brittle edges, and rubbery centres.

Belew had the idea to perform them, or some of the material from them, going back about five years now. COVID got in the way for a bit, and then the various touring schedules of the band-members for the new supergroup become the other logistical nightmare. Now, in time for Three of a Perfect Pair’s 40th Anniversary, BEAT will play a bunch of shows.

They will only play America — but I guess from there it’s likely they’ll hit Europe. I’ll never see them, I’m almost sure of that. But still, there was something exciting about this news. Put Steve Vai back in a band. Make him play the way he did when he worked with Zappa, or something like that. Take Danny Carey out of TOOL, put him ANYWHERE ELSE frankly. Levin and Belew are brilliant, and also the legitimate links back to the King Crimson that made this music.

For me it’s something to celebrate.

The news arrives as I find myself knee-deep in the catalogue of Crimson, on the back of watching the amazing In The Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50 documentary:

That is the best music doco I have seen in at least a decade, it has sent me back to discover the music anew.

I’m growing into the prog fan that I always threatened to be.

But the thing that has sold me the most on BEAT this week is this charming interview, the whole band sitting down with Rick Beato:

I just loved this. Every member excited about the music, the possibilities, excited just about music. Vai with the job of replicating Fripp, and Carey with the job of approximating Bruford. Both perfect people for those unenviable jobs. Both voted most likely to fucking nail it. But also hear them just buzzed about music-making. Even if you’re not a Crimson fan, not a Vai fan, not a TOOL fan, you can get something from them. And Levin and Belew have stories for days. And still retain so much enthusiasm for playing.

I could see the 80s music of King Crimson being newly discovered as a result. And that’s cool. But even if this remains silly old white man music, I’m happy enough this week with this very fun news, and this brilliant interview, and the reminder of this amazing music.

So no apologies from me if this was not of interest to you.

But I do think this week’s regular playlist is particularly interesting. Some very different choices here. And a cool vibe. Low-key. Try it. And let me know how you go…