INNER REVOLUTION

Adrian Belew's 1992 release has him treading into upbeat and mainly poppy avenues. Still, his quirky style of guitar is quite evident, and he creates some truly interesting music, even if some of it is simplistic. As with his previous releases, Belew takes the liberty of performing all instruments on the album, save for a few string instruments and a string arrangement. It may not be Belew's most progressive, his most creative, or even his overall best album, but none the less there is something to enjoy about it.

Inner Revolution opens the album with a strong chord progression and some nice bass/drum interplay. The chorus is also catchy and concise. This Is What I Believe In has a strong opening riff that sounds like some of the interplay between Belew and Robert Fripp on the 80s King Crimson album (Three of a Perfect Pair specifically). Although the choruses are a bit contrived, I'm quite fond of the vocal performance as well. Standing in the Shadow has some overdriven and extrememly fuzzy sounding guitars and some distorted vocals from Belew. It's a pop song by and by, but it's a strong pop piece to say the least. Big Blue Sun is one of the more experimental pieces on the album. It is augmented by a variety of string instruments and has a very bleak yet majestic feel to it. Belew's underlying acoustic guitar molds quite well with the simple yet effective piano progression. It's a nice song that really invokes feelings of The Beatles and other artistic pop bands of the late 60s, albeit with a more modern edge. Only a Dream has some great drumming from Belew and some simple yet catchy guitar chords and vocals, and the solo at the end brings back memories of more energetic guitar efforts like Naïve Guitar and Hot Sun.

Birds has a quirky feel to it, with a lot of background distractions and some catchy piano and guitar work. It's not the best piece, but it's not a bad one at all. I'd Rather Be Right Here has a formulaic approach and an unimaginative chord progression, but all in all it's a pretty safe pop piece that gets its point across fast. The War in the Gulf Between Us has some solid drumming and a catchy chorus, but other than that is pretty uninteresting. I Walk Alone has a mellow feel with some intuitive percussion/snapping and an interesting bass/piano motif. In my opinion one of the more creative pieces on the album. Everything has some guitar leads and some creative riffing as well as some precise drumming and a cohesive bass line. It's reminiscent of the song Bad Days off of Mr. Music Head. Heaven's Bed has a persistent guitar rhythm and a nice walking bass line, as well as an underlying guitar arpeggio that really creates an uneasy atmosphere for the song. Very cool song, in my opinion, with a great acoustic feel and a quirky guitar solo towards the end. Member of the Tribe closes the album with an upbeat feel by and by. It has a cool ascending guitar riff and some intuitive drumming and some fun lyrics as well as some underlying guitar sound effects underneath the mix. It ends the album on a high note and very well at that.

In the end, Inner Revolution isn't a very progressive album. So if you're looking for progressive rock, you'll be hard pressed to find anything of that style on this album. Although here and there you can detect some very creative ideas and some imaginative pieces, on the whole what you'll find here is a glorified pop record. Fans of Belew will probably like this one and 80s King Crimson fans may find some enjoyment out of this, but if you want some really cool Belew, go with one of his three latest albums. It's a good album, just not progressive. 3/5.