Gizmodrome

[uwe]

P R O G     W A R N I N G !!!


Sounds like a mix of Zappa, Lodger-era Bowie/late King Crimson and quirky Police, but I really dig it. Amazing to hear Mark King where he doesn't slap at all (from what I've heard so far on my office stereo, wait for it!!!! ... now he starts to slap alright ...  ), even where other bass players perhaps would. He sounds really organic, actually the most organic sounding of all four instrumentalists.

Copeland's drumming of course - just like Ginger Baker's or Neil Peart's - never fails to entertain. And his non-singing is kinda pleasant.

[Granny Gremlin]

Hey, Mark King bares a bit of a resemblance to Uwe (in the B&W promo shot at least).... hmmmmn

[uwe]

Because of his receding temple hairline?

I was never a Level 42 or Mark King fan, but I remember being baffled at some Frankfurt Musikmesse in the 80ies when I heard what I swore sounded like a sequencer gone mad and - after I found the booth - it was him on a Steinberg! He played with the control, precision and relentless speed of a hammering CNC-machine, and I'm not saying that as a criticism, but in admiration, his thumb coordination was/is lightyears ahead of mine. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it was a human playing a stringed bass. The sound was otherworldly.

[Granny Gremlin]

Uwe, I would not be so crass.  The cheecks and jaw.  The shades help.

[gearHed289]

I need to find time to check this out some more. The vocals were initially off-putting, but I'll give it another shot. If it still doesn't work for me, they're releasing an instrumental version of the album too. I've never connected with Level 42 or King's playing, but again, I'll give it a shot. I've certainly loved Adrian and Stewart over the years.

[Basvarken]

The vocals were initially off-putting

Same here.
The vocals sound too much like "hey we have such clever humoristic lyrics that we don't even have to be bother singing anywhere near decent".
A bit like Primus or (some of the work of) Frank Zappa.

[amptech]

Hmm.. cozy, grown up prog, now? Argree with the voice, turns me off this.

But Adrian is great!

[bassilisk]

I usually find projects like this to be entertaining. Here are a bunch of badasses that have all made their bones, just getting together and having some fun. Nothing to prove, no "focused slickness", just being themselves. Is it all brilliant? No. Then again, my expectations are lower. There are still enough moments that work for me.

I've found music that was quite listenable with vocals that were much less appealing (exception being Rush).

I like it.

[Barklessdog]

And I thought this thread was going to be about the Gizmo

[uwe]

But the music is weird enough for you to like it!

[Barklessdog]

I can't get over the vocals either, are they identical twins?

The singer looks just like the drummer?

Not another singing drummer😧

[Pekka]

Thanks for reminding me, I've totally forgotten this. I've liked Copeland's singing to the point I collected all the Klark Kent singles and 10" mini-LP and been recently checking out discogs.com marketplace for a 12" version (same songs but a better sound!).

I'm with Uwe regarding Mark King. And Belew's always been amazing.