Scooter Chronicles

Bozzio Levin Stevens - “Black Light Syndrome”

Tracks:

1. The Sun Road
2. Dark Corners
3. Duende
4. Black Light Syndrome
5. Falling in Circles
6. Book of Hours
7. Chaos/Control

I had heard that these three were doing an album, and was excited about two-thirds of it. At the time I was already a fan of Bozzio and Levin. I was disappointed with the choice of Stevens as the guitarist. The idea of this album was to write and record it in less than a week. It was a way for Bozzio to make some extra money during a slow time in his career, and the schedule was reduced due to Levin’s and Stevens’ schedules. It is amazing what three great musicians can come up with in such a short amount of time.

(From left): Tony Levin (bass and stick), Steve Stevens (guitar), and Terry Bozzio (drums).

Terry Bozzio got his start playing in Frank Zappa’s band, the Mothers of Invention. He also banged around with Jeff Beck and UK. More known to others, he formed Missing Persons with his then wife Dale and a couple of Zappa alums. Most recently he sat in with Korn. Steve Stevens is best known from his days as Billy Idol’s guitarist. He also has had his own bands, those being the Atomic Playboys and Flamenco A Go-Go. Tony Levin has played with too many people to name, though most notably Peter Gabriel (with whom he got his start), his two stints with King Crimson, and his involvement with Liquid Tension Experiment (an instrumental side project with some members of Dream Theater, much like this one). The trio recorded a follow-up a few years after this one.

Now, as I said, I wasn’t excited about Stevens being the guitarist. All I knew of him was his days with Billy Idol. And even after listening to a good portion of the opening track I was figuring it would be ridiculous shredding. Boy was I wrong. My attitude towards Stevens changed drastically after hearing the entire album just once. He is an incredible talent and can play so many different ways.

The biggest surprise that led me to this change was “Duende” and it’s wonderful flamenco like guitar work. Throughout the whole album, Stevens changes gears and styles, as did Bozzio and Levin. All three musicians seemed to work so well together on this album it would seem that they had been playing together for years. The title track is another great example of how they worked together, bring so much emotion with a great sense of dynamics. Knowing when to play, and knowing when not to. And “Book of Hours” highlights some more great acoustic work from Stevens.

The only problem with the album that I hear is in the mix. At times Levin seems lost behind Bozzio and Stevens. You have to strain a bit to hear him. But all three musicians show just how incredibly talented they are for their chops, and for their songwriting and arrangement abilities.

I am a big fan of instrumental rock-like music. This is one of the best albums I have heard, and not just fitting within that category. Though sadly it has one of the lamest album covers I have ever seen.

Side note: Tony Levin is the fifth musician to show up in this series of mine two or more times. He was a member of King Crimson on “Discipline” which was Part 20. The others are Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart, and Phil Collins (the actual, not the beta-unit). A few members of Yes will eventually join this “club”, among others.