ADAM LEVIN: BLISSFUL BEHEMOTH

Adam Levin

BLISSFUL BEHEMOTH

© 2007 Different Drum Music / All rights reserved (ASCAP) (837101318716)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

Original progressive rock, parodies of Gentle Giant, and influences from Jethro Tull, Frank Zappa, Genesis, King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Allan Holdsworth, Talking Heads, Happy the Man, Area, Annette Peacock, Laurie Anderson, & Dave Stewart (Nat'l Health)

notes

Shades of jazz and classical with a sense of irony, storytelling and humor.

For a more accurate representation of this CD's sound & instrumentation as heard over full stereo speakers, listen to its audio excerpts with a headset. And feel free to submit a comment at the bottom of the page!

"The BLISSFUL BEHEMOTH tracks are wonderful... playful, humorous, and great melodies...

"...sweetly ironic and finely melodic, nice arrangements and pleasant vocals - everything was just right. In fact, I can't help but listen to the tracks again and again. It's a sincere joy to hear a true talent like that...

"AS YOUNG AS I'M OLD is a fine tune...thoroughly enjoyable...awesome and honorable...and the lyrics are hilarious!... nail[s] that Minnear feel about as much as anyone can who's not named Minnear...

"FANFARE is beautiful and GIANT FOR ANOTHER HOUR keeps sounding better and better. What a scream!...

"WHILE SUNLIGHT SLIPPED AWAY is very Tony Banks-ish and its key changes are delightful...

"Really good music and performances...great melodies (an increasingly rare phenomenon). I'm definitely adding [it] to my 'wish list'."

- Members of On-Reflection

"Adam Levin is a musical treasure. In a world rife with tastelessness, his recordings feature style, class, passion, and extraordinary melodies." - Terence J. Miles

"AS YOUNG AS I'M OLD really encouraged me to get BLISSFUL BEHEMOTH...and it is magnificent. As a Gentle Giant and Genesis fan, I appreciate [it] very much... really capture[s] whatever it is that made Gentle Giant so utterly appealing." - PG

"elegant...rich and beautiful." - Nikki Squire of Esquire

"How incredible the CD is. I love every bit of it. I hear the couple of Gentle Giant references in there, but other than that, I hear all you and all the prodigious talent that I've been lucky enough to hear since the first time I heard you play. It just blew me away. Just what I needed was to hear some incredible music, and that's what it is." - Bob Cusack, Guitarist/Singer/Songwriter

"...a sophisticated and contemporary writer - hear him!" - Kirk Nurock, Composer/Pianist, Jazz/Classical Recording Artist

"...truly amazing progressive music!" - Hot Scandinavian Dirt

"Superb, entertaining, sensitive, funny, modern and classical all at the same time." - Karena Butterfly Harris

"...tight... thick with rhythm, woven with truly intricate melodies, cool man... enjoyed the entire approach... We'll be listening." - Stan/Faith2Fist

"Excellent treatment of Gentle Giant themes and styles... brought a smile to my face!" - Progpositivity

"Really love this CD! The Gentle Giant sound is dead on, but it also has a great original sound... [and] a little Genesis influence as well." - Daniel Nall, Guitarist/Composer

"Really fantastic - like having a new Gentle Giant CD." - Kissing Wendy

"VERBALOSIS is a terrific piece... I'm astounded at how tuneful it strikes my ear, even though it seems to be jumping modally all over the place - much like human speech does... The melody intervals are always unexpected, but they work and 'resolve' in ear-stretching ways. Obviously this is a well-trained sensibility at work." - KP

"I love this music - great keyboard playing. It really has the Gentle Giant sound mastered." - Dan Williams, Guitarist/Composer

"...really like FANFARE; very Zappa-esque with great melody and interesting rhythms." - Godsticks

"FANFARE is still my favorite." - Steve Mohacey

"For those who liked the instrumental menu music on the latest Gentle Giant DVDs, it might be interesting to have a listen to Adam Levin's BLISSFUL BEHEMOTH." - Labrynth (The Real Allan Holdsworth Forum)

"We like the tunes, especially AS YOUNG AS I'M OLD. The medieval scents bring a special thing to the song." - Impakte Magazine

"Really great songs! Apparently the Giant isn't dead." - Horpe, Producer

"His piano playing has a great touch." - Wallace Roney, Trumpeter/Producer, Grammy Award-winning Jazz Recording Artist

"His music has the rare ability to appeal to not only musicians seeking cerebral stimulation, but also innocent ears in search of a beautiful, memorable melody." - Tricia Tahara, Singer/Songwriter, Jazz Recording Artist

CREDITS:

All songs written, arranged, produced & performed by Adam Levin except I CAN'T TALK TO YOU, written & arranged by Adam Levin & Peter Stoller

Vocals on WHILE SUNLIGHT SLIPPED AWAY: Peter Stoller
Additional musicians on I CAN'T TALK TO YOU and VERBALOSIS

CD engineered & mastered by Jay Mark
Track 5 vocals co-produced by Peter Stoller

AS YOUNG AS I'M OLD and GIANT FOR ANOTHER HOUR are tongue-in-cheek parodies of Gentle Giant's style, sound, arrangements, and other idiosyncrasies (including even
keyboardist Kerry Minnear's singing.)

AS YOUNG AS I'M OLD incorporates some of Gentle Giant's song titles and two musical quotes from their song 'Memories of Old Days'. (It was also featured on the Global On-Reflection Giant Gathering's 2006 compilation CD 'Giant for Another Hour'.)

For additional audio samples, liner notes and graphics from this CD, click on "Blissful Behemoth" CD link on this page.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Classical musicians call ADAM LEVIN's music jazz. Jazz musicians call it rock. And rock musicians? They've called it classical. With some pop, soul and funk sneaked in.

In fact, one could call Adam's work the "liberal arts" of music. One discipline is not enough. But that's predictable coming from a background of classical piano training and pop music listening.

Adam has written well over a hundred songs and instrumental pieces, with an array of instrumentation. They run the gamut from pop to contemporary classical, sometimes combining contrasting elements. His lyrics range from the state of the heart to the state of the world, with a sense of irony, poetry, spirituality, storytelling and humor.

He has composed, written lyrics, arranged, produced, played keyboards and/or sung for numerous musical, performance and recording artists, and theatre. His songs have been accepted by major music publishing, performed at hundreds of events in North America and Europe, been featured on radio and television, and received critical acclaim.

He continues to record and perform in the New York tri-state area, including as a writer, arranger, keyboardist and vocalist for Wendy Boulding, Ellen Weiss and Valerie Gomes. He has written individually as well as with Wendy Boulding, David Brooks, Joe Lobell, Elena Rye Pellicciaro, Anne Ptasznik, Kathryn Sanders, Tomas Stark and Peter Stoller, nearly all of whom he has performed with.

He studied music composition, piano and musical theatre at Interlochen Center for the Arts/University of Michigan School of Music, Indiana University School of Music, and Berklee College of Music. Fortunately, he succeeded in not allowing any of it to interfere with his musical education. Despite his maverick nature, he has even received the occasional award.

MYSPACE:

MySpace members are invited to become "friends" at www.myspace.com/BlissfulBehemoth and www.myspace.com/AdamLevinMusic .

reviews

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  • author: andrew davies

    Wonderful stuff. My only gripe is that there wasn't enough of it! I wanted to hear more.

  • Raconteur trubadour...
    author: Pat Gannon

    Gentle Giant and Genesis fans take heed! Blissful Behemoth captures the spirit of both bands without a band(!). Adam Levin's masterful keyboard work and programming is at the very least a rewarding sonic adventure. If you are a seasoned GG fan and can't relate to "As Young As I'm Old" there must be a next big thing band you'd be better off listening to. Peter Stoller's vocals (especially his contribution on "While Sunlight Slipped Away") compliment Adam's efforts gloriously. What exactly was it about Gentle Giant that so many of us couldn't get enough of? Whatever it was lives on here in Adam Levin's Blissful Behemoth!

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