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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Super instrumentals stop thankfully short of "Big Hair Rock", 31 Aug 2000
It is difficult to review this second record by the Bozzio Levin Stevens combination without reference to their first, "Black Light Syndrome". While the earlier work is more off-the-wall improvisation based with many moments of excitement from the sheer spontaneity of the thing, it perhaps suffers - to some people's ears - from getting a little long winded and drawn out in points. Pay close attention, of course, and this effect disappears - I mentioned it more as a counterpoint to the new album where there is a lot more deliberate structure. These three musical stalwarts spent a good deal more time in the studio this time around and so the result is more polished and ordered - but perhaps at the expense of a little raw edge-of-your-seat action. In other words - buy both albums ;-)"Situation Dangerous" presents a broad palette of sounds and styles - jazz, hard rock, funk and flamenco seamlessly fuse (darn, I was trying to avoid connotations to the word "fusion") with guitarist Steve Stevens' Mediterranean acoustic guitar interests getting a good showcase. Elsewhere, the guitar influences are perhaps a little more overt than on "Black Light Syndrome", with definite nods in the direction of Robert Fripp (various periods) and, if not quite Steve Hackett, definitely Hackett / Rutherford / Banks at one point in track 2, "Endless". And, of course, there's the usual guitar hero / Satriani / Vai type stuff although with them you may find more of a guitarist with band loosely tacked on - with BLS, you have a fully cohesive unit. Terry Bozzio's drumming is by turns delicate, dazzling and death-defying. Maybe not quite so subtly restrained as on "Black Light Syndrome" though - the difference, I assume, when you have a better idea where the music is going next! His use of chromatically tuned piccolo toms and his vast array of china type cymbals is quite unique. Sadly, I find Tony Levin's bass mastery a little understated in the mix on this one. Although, I have mostly been listening to this disc (over and over again) in the car. So maybe an indoor listen on the hi-fi or headphones will reward me further in that department. The playing itself is simply superb - solid, supportive and yet alive in its own right. There's also an outing for Ned Steinberger electric cello here, providing an interesting change in timbre. You may have already heard Tony play the NS electric upright bass before on "Black Light Syndrome" or with King Crimson or Bruford Levin Upper Extremities. Always great through a crunchy guitar effects pedal. The only downside to this album is that there's only 48 minutes of it. But, believe me, there's more music packed into it than you'd find on 4 or 5 "regular" CDs.
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~ Bozzio Levin Stevens
~ Jeff Loomis
~ Chick Corea
~ Gordian Knot
~ Gordian Knot
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