Adam Levin - keyboards, percussion, vocals on Open Window (and Rundgren & Beatles covers listed below)
The Behemoth - muse & vocal impersonations
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Wendy Boulding - vocals & secondary keyboards on live covers (Gentle Giant's Memories of Old Days, Genesis's Cuckoo Cocoon, Steve Hackett's Hoping Love Will Last, Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush's Don't Give Up, Todd Rundgren's Hello It's Me, Beatles' Penny Lane, Lady Madonna, She's Leaving Home, In My Life, etc.)
Peter Stoller - vocals (While Sunlight Slipped Away, House on a Hill vocal rendition)
and/or - other instruments (I Can't Talk to You, Verbalosis)
GIANT FOR AN HOUR, FANFARE, HOUSE ON A HILL and STILL AS YOUNG AS I'M OLD written & performed by Adam Levin (also on A Reflection)
WHILE SUNLIGHT SLIPPED AWAY written by Adam Levin, performed by Adam Levin (keyboards) & Peter Stoller (vocals) (also on the forthcoming Think of Us with Kindness)
I CAN'T TALK TO YOU written by Adam Levin & Peter Stoller, performed by and/or (also on et al.)
VER BAL O SIS:
I. Inspired by the Sound of Your Own Voice
II. Verbalosity
III. Family Discussion
(audible via link)
written by Adam Levin, performed by and/or (also on et al.)
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Profile's video songs LYING (IN MY SLEEP) and ISLANDS:
I. PANDORA'S BOX
II. NEEDLE'S EYE
III. TESTAMENT
written & performed by Adam Levin (with Steve Wirts on saxophones), from the CD Things Left Unsaid and DVD See It
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Bonus track:
OPEN WINDOW (audible via link) written & performed by Adam Levin, from the CDs A Different Page and forthcoming Think of Us with Kindness
All songs (C)(P) Different Drum Music
All rights reserved (ASCAP)
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****MYSPACE NEWS****
Adam's songs Do You Feel It?, Land of the Free and So Alive (sung by Wendy Boulding) have reached no. 7 on MySpace's New York Indie Neo-soul Artists Chart.
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Written by Tomas (music) and Adam (music & lyrics), the song was performed by Tomas in Sweden (guitars, sythesizers), Adam in New York (piano, keyboard), and John in Wales (vocals), with additional engineering and studio services provided by Gentle Giant's John P. Weathers.
Blissful Behemoth has become Adam Levin's fastest, biggest selling record on "both sides of the pond".
His music also received praise in noted international author Michele Wucker's official 2008 "Best Of" List.
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Influences
Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull, Frank Zappa, Dave Stewart, Allan Holdsworth, Bill Bruford, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Area, Happy the Man, Robert Fripp, King Crimson, Talking Heads, Laurie Anderson, Annette Peacock, Thelonius Monk
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Sounds Like
"We're sparing you the twenty-minute extended version with the three movements and 101 themes. This is sort of the overture coming last, 'cause it's the third movement that has all the themes in it anyway. So if you wonder why you keep hearing things in it that aren't related to each other, they really are. You just didn't get to hear that part."
-- explanation of piece by Adam Levin
(i.e., "Islands Pt. 3")
"Musicians who use odd time signatures are just trying to confuse people."
-- a listener
"The good thing about this kind of music is that you can't tell where the mistakes are."
-- another listener
(Actually it's the same listener, and the rest of us CAN tell where the mistakes are)
"Dave Brubeck meets the Wolfman."
-- music critic
"While other, NORMAL songwriters are content to provide you with polite background music for your daily activities, Adam Levin writes songs that demand your full, rapt attention. He'll seduce you with lush harmonies, only to steal your breath away with trap-door chord changes that drop you into a hall of mirrors where your reflected image strikes you and sends you hurtling through a melodic maze, alternately twisting around an impossibly tight corner, then soaring across a death-defying abyss and, finally, landing feather-light in a landscape of aching beauty, only to realize that you're right back in your chair, yet looking at everything from a new angle. And that's just his opening number."
-- former roommate
(describing "Islands")
Blissful Behemoth performs original progressive rock, as well as occasional Gentle Giant and other prog rock covers. A few Behemoth songs are parodies of GG's style, sound, arrangements, and other idiosyncrasies. All Behemoth songs were written and produced by Adam Levin -- who's delighted to re-connect with his prog-inine side and nurture his inner Giant!
The Blissful Behemoth CD is available via Different Drum Music, CD Baby, CD Universe, GarageBand, and affilated record stores worldwide. For more info and audio samples, click here.
Another project to which the Behemoth contributes is the Global On-Reflection Giant Gathering's (GORGG) CD series. Along with music by other excellent artists, Behemoth songs are included on GORGG's albums Giant for Another Hour and A Reflection.
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Excerpts from noted rock musicologist Alan Kinsman's comments
on GORGG's new A Reflection CD...
To the outside world, the idea of a CD of music inspired by, or in tribute to, a specific band might imply a fairly uniform end-product. When the band in question is Gentle Giant, such notions are instantly rendered redundant, and the only truly consistent factor here is quality. One thing’s for sure -- the end-product is not only fascinating, but thoroughly enjoyable...
As its name might imply, Blissful Behemoth (a.k.a. Adam Levin) performs wonderfully affectionate Gentle Giant tributes, described by their creator as "tongue-in-cheek… parodying Gentle Giant's style, sound and other idiosyncrasies". Tongue-in-cheek they may be, but these are no throwaways.
In the first of three parodies on this CD, Giantessence marries Kerry Minnear's keyboard style to a funky, fractured bass-line reminiscent of Ray Shulman's work around the time of In'terview, cleverly encapsulating several key elements of Gentle Giant's unique sonic tapestry in a delightfully playful piece.
The 'B' section, in 7/4 time, was originally written in 1979, while Adam was at Berklee and Indiana University music schools. Originally conceived as a piece for string quartet, it lay dormant for more than a quarter of a century, as Adam explains -- "It was completed and arranged in 2006, inspired by GORGG and the re-emergence of Gentle Giant's music, at which time the other musical sections were written. Thus, the music stretches from Gentle Giant's last year as a band to our 2006 tribute projects."
Following it is Adam Levin's own Fanfare, an excellent piece that twists and turns, refusing to be tied down for more than a few seconds, and not letting the listener's attention wander for a single moment. This deft musical collage builds a number of short, often relatively simple musical figures into an intriguing whole...
Next up is Adam Levin's excellent House On A Hill. Adam cites Canterbury legend Dave Stewart as one of its influences, but I also detect something of Tony Banks' style. Dramatic and atmospheric by turns, with some neat changes of pace and mood, this enormously expressive performance has all the necessary impact to make it a successful film theme. There are some pieces of music that are just perfect for the piano
-- this is one of them...
Blissful Behemoth pops up again with Still As Young As I'm Old, an instrumental sequel to As Young As I'm Old from Giant For Another Hour...
Giantology brings us full circle from the earlier Giantessence, echoing the latter but with a few surprises à la Giant, aptly marking the end of the main body of music on this collection...
Everyone involved in the production of this CD should be proud of their efforts -- the quality shines through every composition and every performance. There’s passion, professionalism and pure enjoyment in equal measure, and the end result is a joy to behold.
To read the entirety of Alan Kinsman's liner notes on A Reflection and its other artists, click here.
For info on GORGG artists and CDs, click here.
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Hi Adam, I came by again. Again I really love this music. Beautiful! And so creative. I was smiling at this words: "...when the major chords all disappear..." - so funny! All the best to you! Greetings, Christiane
Filip replied: < You're right...it's short and good. You kept the essential parts, as a GG-fan I noticed the two excerpts. I have the A Reflection CD right here. Love FANFARE too, the sound is so...unusual (can't explain it, I'm not a musician), but it feels good and that's what matters in the end. Thanks for sharing your music. >
Why is "Still as Young as I'm Old" as short as it's long?
To answer your question below, Filip, that instrumental is actually edited down from our Gentle Giant parody song "As Young as I'm Old" (from the CDs Blissful Behemoth and GORGG's Giant for Another Hour), and functions as its reprise. Compared to "Still", "As Young" is an epic - at 2:06!
Having previously written and performed 20-minute prog epics like "Islands", we've even surprised ourselves with those prog "haikus". We just happen to favor succinct compositions. Omitting lyrical verses, "Still" contains one verse instead of four, while building on the instrumental passages.
As for passing for a real Gentle Giant song, some of it actually is! It includes two brief, tongue-in-cheek excerpts from "Memories of Old Days".
Pleased to virtually meet you! Thank you for joining my circle of cyber friends, for excepting the add, your very kind words and for sharing your Wonderful Music with me. Great Sound and Vibes!! Prong On!! Take care, have yourselves a relaxing Sunday and an inspiring week. Warmest Regards from Toronto, Canada
