RESONATOR CD

  
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from Tony's Papabear Records

IT'S HERE
The new CD, released by Narada Records in the U.S, is out now, and in stores.
Also on Amazon, of course, and iTunes just added the tracks (where you will be able to listen to samples.)
Papabear Records also has it (link right above) but these first few weeks of the release, we're just as happy to have you buy the CD from a major retailer, like Amazon, so it'll show up on the distributor's sales figures.

OTHER RELEASE TERRITORIES:
Aside from in the U.S, Resonator will be coming out in Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, and Turkey.
And we're working on a Japan release.

THE MUSIC
(From Tony) This music is different that what I've offered before, in that it's got vocals and lyrics on 8 of the 10 compositions. But it'll also be a little familiar to listeners of my previous releases in that my writing is (hopefully) distinctive, and I use the players in my band a lot (musicians details are below.)

With the lyrics I've tackled some deep subjects, though sometimes humorously. And the instrumentals (including a heavy rock version of Khachaturian's Sabre Dance) are pretty rocking.

I really think it's my best writing ever, and am excited to get it out to the public.
(We'll put the lyrics up on this page too.)

THE SONGS
1) BREAK IT DOWN
     Starts out with funk fingers bass. Words start, "So it goes, when science keeps disproving things that everybody knows...". Has interesting breakdown sections with Stick echoes, and ends with a Jesse Gress guitar solo.


2) PLACES TO GO
    Even more unusual - background track is just bass, played with crabbing thumb and fingernail technique, and percussion. The song, "Hello Mars, it's good to be back. Gee we left here in a hurry, didn't even bother to pack." starts with reference to the panspermia theory (that life came to the cooling earth from elsewhere) but moves on to verses about Boston and Heaven(!)

3)THROW THE GOD A BONE
    My dog Lilly makes here appearance on this one. So does Adrian Belew, my King Crimson guitar buddy. Words pretty much speak for themselves, "My dog Lilly thinks that I am a god..."
4) UTOPIA
    A re-vamping of the instrumental piece from an earlier cd. But the vocal is a small one, at the front, and still leaves the instrumental intact, this time with a great guitar solo from Steve Lukather.

5)BEYOND MY REACH
    A ballad, very sparse, vocal with just bass, drums, and a little piano.

6)SHADOWLAND
    This instrumental features the great players in the band - co-written by us all, and it sounds it.

7)CRISIS OF FAITH
    The wild piece of the album for sure. It's got 12 voices, somewhat atonal harmony, stream of consciousness lyrics, and all that is just backup for a Jerry Marotta drum solo, and then a freaked out cello solo!

8)WHAT WOULD JIMI DO
    Jesse Gress guitar solo, followed at the end by Pete Levin Hammond Organ solo.

9)SABRE DANCE
    Rock shuffle version of the Khachaturian favorite.

10)FRAGILE AS A SONG
    Long story! It's actually about the experience of playing music with bonobo apes, that I shared with Peter Gabriel a few years ago. But stands fine as it sounds, about connections.

MUSICIANS ON THE CD:
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The core of the Tony Levin Band remains the same group that has recorded and toured together for years:
On synthesizers, Larry Fast, of Synergy, Nektar, and the Peter Gabriel Band.

On drums, and singing background vocals: Jerry Marotta, who has recorded with Paul McCartney and many others, in addition to the Peter Gabriel Band.

Playing guitar, Jesse Gress, who also plays with Todd Rundgren, and has written numerous books on guitar technique.

New in the band is Tony's brother, Pete Levin - an accomplished keyboardist and composer who's played many albums and film tracks. Featured on a few tracks is his Hammond Organ playing, which will bring a new dimension of solo-ing to the band's live shows. In addition, Tony had wanted another vocalist for the live shows - now there are four (in fact the band's European live shows have begun with a quite amusing Barbershop Quartet!)

Adrian Belew, the inimitable guitarist, has a guest appearance on the track Throw the God a Bone, which, in re-uniting the two King Crimson players, gets a flavor something like their famous Elephant Talk.

Steve Lukather, of Toto and countless hit records, plays guitar on the track Utopia. Tony had long wanted to give himself the gift of having Luke play the special solo on that piece (which Tony had recorded before, just as an instrumental.)

QUOTABLE EXCERPTS FROM LYRICS:
--------------------------------------------
      from Places To Go :

Hello Mars, it's good to be back. Gee we left here in a hurry, didn't even bother to pack

It's a beautiful planet you've got here, lovely shade of pink.
It seemed bigger when we lived here, but we were just spores then I think

the dressing room's still still dingy and the manager's still stingy

I'm gonna kick off my Reeboks, sit back and light up a smile,
cause it feels like home and baby I might stay a while

that road stretches long and I had a lot of places to go

--------------------------
      from Throw the God a Bone :

My dog Lilly thinks that I am a god

Throw the god a bone, if you can reach him on his cell phone

We've just about built condos on the moon

gods have come and gone before
sometimes it seems the sky in one revolving door
there are some godly fundamentals:
up on Mt. Olympus you can't buy, it's only rentals

--------------------------
      from What Would Jimi Do
Lately I've been digging back into my salad days

Thought we had a generation that talked about peace and wanted to live it too
But I read the news today and I ask myself, Tell me what would Jimi do?

--------------------------
      from Break It Down :
When science keeps disproving things that everybody knows

Space and time, that captivating jungle gym for every boy to climb

the passion to examine one's relationship, that's a game for someone else to play, a chromosome away

--------------------------
      from Fragile As A Song :
Along our way the winds of change begin to blow
they scatter what we know like pages of our scripted play, blown away

It's not the notes you play it's the ones left out

what made our little song become a symphony

One heart finds its melody, another sings along,
and all the walls between us are as fragile as a song

--------------------------
      from Crisis of Faith :
hypertext markup in price of revelation

generation that is frozen in it's tracks

got an orchestra seat to see the cosmic kerfuffle

Google the question, the answer isn't there

did we control-z a species

--------------------------
      from Beyond My Reach :
Like us, the sky clings to it's memories of light, but carries on when light is gone

I let your letters fly like seagulls from the beach
They float away, beyond the bay, beyond my reach

--------------------------
      from Utopia :
The eyes that see the one they love, inside them gleam reflections of Utopia

--------------------------

COMPLETE LYRICS:
--------------------------------------------

Break It Down

So it goes
When science keeps disproving things that everybody knows
Got to find a place to hide your faith
build a thicker wall

Deeper in
it takes you to a darker place where doubts and shouts begin
Got to try to solve the mysteries
the theory of it all

(chorus:)
Break it down break it down
the fundamental physics of the thing is what we try to find
Break it down break it down
try to see what lurks behind

We've adored
those kits and bits of soldering a circuit board
The heat, the smell awakes in us
connection to the core

Makes us laugh
the flash and splash of bringing up a photograph
see the silver oxide work for us
revealing ever more

(ch:)
Break it down break it down
the fundamental physics of the thing is what we try to find
Break it down break it down
try to see what hides behind

Break it down break it down
elemental building blocks are there to move around
Break it down break it down
look and see what we have found

Far above, where we look to find reflections of our deepest love
there's no need to subdivide the heart
or to tear it apart, break it down

Space and time
a captivating jungle gym for every boy to climb
the thrill's about discovering
an answer for the day

Not their trip
the passion to examine one's relationship
that's a game for someone else to play
a chromosome away

(chorus)

--------------------------------------------

Utopia

They say that heaven's just for some
the ones who have the right connections
But in this world of ours you find
connections of so many kinds

The smile a mother gives her child           Child, a smile alights his face
the hand that reaches out to lift us up       lifts us to a higher place
the eyes that see the one they love            see love inside
inside them gleam reflections of               you can see it there, see reflections of
Utopia                                                      Utopia

And when the music's almost done
the fading echoes of the last guitar
reverberate inside the mind                       in mind they find
releasing all the dreams they find              all the dreams inside all the dreams they find

If I could hold my fathers hand again        I'd hold my fathers hand again
if I could be once more the boy I was        the boy I was, remember when
If I could dream again those dreams          I'd dream, dream those dreams
now I know they're windows to                 now I know they're true, they're the windows to
Utopia                                                      Utopia

--------------------------------------------

Fragile As A Song

What makes one day unlike another?
Along our way the winds of change begin to blow
they scatter what we know like pages of our scripted play
blown away

I took a flight down to Atlanta
Another day of travel, of sharing space with strangers
seldom re-arranges the way I know the world to be
from what I see

I saw you and you saw me
How music passed between us is a mystery
But there was a connection and it took me by surprise
a look of understanding in your eyes

I saw you and you saw me
what makes a little song become a symphony?
One heart finds its melody, another sings along
and all the walls between us are as fragile as a song

It's not the notes you play it's the ones left out
Not the words you say that speak what you're about
spill the insides out, and give the world a chance to share
the magic there

And so I reach for my guitar
And with my ape-like fingers commence to strum along
attempt to find a song, express the things that came my way
on that day

I saw you and you saw me
how music passed between us is a mystery
But there was a connection and it took me by surprise
a look of understanding in your eyes

I touched you and you touched me
what made our little song become a symphony?
One heart finds its melody, another sings along
and all the walls between us are as fragile as a song

--------------------------------------------

THROW THE GOD A BONE

My dog Lilly thinks that I am a god
My dog Lilly thinks that I am a god
I think that she suspects I am not perfect
But we both know she doesn't really care
Cause she believes her food appears by magic
and she notices that I'm the one who's there

My dog Lilly.... My dog Lilly

My dog Lilly thinks that I am a god
My dog Lilly thinks that I am a god
I took her to our local doggie school
and she quickly mastered every trick they had
but once we got home she'd break every rule
look up at me, and feel real bad

Throw the god a bone
If you can reach him on his cell phone
Cut that god some slack
if you expect to ever have him call you back
Give that dude a break
before you tell him that he's made some big mistake
And you do not have to feel so all alone
Everybody sometimes has to wind it up and
throw that god a bone

My dog Lilly thinks that I am a god
Say, every dog thinks that we all are gods
They can see we all know how to drive a car
And we've just about built condos on the moon
That we might create life's not so bizarre
if not already it may happen soon

Being a god's not always great                   Remember this before you start to celebrate
and gods have come and gone before        sometimes it seems the sky is one revolving door
There are some godly fundamentals
Up on Mt. Olympus you can't buy
it's only rentals

My dog Lilly thinks that I am a god
Every dog thinks that we all are gods
And if one day we create some new species
then we'll be quick to teach them how to pray
but you can be sure they will test their leashes
and do just what they want to anyway

Throw the god a bone
If you can reach him on his cell phone
Cut that god some slack
if you expect to ever have him call you back
Give that dude a break
before you tell him that he's made some big mistake
And you do not have to feel so all alone
Everybody sometimes has to wind it up and throw the god a bone
If you can reach her on her cell phone
Cut that god some slack
if you expect to ever have her call you back
Give that babe a break
before you tell her that she's made some kind of
great big huge mistake
And you do not have to feel so all alone
Everybody sometimes has to wind it up and
throw that god a bone

--------------------------------------------

PLACES TO GO

Hello Mars, it's good to be back
Gee we left here in a hurry, didn't even bother to pack
It was way back three - four billion years ago
we didn't mean to be a stranger but we had a lot of places to go

It's a beautiful planet you've got here, lovely shade of pink
It seemed bigger when we lived here, but we were just spores then I think
Then one thing led to another, as they say in science 101
And just look us now, oh I tell you evoloution can be fun

(ch) Hey, as a matter of fact this looks like home to me
Seems like the kind of place I always wanted to be
I'm gonna kick off my Reeboks, sit back and light up a smile
Cause it feels like home and baby I might stay a while

Hello Boston, it's good to be back
We haven't played this little club since it was just a rundown shack
Yeah, the dressing room's still still dingy and the manager's still stingy, that may be
But it's the people who come here that make it feel special to me

I used to live in this town until I left to go out on the road
Didn't take me too long before I forgot my own area code
Always meant to come back here and visit all the people I know
But that road stretches long and I had a lot of places to go

(ch)

Hello Grandma it's good to see you again
I have missed you a lot since you left us all way back when
And this new place you've been staying all the music they are playing is on strings
It seems the people are nice and I'm noticing that some of them have wings

Hey, is that Grandpa I see running round and not using his walker
I had some trouble getting in here, say, those entrance rules are a shocker
Guess I should have called ahead and made a reservation, I know
But I was just too busy and I had a lot of places to go

(ch)

--------------------------------------------

CRISIS OF FAITH

what would you do
tell me what would you do

hypertext markup in price of revelation in the ice, generation that is frozen in it's tracks frozen in it's tracks, chosen is not facts it's cinematic syntax it's a fax floating forward to nuclear reactory the twenty first century body building atrophy the hyper-modern biblical frozen in it's tracks and now underneath the aegis of a popular front we find a secular collection believers don't know how to punt and after the fact after the arty hearty artifact a hyper-modern a full and out crisis of faith

oh

tellmewhatwouldyou tellmewhatwouldyou do

you booked a window a hyper-space shuttle got an orchestra seat to see the cosmic kerfuffle cosmic kerfuffle, what would you do who would you sue then again how could you Google the question the answer isn't there it's in the hyper-vent icicle language of debabelizing cabalizing secrets in speeches we're sold and then underneath the aegis of a popular front we find egregious politicians so quickly joining in the hunt and up on the beach did we control-z a species it's a rising crisis a sinking stone fuzzy tone to the bone crisis of faith

--------------------------------------------

WHAT WOULD JIMI DO

Lately I've been digging back into my salad days
Ennui creeping in from the past like some kind of purple haze

Thought we had a generation that talked about peace and wanted to live it too
But I read the news today and I ask myself
Tell me what would Jimi do?

Just today, picked up my guitar and try to make it burn
Aint no way I can break out beyond the things I've learned

Where you look for inspiration; the shoulders of giants, and baby it matters who
But I hear the radio today, and I ask you now
Tell me what would Jimi do

Lord, but the man could play            Ain't nobody
Aint nobody doing it                       Like that today
nothin like that today                      Try to find that child inside of you
You gotta find the child and let it through                  Another view
with something new                        out of the blue
you might                                       right
give it                                              now
some                                               hit it
and show me what would Jimi do

--------------------------------------------

BEYOND MY REACH

The orange sun that warmed our day
becomes an oval as it sinks into the bay
we used to marvel at how fast it slips away
without a fight, so comes the night

So come the waves across the sand
so came the tides of time
erasing what we'd planned
and now the wind tugs at these letters in my hand
the ones held tight against the night

Against the future looming like a cliff above me
against the memories colliding below
the hardest lesson that this tide is washing over me
comes a time in life the only peace we'll know
is letting go

And so this day gives in to night
across the bay the clouds go scudding out of sight
Like us the sky clings to it's memories of light
but carries on when light is gone

I've scanned these words for what they teach
and now I close my eyes to see behind the speech
I let your letters fly like seagulls from the beach
they float away, beyond the bay
beyond my reach

--------------------------------------------