Tony Levin
Tales From The Widow Jane Mine VHS
Review by Gary Hill
When Levin chose to record an album in the unusual venue of an old cave, it seemed a very strange choice. This video chronicling the process of creating that music goes a long way to making it look pretty obvious. From The Caves of the Iron Mountain is the disc in question, and once you see this you will really grasp just how special that album is. Levin chose to include a lot of shots of the natural splendor of the cave itself, and it is really a beautiful, if somewhat alien place. The video is made up of a combination of music from the disc, interviews with all three musicians (Levin, Steve Gorn and Jerry Morotta) and plenty of candid moments. It serves as a great educational piece to the process involved in a project such as this, along with a great musical excursion, and even a bit of a nature film - I think only Levin could pull off such a combination. This video should be a special joy to those who own the album, providing a lot of interesting insights into the work. However, if you pick up the video first, I bet you will be rushing out to purchase the CD. This is definitely not your run of the mill music video creation.
To order from Papa Bear Records, write to Papa Bear Records, P.O. Box 498, Woodstock, NY, 12498. Be sure to visit their web page at http://www.papabear.com, to get a copy of the online order form or call 1-800-688-2227 to order by phone.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2004 Year Book Volume 1 at https://garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2003-and-2004/.
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