EUREKA! (2007)
The 5th From Belew’s Pop Outlet
The Bears created two fantastic, 60s-inspired pop LPs in 1987/1988 (The Bears, Rise And Shine), before Adrian Belew, sideman to the stars, re-joined his band of record (those Crimson guys). In the intervening years, The Bears’ buzz began to grow as their out-of-print releases garnered big bucks on Ebay. The Bears took the cue and reformed in 2001 for new studio and live CDs (Car Caught Fire, Live). Not surprising, the commercial reaction to The Bears some 13 years later was pretty much the same… general disinterest. But, some bands never say die. EUREKA! is the group’s 2007 self-released return – an older, more refined pop blast that may lack the hyper-enthusiasm of the 80s incarnation, but still manages to retain their relentlessly catchy appeal – full of Revolver‘s Indian accents, gymnastic bass lines and skewed harmonies. No… it’s not the same as the old days. It couldn’t be. But, The Bears are still a refreshingly thoughtful escape from the music of the new millennium. Thanks to the Infinite Fool for the re-up.
Zelda Fitzgerald
Veneer
On
Troubled Beauty
Normal
We Never Close
Think
Keep Your Own Counsel
Idiot in the Sky
Doodle
Comin‘ Round the Mountain
11 Comments
I have never even heard 'Car Caught Fire,' nor have I ever seen a copy. You wouldn't happen to have a copy of it lying around by any chance, would ya, Willard? :)
Thanks!! any chance of more Bears?? /bon
thanks for sharing these great releases by the Bears. criminally underrated.
Willard, tell you what, your blog continues to be THE go-to in my limited web-surfin' leisure time. Spooling those classic films, spinning the righteous jams.
I got to see Belew and the Bears live and bought ever' damn CD they had for sale, and thank you sincerely for this one, which they didn't. Keep rockin the boat, man!
Cool, many thanks.
I've downloaded some great stuff via this blog, but they were things that are not commercially available. This album, along with Car Caught Fire, can both be purchased (see cdbaby.com or thebearsmusic.com, or digitally from iTunes or Amazon) with proceeds going to the Bears, who self-released these albums. I have to say that it's not cool to rob the musicians of legitimate income by making free copies of this stuff available. There's no evil record company in the middle, just hardworking guys who are not rich, trying to get fairly compensated for their tremendous talent.
If you've EVER downloaded something that was ever commercially available, then you're robbing somebody – whether it's an evil record company, a bandmember or a rights holder. If you personally ONLY download music that has NEVER been commercially available, then you're a righteous dude. God bless YOU. But, if that's not the case, if you've downloaded as much as a single song that's not yours to take… then how cool is hypocrisy?
Okay, I'm a hypocrite. But I think there are lots of people like me, who appreciate access to music that's otherwise unavailable, but who want to do the right thing when it comes to supporting struggling musicians whose work they enjoy. The Bears definitely fall under that umbrella for me. I humbly appeal to anyone who downloads Eureka! or Car Caught Fire, then finds themselves enjoying them and listening frequently, to go ahead and buy the CDs or legal downloads so the guys in the band can eat.
Well said. I won't deny any hypocrisy, either. And, though it doesn't address the debate, in the case of Eureka & Car Caught Fire anyway, I can at least say that I've already done what you've suggested.
For the record, I’m someone who wouldn’t hear this otherwise. I know that Belew is an excellent musician, but I’m not automatically into everything that he does and the reviews aren’t always sufficiently informative to help me decide (though the Revolver reference helps…I think). Thanks to Willard and IF for the chance to hear this. Willard, you’re still one of the best.
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