Keith Levene - 1988 - Violent Opposition

Keith Levene 

1988 

Violent Opposition

01. I'm Looking For Something 3:50

02. Taang! Ting (Version I) 4:52

03. If Six Was 9 5:16

04. Cops Too 3:10

05. Double Barrel 3:02

06. Fast Brass Slam (Version I) 3:54

07. Liquidator 2:47

08. Very Fast Cars 3:01

09. Back Too Black 3:28

10. 2011 6:03

11. Heavy 4 Hire 1:02

12. Cold Turkey 4:47

Bass – Flea, Larry Taylor

Drums – Jack Irons, Robert Williams

Guitar, Bass – Keith Levene

Saxophone – Spyder Mittleman

Vocals – Bob Forrest, John Norwood Fisher

Titled after Albert Einstein's "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds" and credited to Keith Levene G-Force & Multi Image Corporation, this is Keith Levene's first (not so) proper solo long player, after having been involved with the first generation The Clash (1976), The Quickspurts (1976-77), Flowers of Romance (1977), Drunk 'n' Disorderly (1977), Public Image Ltd (1978-83), Steel Leg Leg (a one off First Issue -Metal Box transitional experiment with Jah Wobble, Vince Bracken and Don Letts (1979), collaborations/co-productions with Cowboys International (1979), Vivien Goldman (1981), Positive Noise (1981) and the On-U Sound Diaspora (Headly Bennett, Singers & Players, Creation Rebel/New Age Steppers, Dub Syndicate) 1981-85.

"Haile Unlikely" one of the Steel Leg tracks resurfaced in 2004's Death Disco: Songs From Under the Dance Floor 1978-1984.

But looking at the closer context will set Levene living in Los Angeles, making his way around graphic design work and partly scoring Penelope Spheeris' 1986 Hollywood Vice Squad film.

The first solo release is 1987's 2011 - Back Too Black 12" EP consisting of most of the film score tracks. Another 12", Looking for Something, recorded/produced with, among others, Red Hot Chili Peppers Flea, Jack Irons and Hillel Slovak (with whom he also collaborated later on) and Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion) was released in 1987, and included a take on Jimi Hendrix's "If 6 was 9" with Norwood Fisher/Fishbone on vocals. A If 6 was 9 3" CD single was issued in 1988 before this album saw the light the year after, including yet more cover versions, namely Dave & Ansel Collins "Double Barrel", Harry J Alistairs' "Liquidator" and even John Lennon's "Cold Turkey".

So a straight "record" this is not, as much of the material on this LP was reassembled from the above mentioned film score and EP’s, making more for something resembling a disparate acquired taste than an easily enjoyable couple of tunes, something that in turn is very much what you’d expect from the man. I have only had real problems sitting through “I’m Looking for Something”, the tragic, lowlife Jane's Addictionish soundalike generic “rock” opener with Captain Beefheart drummer Robert Williams out of all people:

"Woke up in an alley I'm searching for something, I don't know what it is. Driving through the desert, I didn't find it there. I'm looking for something and I don't know what it is. I've read all the books, but they're just the same as me man, they don't know where it's at. It aint in no Bible, it ain't in no church, and it aint in no steeple. Jesus was on a search, but he didn't find it. I don't think he found it. I'm searching for something, but I don't know what it is. I've looked in the mountains; I've looked in the deserts; I looked in the garage once, I didn't even find it there. I don't know what it is."

Any PIL fans eagerly awaiting the first full-length release from Keith Levene would doubtless be confused by Keith Levene's Violent Opposition. For a start, it's not a proper album, having been assembled from Levene's three EP releases. Four of the tracks are covers, including Hendrix's "If 6 Was 9," Lennon's "Cold Turkey," and two reggae standards. The idea of Levene playing a Hendrix cover sounds intriguing until you discover that it's Hillel Slovak from the Red Hot Chili Peppers on guitar, with Levene relegated to bass. Two other Peppers appear on the album, bassist Flea and drummer Jack Irons, as well as Bob Forrest from L.A. weirdos Thelonius Monster. Levene sings on the covers and a couple of other tracks, but the rest of the songs are instrumentals. While his characteristic fractured guitar tones are all present and correct, Levene's voice proves to be something of a disappointment, having more in common with the classic rock stylings of Rainbow than Lydon's cockney sneer. Violent Opposition isn't a bad album, but it's the last thing you'd expect from Keith Levene.