Desire of the Rhino King

After he entered the public eye as frontman for the new wave–influenced '80s version of prog legends King Crimson, Adrian Belew began a long solo career. His first three albums, all on Island Records, established his blend of pop smarts and experimental ingenuity. Desire of the Rhino King contains the majority of the tracks from each of those albums. Belew's debut, Lone Rhino, features electrifying, off-kilter art-pop tunes like the funk-flecked "Adidas in Heat" and the quirky-but-stately "The Lone Rhinoceros" while showing off his explosive, Hendrix-gone-psycho guitar innovations. The follow-up, Twang Bar King, emphasizes the former Frank Zappa sideman's sense of humor ("Fish Head," "The Ideal Woman") and shows off his knack for evocative melody (the expansive art rock of "The Rail Song," the Eastern-tinged "She Is Not Dead"). Belew's third album, Desire Caught by the Tail, focuses exclusively on his gifts as a guitar stylist, with instrumental pieces that utilize his skills at employing guitar synths and other electronics to transform his six-string into something otherworldly.