Levin Minnemann Rudess – ‘From The Law Offices Of Levin Minnemann Rudess’ [Review]

If music were a video game, From The Law Offices Of Levin Minnemann Rudess would be the final boss level. The stage at which you look back at all that came before, shake your head, and laugh at how easy it seems in hindsight.

For prog fans, Tony Levin, Marco Minnemann, and Jordan Rudess likely require little in the way of introductions. Tony Levin’s name is synonymous with King Crimson as well as Peter Gabriel; Marco Minnemann’s with instrumental fusion luminaries The Aristocrats and a laundry list of sideman gigs; and Jordan Rudess’s with Dream Theater, arguably the biggest band in progressive metal today. All are not only legends in their own rights, but also insanely prolific instrumentalists; if you paid a solicitor to list off every album and project Tony Levin, Marco Minnemann, and Jordan Rudess have ever been involved in, you’d have to remortgage your house to pay the bill.

This album sees Levin, Minnemann, and Rudess lay down the law. Almost literally. Pick any single note, beat, riff, or rhythm from From The Law Offices Of Levin Minnemann Rudess and you’ll be selecting a musical component absolutely dripping with Supreme Court-grade authority.

Levin Minnemann Rudess’s first and only law is simple: Anything goes. That’s not to say that From The Law Offices…’ fourteen petrifying prime cuts represent mindless musical wankery, a ball of impenetrable and pointless chaos – no. Tony, Marco, and Jordan are not only virtuosos when it comes to ripping basses, Chapman sticks, drum kits and keyboards to shreds; they’re also in collective possession of enviable levels of compositional common sense.

If it sounds like too much, it’s probably a sign that you need to hear faster.

And/or listen again before you object to that judgement.

Repeated listens will be rewarded; you’re unlikely to wind up suing The Law Offices Of Levin Minnemann Rudess for compensation. If you’ve recently been injured due to a trip or fall or an accident at work, this album will aid your recovery spiritually, if not financially or physically. I doubt the jury will disagree when this case is finally made open to the public.

Actually summing up the individual tracks on this album would be best done using a full-band transcription book read aloud by Morgan Freeman rather than using words. The emotions on display, every feel and feeling, every barometric shift is transient; as with reality and the universe, change is the only constant here. In that sense, no false advertising is involved; this album represents a prog rock pinnacle, delivered with all the skill, unpredictability, and humour fans of the genre demand and expect.

Lawyers often offer a “No Win, No Fee” deal, but From The Law Offices Of Levin Minnemann Rudess is so full of win, its price tag is practically negligible. For that kind of money, an actual lawyer wouldn’t even breathe near you.

At this time, the defence rests.

TMMP RATING: 100% (Essential Listening. If you disagree, I’ll see you in court…)

Posted on 21 June 2016