2000 Great Songs #1235: Fear Is Never Boring

Guitarist Adrian Belew probably had the most interesting 80s runs of any artist I can think of. Hot off his apprenticeship work with the likes of David Bowie and Frank Zappa, he started the decade touring with the Talking Heads and playing on their best album, Remain In Light. He was then recruited by Robert Fripp for what became a new incarnation of King Crimson (with 1981's Discipline among the most enduring works the various iterations of that constantly-rotating outfit ever created). He also managed a few solid solo albums of eclectic prog-tinged pop. And then rounded it all out by hooking up with a few friends as The Bears.

The latter's eponymous 1987 debut (they'd intermittently released 3 more over the next 20 years) was basically a new wave-flavored power pop record, at times reminiscent of early XTC, with Belew sharing the mic and largely laying off the insane guitar pyrotechnics that characterize his other work. My favorite track from the LP was "Fear Is Never Boring," written and sung by band member Rob Fetters--a bit of a ringer, as Fetters and the other (non-Belew) Bears had previously recorded it with their earlier band The Raisins (for an album which Belew had produced). It's not in the same league as anything by Bowie, Talking Heads, or Crimson, not does it try to be--it's basically a fun little pop song, catchy and energetic. And, hoo-boy, it sure sounds very very 80s, but that's ok, there's a you-had-to-be-there vibe to it that infuses it with a sense of nostalgia that makes me want to dust it off every now and then.

Original 1983 version by The Raisins:

Live 2007: