Twang Bar King is the second solo album by American musicianAdrian Belew.^[6] It was released in 1983 onIsland Records.^[5]

Twang Bar King
Studio album by Adrian Belew
Released	September 5, 1983[1]
Recorded	1982–1983
Studio	Cwazy Wabbit Studio, C.V. Lloyde Complex,Champaign, IL
Genre	New wave,pop rock,art rock,rock and roll
Length	42:59
Label	Island
Producer	Adrian Belew[2]
Adrian Belew chronology
Lone Rhino (1982) Twang Bar King (1983) Desire Caught By the Tail (1986)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]

The album peaked at No. 146 on theBillboard 200.^[7]

Made while Belew was the frontman ofKing Crimson,Twang Bar King was recorded in between the sessions and tours forBeat andThree of a Perfect Pair in 1982 and 1983. Like Belew's debut albumLone Rhino, it features the members of Belew's pre- King Crimson band GaGa (this time augmented by session drummerLarrie Londin). This would be the last album on which Belew would feature the GaGa band, and he would largely perform all the instruments on his future albums himself. TheR&B parody interlude "Sexy Rhino" continues the "rhino" theme fromLone Rhino and utilizes aRoland TR-808 drum machine andvocoder.^{[citation needed]}

Trouser Press wrote that the album "does underscore his contributions to King Crimson: the distinctive vocabulary of extra-musical noises, the personality and, especially, the humor, which is in abundant evidence here."^[8]The Globe and Mail wrote that "despite Belew's cleverness, the rhythm section of J. Clifton Mayhugh and Larrie Londin does little that can be considered interesting."^[9]

All songs written and arranged by Adrian Belew except “I’m Down” written byJohn Lennon &Paul McCartney and “Paint the Road” written by William Janssen

1. "I'm Down" – 2:54
2. "I Wonder" – 4:39
3. "Life Without a Cage" – 3:20
4. "Sexy Rhino" – 0:37
5. "Twang Bar King" – 1:26
6. "Another Time" – 3:02
7. "The Rail Song" – 5:39
8. "Paint the Road" – 3:19
9. "She Is Not Dead" – 4:41
10. "Fish Head" – 4:30
11. "The Ideal Woman" – 4:08
12. "Ballet for a Blue Whale" – 4:44

• Adrian Belew –guitars,percussion,lead vocals, arrangements
• Christy Bley –piano, backing vocals
• William Janssen –saxophones,bass clarinet, backing vocals
• Larrie Londin –drums
• J. Clifton Mayhugh –bass, backing vocals
• Gary Platt –bass trombone

• Stan Hertzman –executive producer
• Rich Denhart – assistantproducer
• Gary Platt –engineer
• Rytt Hershberg – assistant engineer
• Mike Getz –artwork,design