The Morton Report

Bentley's Bandstand: The Chapin Sisters, Jude Johnstone, Tony Bennett & Dave Brubeck

2013-05-24T20:30:00Z

The Chapin Sisters, A Date with the Everly Brothers. When music takes the express elevator right to the top of the skyscraper, well, just be glad we're along for the ride. The Everly Brothers might be the very, very finest singing duo of all time. There's something in the genetics of the voices of siblings when they join together, but beyond Don and Phil Everly's spine-tingling two-part harmony the pair found perfection everywhere they turned: the songs, the musicians, the production, the whole shebang. Listen to their "Cathy's Clown" or almost anything else to find nirvana in the grooves. It's all there. Abigail and Lily Chapin capture that same goosebumping sound when they come together on classics like "When Will I Be Loved," "Sleepless Nights" and all the others. From soaring harmonies and bone-chilling solos, it feels from the very start of this stellar album that fate has been found.

And while it may be hard to escape the idea this music is aimed at nostalgia, what is really accomplished here is a timelessness which cannot be denied. The Chapin Sisters have discovered an incredible treasure of music that lets them go to the moon. They assembled musicians who contribute exactly what is called for, and never go over the line and take away from the vocals. They recorded almost everything in one session, and then sent the results to four different mixers (including father Tom Chapin), allowing an edgy excitement to become inescapable in the final sound. It's like the Chapins have opened a direct link to the Everlys, jumping across decades and genders with an overwhelming passion. Now if only the two sets of siblings would arrange a night at Carnegie Hall and make that magic in person. Like they've both sung: "All I Have to Do is Dream."

Jude Johnstone, Shatter. They are some artists who reside just under the radar. They continually record albums of stunning emotion, filled with songs that others go on to turn into modern anthems. Jude Johnstone's originals have been done by Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Nicks, Trisha Yearwood, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Bette Midler, Jennifer Warnes and others. It's no accident that these stars turn to a writer like Johnstone. She has the soul to excite them all. Shatter is the sixth album in 10 years, and finds her rediscovering every element that has made the woman a certified designated hitter in the writing department. Even better, her voice is so distinctive that new songs like "What a Fool," "Touchdown Jesus" and "Halfway Home" should be able to turn a brighter spotlight her way and finally show the world what has been here all along.

Still, it can be a challenging journey venturing into Jude Johnstone's life. When darkness invades the heart and makes putting one foot in front of the other a first order of the day's business, it's clear it's time to hold on for dear life. So many of these songs come with the intensity of a private prayer, where someone hits middle age hard, looking for the hope that love's life raft offers us. Luckily, she finds it enough to get to the other side of the river with insides intact. Musically, Johnstone has no fear. She'll mix blues, jazz, rock, country and whatever else is called for to bring her words to life. For those who once zoned in to the mean streets Tom Waits, Rickie Lee Jones and other young bohemians walked, these lucky 11 songs will offer a ray of light which promises to never go out.

Tony Bennett & Dave Brubeck, The White House Sessions, Live 1962. One of the more alluring things about loving music is how every now and then a long-lost tape is discovered that's never been heard. It feels like a personal present has arrived out of the ozone. In 1962 jazz pianist Dave Brubeck and singer Tony Bennett performed at the base of the Washington Monument in the Sylvan Theatre, and the date was recorded live. Then the tapes disappeared, mistakenly filed away in the Columbia Records archives among classical recordings from the same period. When they were found in 2012, surely a light appeared in the room when they were first heard.

Dave Brubeck had already scored a career-defining hit with "Take Five," with its seductive alto saxophone improvisations by song composer Paul Desmond, backed by the swinging drums of Joe Morello and bass stalwart Eugene Wright. Brubeck was an inventive pianist who had a way of combing the inspired musings of a jazz mind with the more practical elements of popular music. It worked like crazy and put the Dave Brubeck Quartet in the history books. The four songs here show why and prove the idea of jazz as America's great musical invention. Tony Bennett had also become a super successful singer with "(I Left My Heart in) San Francisco," and shows why on four other superlative choices with the Ralph Sharon Trio. When Bennett joins Brubeck at the end of the concert, and especially on "There Will Never Be Another You," it's a shame they didn't tour together more. Bennett's voice has never been more touching, and Brubeck's piano proves he was equally as inspired as an accompanist. They hit the mother lode when this box of tape was found, and can only make us hope there is more sonic spelunking to be done soon.

DVD Review: Charlie: A Toy Story

2013-05-24T12:15:00Z

When it comes to kidvid, there’s a ton of choices. With so many people opting for Disney, Pixar, or other big budget offerings, there’s a lot of stuff that falls through the cracks. Charlie: A Toy Story is one such recent release, the feature-length directorial debut of Garry A. Brown. After producing decidedly more adult fare like TV’s Prison Break and Breakout Kings (not to mention the upcoming pilot episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Brown has come up with a barely passable 99-minute babysitter for young kids.

Caden (Raymond Ochoa) has just turned nine. His parents, Jack (Drew Waters) and Faith (Rheagan Wallace), are in the midst of marital problems. When Jack gives Caden a puppy for his birthday without having consulted his wife, it’s the final nail in their marriage’s coffin. Flash forward a year, the couple has separated and Caden is living with his mom. Jack, struggling as a toymaker for years, has finally hit upon a potential million dollar idea. It’s a little treasure chest that, when opened, emits little bits of golden light. Apparently this “toy” can become anything its user desires, though how this is possible or what its limitations might be are never really discussed.

The Charlie of the title, by the way, is Caden’s dog. It’s short for a much longer name that also belongs to a gas station attendant that Jack encounters on his way to a toy convention. He believes he’s been invited. See, there’s another guy in the neighborhood that also runs a toy shop. His son, who regularly bullies Caden, spies the new wonder toy Jack created. The boy delivers a phony invite to the toy fair, concocted as a way to lure Jack’s new creation into the public eye. Truth be told, there’s probably a little too much plot here for a movie aimed at such a young audience. And the gas station attendant? He’s apparently some sort of angel who appears, along with an androgynous teenaged assistant, as a last-minute aid in Jack’s journey to the big toy convention.

Most of the dialogue is delivered awkwardly, either in a halting, tentative manner or in an over-enthusiastic rush. At 25, Rheagan Wallace seems too young to have a ten-year-old son, especially while married to the 39-year-old Drew Waters. The two bullies that torment Caden are the least-threatening kids you could imagine, while Charlie the dog has very little to do with the actual plot. Charlie: A Toy Story might play well to the under-ten crowd, especially if they have had little exposure to superior product.

An Insightful Look at Audio Mastering with Steve Hoffman

2013-05-24T12:10:00Z

Rock and roll is a tireless universe. The whole of it is made of so many elements that to begin to catalog them would be an immense undertaking. There are all kinds of music that need to sound their best for an audience. That's where great engineers separate from the many who call such an undertaking a job. As with the people who sit behind the boards as bands and artists record their masterpieces, there is also a need for mastering engineers. But interestingly, as the cream of that crop rises to the top, it yields just a small group of notable names. Steve Hoffman is one of those.

In Steve Hoffman's long and storied career, he has put his touch on hundreds of classic recordings, turning them into something better than they may have been before. But mastering is an art form and no simple piece of cake to undertake. Steve Hoffman's involvement, however, seems to assure fans of a particular band whose work is going to be re-mastered that it's going to be okay.

I caught up with Steve Hoffman and asked a series of what I hope were intriguing and probing questions that would provide insightful answers. And while the jury is out on the quality of the questions posed to Steve, his answers certainly were insightful. And therefore, I thank him for taking the time to deliver a fantastic interview, one that we hope you will find interesting.

Everyone who undertakes a musical career, whether as part of a band, a singer, a songwriter, an engineer, even a music journalist, has had a long history of appreciation before they picked up the tools of their trade. What is your history? When did you know that it was going to be music or nothing at all?

Actually I wanted to be in the movie business but had no clue how to do that as a kid. I loved music and, as an only child, my parents made sure I had a good classical music upbringing without the typical “you can’t listen to rock and roll” baggage that other parents inflicted on their kids. I had piano lessons, guitar lessons and picked up the drums naturally.

Of course we all wanted to be in rock bands but had no clue how to actually accomplish that. My parents wanted me to be a doctor so it was tough to figure out what to do. At our local mall, there was a radio station that did remote broadcasts on the weekends and watching the engineer cue up records, etc. was totally fascinating for me. I felt that radio would be a neat thing to be in. Never wanted to be the DJ, just the engineer making it all happen.

Did you undertake any encouraging projects when you were in high school, before going to college to “learn” the technical aspects of your craft?

No, I was a French major in high school! We did start a band — a bunch of music majors and I (the only non-music major) started a jazz-rock band like Chicago. We were pretty good but there was no money in it. My buddy and I also started a bootleg radio station in my room; he built a little transmitter and we broadcast illegally all over the neighborhood until we were snagged!

In college, I was a psych major (which I hated, eventually switched to mass media as a major) and I hung out for fun at the college radio station where I learned everything about broadcasting, the way it worked, the gear that made it work, etc. I learned that all records did not sound the same, some sounded terrible, some better, and sometimes the SAME ALBUM sounded different depending on the pressing.

Every expert mastering engineer had to start somewhere. Where did you get your professional start, and where did you learn your craft professionally?

Getting my MA, I got (through my college radio contacts) a good job as an actual engineer at a real radio station (KMET, Los Angeles) and worked there for a year. I made contact with the record company reps and got a job at a record company (Universal). Since I loved the old stuff, my job there was to mine the back catalog for goodies to reissue. Never planned on being an engineer at all, but I couldn’t help noticing that my projects (which I compiled on paper) sounded pretty bad when actually released. I took a walk to the studio one day to see how mastering was done and stuck my nose right in it, and it’s been there ever since. I started helping master my own compilations.

Often, a great mastering artist has had the benefit of a mentor. Who was yours?

All of the good guys at Universal at that time showed me what to do: Dave Hernandez, Kevin Gray, Steve Hall… These guys taught me their tricks on making stuff sound good. I believe no one had ever asked them before me or was interested. So I was an outsider who came inside. I started working with Marshall Blonstein (of DCC Compact Classics and Audio Fidelity) when CDs came in and I was ready for the change from LP to CD.

Do you do original mastering projects in addition to the remastering that your're well known for? If so, which do you find more difficult to do?

Well, I have done some mastering (first issue stuff) — Great White, Tom Petty, a bunch more. But mastering is mastering to me. The rules of dos and don’ts apply to all, music is music. The only thing different is that the artist (or his representative) is usually breathing down my neck during new product mastering! That makes it tougher, they usually want it louder, brighter, etc. I try and explain what I’m trying to do, and sometimes they listen, sometimes they don’t!

When being asked to take on a remastering job, what do you look for? What essential tools are necessary to acquire before you feel comfortable in taking on a project?

Well, I have to do my homework, if that’s what you mean. If it’s a famous album like something by YES, James Taylor, Dylan, McCartney, The Doors, etc., I need to hear what other mastering engineers have done before me. I’ll listen to the first issue, the reissue, etc., to get a handle on what they were going for, compare it to the master tape and then go my own way. It takes time to do it that way but someone spent a lot of time creating an album, so the least I can do is hear what THEY thought sounded good back in the day.

What has been your favorite project to remaster, and why? What made it more special than all the rest?

Well, I’ve mastered thousands of albums, all my little babies. Hard to pick one but recently I got to remaster the seven greatest Nat King Cole Capitol albums for multi-channel SACD and 45 RPM vinyl so I got to remix them as well as master them. It was a real treat to do that with so much great music. Took a year but it was sure fun.

In remastering, what is your primary goal as an engineer to achieve in order for you to feel the job has been done, and done well?

The primary goal is to make the music sound as lifelike as possible. To bring the dead back to life, as it were. To give the music the “breath of life” that so much of it clearly needs. That is what I am best at, what I’m hired for and what I enjoy the most.

What equipment is essential to the art? Are there analog to digital converters that are better than others? What digital equipment do you depend on to give you the best output?

Well, I’ve mastered on old gear, new gear, expensive gear, cheap gear, I can get almost the same result. It’s the operator that makes the difference. I’ve used all types of A/D converters, all different makes, styles. I compensate for each of them in my technique so it doesn’t really matter to me what I work with (I know that sounds weird, but it’s true). I like neutral components that I can manipulate in certain ways to “polish” the sound to my liking. I have used all different studios with all different gear and I think my work from all of them sounds like my work. So there you go!

Is it possible that a remaster could never improve on the original masters of a particular recording? Can elements of analog be lost, perhaps even unrecoverable when converted to digital despite your best efforts to make it better?

A well-kept secret is that most (not all, most) master tapes need something to bring out their best sound. Remember, the “master” is what you use to “master with.” It is NOT the end product, it is simply a work part used to CREATE the final product. So, mastering and remastering are the same thing in that they take the “work part” and create THE MASTER (which is what you play at home). That’s how I see it.

To just take a master tape and transfer it straight to digital or vinyl is not what I do. It won’t serve the music that way, that’s for sure. Now, it’s up to the mastering engineer to know when to quit making something “sound better.” Heh, most engineers do way too much damage to the music that way. The trick is to know when to quit.

Would you feel better about a remastering project if the original artist were heavily involved in the process? I would assume that some might wish to be in the studio to ensure that the sound that is being captured are the sounds he/she originally heard. Have you ever had an artist in the studio as you worked? If so, what was the end result?

Well, let me give you an example of why it’s not usually a good idea to involve the artist in the remastering process, especially if the artist hasn’t heard the music in a long time. I remastered the ABC-Paramount Ray Charles catalog for DCC Compact Classics CDs with Ray himself at his studio. Ray hadn’t heard his famous “Hit the Road, Jack” in a very long time and when we played the master tape he said, “I can sing that a lot better now, let’s wipe off my old vocal track and have me re-record it.”

Needless to say, I talked him out of it but that one little example is a perfect one! Usually the artists have heard of me and leave me along to do my thing. When I worked on the DCC Gold CD series, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, Ginger Baker, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce of Cream, the surviving Doors, etc. all loved my remasterings of their stuff. You know you’ve scored a home run when they ask for a bunch of my remasterings for stocking stuffers at Christmas.

The name of Steve Hoffman arises in concert with remastered classics from the past. There are many who feel that if you are associated with a project, that that project will immediately be the superior version even to the original. Is that expectation a pressure when you go into the studio to re-mix or remaster a project?

Well, it’s both pressure and a relief. They understand what I do and seem to like it, that’s the relief part. The pressure comes from making sure that I do the very best I can, each and every time.

Throughout the history of recorded music, there have been many engineers that have become stars on their own. They are audio stars not only because of the great artists some have worked with exclusively, who are trusted where none else are, but also because the music that they hear becomes the music that the rest of the world hears. Many of those engineers soon master recordings. Bob Ludwig comes to mind. How do you feel being considered one that can also produce magic in the studio?

Well, traditionally, the recording engineer makes and mixes the album and the mastering engineer does the final stuff because the recording engineer is too close to the project to make objective decisions about the music. I would never even consider actually recording anything (spending a week doing tambourine overdubs would bore me to death) but I don’t really PRODUCE magic in the studio, my job is to FIND the magic buried in the master tapes. If I can do that, it’s a good day for me.

Do you find yourself ever preparing for a new project? Runners stretch the muscles before a run. Do you listen to original master tapes numerous times to get a feel for what is going on in them? Perhaps even listening for things that could have been done better?

As I’ve mentioned above, I listen to the actual master and compare it with the product that has been made from that master over the years. Basically (as I’ve told people before), I fall in love with each and every album I work on. That’s the only way for me to really get into it. Even if I don’t care for the music that much, I find SOMETHING about it that I can love. This helps me carry a project through to completion.

The term “breath of life” is heavily associated with your style of remastering and engineering. Is this a term that you coined, or one that was quoted in reference to your audio work on classic recording?

I coined it, yes. I try to explain to people that my goal is to make your ears believe that a living, breathing person is standing in front of you singing even though your logical brain is telling you that this person has been dead for 50 years and it’s just music coming out of the stereo. If it sounds like it could be real instead of just a recording, I’ve done my job and the music has my “breath of life.”

SACD has been around for quite a while, although in a diminished role. Regardless, there are fans of the format who will not go away. Do you feel that SACD is the best way to listen to old classic recordings? Or has the technology of the studio improved to such a degree that even CDs can rival an SACD's output?

Oh, I love to listen to vinyl, CDs, SACDs, whatever I feel like at the moment. I can bring out the very best in any format but my technique in mastering the compact disk is pretty up there. I would think that it would be hard to tell in a blind test what you were listening to if you compared my masterings of the same thing in both digital formats.

Is there an album out there in the wild that you feel can be enhanced, something that hasn't been done yet?

Beatles, Rolling Stones. The current remasterings are pretty good but since they are meant for the average consumer and not the audiophile, certain compromises were made that I don’t love.

A lot of your work is done with Audio Fidelity. How did that relationship develop?

Marshall Blonstein (of Dunhill Records, Ode Records, etc.) hired me when CDs came in to master a bunch for his company. We’ve been working together ever since. His current company Audio Fidelity is dedicated to getting the best “audiophile style” sound out of classic music that we all love so much.

I’ve recently remastered so much good stuff for AF. Off the top of my head: Phil Collins, Dylan, Bad Company, Big Brother & The Holding Co. with Janis Joplin, Billy Joel, Doors, Joe Walsh, YES, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Doobie Brothers, Ten Years After, James Taylor, Beach Boys, Byrds, Linda Ronstadt, Faces, Deep Purple and on and on. All great stuff!

How do you keep up on the improving industry equipment? Do you appreciate certain studios more because they utilize the most current equipment? Or, I should really ask, do you own your own studio where you do all of your work?

Well, I read the mags, scan the ‘Net, see what mastering studios are buying, but really, I work a lot with VINTAGE EQUIPMENT and especially vacuum tube gear. This stuff ain’t new, in fact a lot of it is older than I am! A nice mix of old and new gear is my norm.

I'm a stereo purist myself. I believe that most artists worked in stereo and so envisioned their recordings in that way. However, there are bands that are easily the exception to this rule because if they had multi-channel recording, they would have used them. What are your feelings about surround 5.1 re-mixing?

It’s very hard, very, very hard to get the feel of an original mix. I avoid doing this whenever possible. I’ve done a few (Nat King Cole and some others) but only really old stuff without too many “tracks” to screw up in mixing. The problem with 5.1 is not really the remixing part, it’s the consumer part.

We as engineers have NO control whatsoever as to how a consumer is going to be listening to the music. If you don’t sit in the exact correct “sweet spot”, any 5.1 mixing efforts will be totally wasted. If the consumer doesn’t have five EXACT matching speakers the efforts will be wasted. Too many things to do wrong on the consumer end. That’s why Phil Spector liked mono. No one can mess that up at home!

Tell me about original master tapes. There are some circulating horror stories about the quality of original master tapes, Are they scary to work with? Did they age well? What tricks do you have to employ to get them to play back as you want them to?

Horror stories? Not really. Most old tapes are very robust. I’ve worked with stuff from the 1940s that still play perfectly. It’s the stuff from the middle 1970s and later that have problems due to the switch from natural to artificial lubricant. Those tapes need to be baked in an oven to get them to play at all. But everything from 1973 and OLDER play fine usually, if stored properly. That’s irony for you.

There seems to be a new trend, however small a trend it is, of going back to the multi-track tapes, cleaning them up, and then remixing them into a “new” product. Steve Wilson, who is a rising star in remastering and re-mixing progressive classics, re-mixed Jethro Tull's Aqualung to amazing results. How do you feel about re-mixing versus remastering?

Can’t stand it. Usually what happens is that eventually the remix replaces the original beloved version until the remix is heard on the radio and is the only version that one can buy unless one collects an old LP or something. Hate the trend. The original mix is the work of art.

One doesn’t add hot pink to a da Vinci just because it’s the color of the month. And if someone says that all they are trying to do is reproduce the old classic mix but with better sound, I say: Remaster the old classic mix and don’t try to tamper with music history. I wish this trend would GO AWAY. Can’t blame the record companies and artists for trying to make some money on their catalog in a new way though.

Thanks so much for your time. We know that you're busy and therefore appreciate you taking the time to enlighten fans of reissues and remasters as to your experiences and expertise. Are there any projects that you're currently working on that you can clue us in on?

All top secret until released! Sorry!

New Music for Old People: Marianne Faithfull, Straight No Chaser, Jellyfish, Here Come the Mummies and More

2013-05-24T12:00:00Z

This column is like the title says - its intention is to fill the gap for those of us who were satiated musically in the '60s and then searched desperately as we aged for music we could relate to and get the same buzz from nowadaze. iTunes was the answer for me in 2003 and I have been following the new releases every Tuesday ever since I realized there was an endless stream of music I could enjoy there.

I also include older items that I felt were obscure originally and might not have been heard back then. The reason I am writing this column is to make sure others don't miss this wonderful music. These are not top ten items; but they SHOULD'VE been!

Below is a jukebox containing all the songs I picked this week. After you read about them below, go back and listen to whatever you like by just clicking on that title in the jukebox, or stream the whole playlist by clicking on the "play" icon at the top. It's free and it's the entire song. We're not selling anything. We're just in the business of hopefully making your days better by listening to great music.

We apologize to our readers/listeners who are trying to enjoy the playlists via mobile devices like iPhones/iPads and are finding that they can't; these are, unfortunately, circumstances beyond our control. At present, Grooveshark is not compatible with those operating systems, and in order to stream the playlist, you will need to use a PC or Mac.

TMR0524 by Lisa on Grooveshark

1. "First Sight" — PJ Morton (2:17)

This is PJ's second appearance in this column. I liked his first album and I like this one (New Orleans) too. He’s a Prince/Sly student with enough of his own originality to take flight.

2. "I Want You Back" — Straight No Chaser feat. Sara Bareilles (2:31)

I have also played Straight No Chaser before as I enjoy a cappella music and they are the Kings at the moment. I was unprepared for the great job Sara Bareilles does on this, however. Wow! Why don’t you write some songs with an R&B slant that challenge your voice like this does, girl? Think about it ... email me if you need help.

Sara Bareilles

3. "99" — Toto (3:55)

This is my fave Toto track and I celebrate the opening of their 35th anniversary tour this week. I checked with Steve Lukather and he says the song is NOT about Barbara Feldon, Maxwell Smart’s girlfriend. It was more a reaction to the first Coppola film where the populace’s names were numbers. I will NEVER tire of this track (funny wordplay #816).

4. "I Wanna Stay Home" — Jellyfish (3:15)

When I was compiling a CD of other people doing Nilsson songs, I asked Harry who I should call. The only act he suggested was Jellyfish. They were in their infancy at the time, but they had already gotten to Harry. This is from their second album Bellybutton. It’s a title I should have written since I hardly leave the house, but they beat me to it.

5. "In Germany Before the War" — Marianne Faithfull (3:39)

The combo of this Randy Newman composition and the mature Marianne’s voice is perfection. The arrangement by Steve Weisberg is very Kurt Weill, and if ever Hal Wilner more perfectly produced anything else, lemme know. The track is culled from Easy Come Easy Go, an MF album from 2009 that I shall listen to more carefully after this discovery.

6. "Hot Talk" — Chuck Prophet (3:29)

I met Chuck when I produced the duo Green on Red, of which he was half, in 1990. For replicating Bob Dylan, I would say the verses in this track are as close as one could get — and maybe he purposely just let that go in the choruses. However, if you’re a Dylan fan, you’ll smile during the verses.

Chuck-in-the-bus

7. "Irene" — Trixie Whitley (2:59)

When Daniel Lanois chose Trixie for the lead vocalist in his latest band, did he know just how influential he would be on her first solo album? Singer Chris Whitley's daughter shows what she’s made of on this column’s second track from her debut album, Fourth Corner — and some of it is very Lanois-wah, especially on this song.

8. "Never Grow Old" — Here Come the Mummies (3:03)

From Gnashville comes a band of well-known and semi-famous pickers and singers who prefer retro-soul music to the usual Nashvillian fare. But they are just famous enough that they cannot identify themselves for fear of breaking contracts. So they dress as mummies onstage and in publicity shots and use pseudo-monikers as well. This track particularly harkens to early period Tower of Power — not usually essayed in music from this city. But Oakland is not a jokeland here; their influences are lovingly portrayed. On further investigation I think the allegations that there are masked superstars in this band are a clever publicist's idea as opposed to the cold hard truth. What’s the diff? The music’s good and superstars play out every night — but not fully dressed Mummies!

9. "I'm A-Leavin' You" — Paul Rodgers (2:57)

My favorite band of all time is Free and I don’t mean “All Right Now.” Their catalog is more amazing. So I listen to various spin-offs, hoping for something. I bought a CD which I now can’t find but it was European and this song was on it. I have a copy of just this song from it on iTunes. I think it was the only one that got me on that album. I can’t find any trace of it online so I guess it’s rare. I still like it and if you’re a true Free fan, chances are you’ll like it too... however, I’m not too keen on his new look (see below photo).

Paul Rodgers is no longer in Queen, Bad Company, or Free. But now, Paul Rodgers IS Bob Dylan!

10. "No Use Cryin'" — Ray Charles (3:13)

This is one of my favorite Ray tracks with what sounds like Ray on piano and Billy Preston on organ. I play this live every now and then but the real deal still rules. One of my favorite things are the scarce, tasty Raelettes parts. This is a great closer for this week.

Blu-ray Review: Crossfire Hurricane

2013-05-24T01:10:00Z

Compressing The Rolling Stones’ 50 years of existence into a little less than two hours is no mean challenge. That’s just what director Brett Morgen does in the Crossfire Hurricane, a documentary that aired on HBO in late 2012. Now on Blu-ray, the film packs a ton of rare vintage performance and interview footage into an hour and 51 minutes. Surviving members of the Stones, past and present, contribute in the form of audio interviews recorded specifically for this project. Title cards tell us that no cameras were allowed while these interviews were being conducted.

With Mick Jagger on board as a producer (and Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, and Ron Wood credited as executive producers), Crossfire Hurricane is an in-house, authorized production. That cuts both ways, as it usually limits objectivity when the documentary’s subjects are in charge. It’s the band’s official story, ultimately the way they want it told. Thankfully this is no whitewash, with plenty of time spent discussing the substance abuse problems that plagued the group for years. Sadly overlooked by many second and third generation Stones fans, the late Brian Jones (1942-69) is given due time as the documentary covers the band’s early years. Some of the most thrilling live footage is taken from this period, including an early gig that ends in an onstage riot with fans literally overtaking the stage. Watts gamely attempts to hold down the beat even after it’s clearly a lost cause.

The Mick Taylor era, 1969-74, is the other most heavily covered period in Hurricane. We get a fair amount of coverage of the disastrous Altamont concert, during which Hell’s Angels members (on hand in some sort of security capacity) murdered one concertgoer. This stuff will be familiar to any who has seen the Maysles brothers' excellent documentary Gimme Shelter (1970). We hear some frank recollections of the recording of the 1972 landmark Exile on Main Street, a period when Richards’ drug usage, in particular, was creating an issue. By the time the film gets to Taylor’s departure and Wood’s joining, there isn’t much time left. If anything, a “part two” might’ve been in order since Hurricane basically ends with the commercial triumph of Some Girls and its accompanying tour.

As most of the footage assembled here is decades old, Eagle Rock’s Blu-ray looks as good as the source material allows. That’s a wide variety, ranging from scratched up, small gauge B&W footage to very clean, pro-shot, full color material. Despite all that, everything looks as good as it can. Just be ready for a mix of aesthetically disparate visuals. There’s an audio choice between LPCM 2.0 and DTS-HD MA 5.1 mixes. The 5.1 track is not the most immersive, with some live clips filling out the spectrum more effectively than others. Again, the fidelity naturally varies from period to period, depending on the limitations of the production gear used for any given event. It all sounds as good as can be expected, so no complaints here.

As for supplements, the focus here is on some of the band’s earliest film performances. We get nine songs from four different performances, two in ‘64 and two from ’65. A ten-minute interview with director Brett Morgen sheds some light on certain choices that were made, such as why the contemporary interviews are audio-only. It’s not a wealth of material, but the early performance footage is a great inclusion.

Crossfire Hurricane benefits from the non-academic approach taken by Morgen. It’s not a catalog of dates or statistics, nor is it a purely self-serving, self-congratulatory promotional piece (despite the band members’ presence as producers). As Morgen explains in the interview, the film works as a cinematic experience. Obviously with a group that’s been around for as long as The Rolling Stones, a far more in-depth piece could be made. But for something that’s watchable in one sitting, Crossfire Hurricane is compelling from start to finish.

Which Mega-Star Made Frequent Trips to the Toilet?

2013-05-24T01:05:00Z

The British press has a great knack at spotting irregular behaviour in Hollywood stars and this story concerns a very big name indeed. These days he seems like Mr Sensible but go back over a decade and when this mega-star was in England, the word soon got around that he did a disappearing act during evenings in clubs or parties and reappeared in high form… with a runny nose.

So our very clever journalists got round the thorny problem of possible legal action by making veiled hints about drug abuse by merely suggesting that the star ‘seemed to have a very bad cold’ or ‘made frequent trips to the toilet’.

And it’s not Brad Pitt!

Blu-ray Review: Full Frontal

2013-05-21T18:50:00Z

After the trifecta of critical and commercial success that was Erin Brockovich (2000), Traffic (2000), and Ocean’s Eleven (2001), prolific (but, let’s be honest, woefully inconsistent) director Steven Soderbergh decided to get experimental. Calling in favors to a variety of famous actors, he put together Full Frontal in 2002. It was shot largely on consumer-grade digital video and hangs together like a sub-Altman shaggy dog story. There’s no discernible plot and, even worse, no discernible point.

Those curious enough (or Soderbergh-obsessed enough) to seek it out can now find it on a budget-priced Blu-ray from Echo Bridge Home Entertainment. Curiously, though not labeled as such on the package, the version presented here is an alternate cut that includes about 11 minutes of extra material. The original theatrical version is consigned to the special features, where it can be viewed only with commentary by Soderbergh and screenwriter Coleman Hough. That’s right, the actual official cut of the film includes non-optional audio commentary. No explanation for this choice is offered.

The vignettes that tie these characters together are not entirely without interest. Some are less well integrated than others. Right at the beginning, we’re introduced to the main players via still photos, including Julia Roberts as a star actress, Mary McCormack as a flighty masseuse, Catherine Keener and David Hyde Pierce as a troubled married couple, and Blair Underwood as a television star transitioning into film. They’ve been invited to a birthday party held by an egotistical filmmaker, Gus (David Duchovny). That’s a lot of famous names and I wouldn’t blame anyone for being suckered into watching it based on that alone. The problem is no one is given anything interesting to do. We simply see them going about their daily activities, occasionally interacting with one another.

Full Frontal benefits far less from the Blu-ray format than the average catalog title. Since much of the film was shot on standard definition video, the transfer is largely soft and noisy. The actor characters played by Roberts and Underwood are filming a movie (within the movie) and those segments were shot on 35mm. That footage looks good, but 1080p simply doesn’t do any favors to the consumer-grade video stuff. Audio is offered in DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo and it is fine, if far from impressive. No reason to fault Echo Bridge, the film itself is intentionally lo-fi.

In addition to the theatrical cut (listed as an “alternate edit,” for some reason) with commentary, the main feature is nearly an hour of in-character cast interviews conducted by Soderbergh. There are also two deleted scenes montages, some “spy cam” behind-the-scenes footage, and an interview with Soderbergh in which he waxes pretentious about this disastrous film.

There are a few interesting ideas dropped into Full Frontal. Mary McCormack’s masseuse, Linda, compromises her ethics when a high profile client asks for a happy ending. David Hyde Pierce, as writer Carl, admits that his deep-rooted insecurities surfaced after his wife brought an unusually large sex toy into the bedroom. In one of the film’s more conventionally comedic plot threads, Carl shares that intimate info with a vet who’s making a house call because his dog ate a bunch of hash brownies. In one of the more random tangents, Nicky Katt plays an actor who’s playing Hitler in an experimental play. But none of it adds up to anything of value. Full Frontal is what happens when a successful director gathers together a bunch of famous friends, only to indulge in pseudo-artistic expression.

On the Right Path: Interview with Rogue's Jarod Joseph

2013-05-21T14:40:00Z

It was just three years ago that actor Jarod Joseph made his professional debut in the big screen adventure Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. While his role might not have been an especially big one, the actual experience is one that he vividly remembers to this day.

“I’d performed in acting class and appeared in a play or two, but this was my first time doing anything on a big budget scale,” says Joseph. “I mean, Uma Thurman [Medusa] was on set along with several other very familiar faces. I was just amazed at the energy on set, and when it came time to do my scene, I thought I was the biggest star in the world. I was like, ‘Yeah, this is my time. I’m here playing with the big boys.’

“Realistically, that sense of naiveté is something I’ll never get back, but it was a terrific reminder that this [acting] was what I was going to do with my life, and it felt great. Everybody searches for a job that they’re not going to hate, but to find a job that you don’t want to leave is, I think, the ideal situation.”

That feeling of enthusiasm about his profession has remained with the actor since his first day of work on the Percy Jackson set. Since then, Joseph has had the opportunity in a relatively short space of time to portray a host of different characters in several made-for-TV movies and TV series. Currently, he can be seen playing Oakland, California rookie police detective Nicholas Fleming in DirecTV’s Rogue. Like the aforementioned film, the actor’s first day of work on this series is equally memorable to him.

“I was so nervous,” he recalls with a laugh. “It was my first time as a series regular, and my first day on the job was actually a week-and-a-half after most of the cast and crew had already begun working together. There was an established dynamic and rapport that I wasn’t privy to, so I was a little worried about blending in with everyone and doing my thing. To be honest with you, it was a pretty scary day for me because I hadn’t had many discussions with the producers and writers about the direction of my character. So I just tried a bunch of different things and we ended up deciding on one specific direction to take Nick in. I then stuck to that path for the rest of the [season one] episodes.

“Nick Hamm [executive producer/show runner] is a brilliant dude. He and Matthew Parkhill [series creator/head writer/executive producer] knew exactly what they wanted with my character, but there was also room to grow as well as breathe within the role. On my first day, Nick took me aside and said, ‘If you’re thinking it, the camera is going to see it.’ That’s something I generally take with me to each job, but, again, it was a good reminder. From that point on, I created the Fleming character on a lot of understated acting and low-key performance, I guess you would call it, but that was because Nick was very precise with what we were doing and gave me excellent direction.”

In Rogue, Nicholas Fleming and his fellow detectives are working on a case involving a powerful and dangerous local businessman and crime boss, Jimmy Laszlo (Martin Csokas) and his ambitious business-minded son Alec (Joshua Sasse). One of the detectives, Grace Travis (Thandie Newton), had been working undercover in Jimmy’s organization until her cover was blown, but instead of ending up dead, she “brokered” a deal. Grace would help Jimmy expose the traitor in his organization, if he helped her find out who shot her young son in cold blood. No matter which side you are on in this show, good or bad, there is plenty of risk to go around.

“There’s a scene in one of the early episodes where Fleming rescues the Sophia Hernandez [Claudia Ferri] character from a fire,” notes Joseph. “We filmed that on, I believe, my second day of work, and like I said, I was still trying to blend in with everyone around me. When I showed up on-set there was a stunt double ready to do the fire scene. I’d introduced myself to the director and we had shot some of the face shots and other footage involving my character. I asked him, ‘Can I do this? Can I run into the fire?’

“The director sort of looked around and then checked with a few people. It was more or less my way of saying to them, ‘Hey, I want to get down and dirty with you guys.’ Well, I’m pleased to say that I did a good portion of the actual fire sequence, so that was my big thrust forward into the series. Throughout Rogue’s first season, my character gets a few more ‘bones’ thrown at him and earns a great deal more respect within his department. I guess that’s part of the natural course of things for the young guy to eventually learn more and get the go-ahead to do more. It was pretty much like that for me as an actor, too. In my first episode I had a little bit to do, and then a bit more in the second one, etc. That worked perfectly with my character and his overall progression.”

Despite all the onscreen turmoil between and amongst the Rogue characters, things behind-the-scenes were nothing but congenial. “I made lifelong friends on this show, and we all became like a family,” says Joseph. “Because of the various storylines, you didn’t the chance to work with everyone, but whenever you crossed paths on-set, there was always time to chat and find out how everything was going. It was such a terrific ensemble and I call them all good friends."

Prior to signing up for duty as Detective Nicholas Fleming on Rogue, Joseph had the chance to add some additional credits to his resume with recurring or guest-star roles in Fringe, Arrow, Once Upon a Time and, most recently, Motive.

“Fringe was a pretty interesting situation,” he says. “I auditioned for that show seven or eight times and had been short-listed or had callbacks for a number of them. I thought I’d keep trying out for Fringe for as long as it was on the air, but then I went in for this one audition which essentially called for me to walk into a room, put down a box, deliver a line, and walk out. That turned into multiple episodes and I became a recurring character based on that one little scene. That’s kind of what happened on another show I worked on, Once Upon a Time, and it’s gone that way a few other times for me. I’m very fortunate in that regard.

“Working on Arrow was very interesting and it’s probably the most vulnerable I’ve ever felt onscreen or filming. There were a lot of emotions involved and at the end of shooting I was actually emotionally fatigued. I had never given that much on-camera. It was actually a huge challenge for me to be that revealing in front of 100 people on-set. It’s subjective as to whether or not my performance works, but I was very proud of it, and the fact that it was somewhat of a breakthrough acting-wise for me.

“As I previously mentioned, Once Upon a Time and my character of Billy was a one-scene, one-episode role that turned into more,” continues the actor. “They’re pretty tight-lipped on that show about what’s next, so with every new script I discovered more and more about what was going on with Billy and who he was. I particularly enjoyed the episode [Child of the Moon] that I did with a good friend of mine, Anthony Hemingway. We had worked together on Fringe, and he was in town and directed this Once Upon a Time episode.

“This was actually my character’s swansong episode. I had a nice scene with Megan Ory, who plays Ruby, and it was the first reveal of who my character was in the fantasy world. It turned out that Billy was, in fact, Gus [a mouse in the Enchanted Forest and presumably one of Cinderella’s only friends]. So it was great to be cemented forever in Disney history and to be working with my friend again.

“Last but not least, Motive. Man, oh, man, I was so excited to see this episode air. I played a paraplegic, which was challenging in and of itself, and those are the types of challenges that I live for as an actor. I’m very lucky to be as young as I am and getting to play as many quirky or unconventional roles that I have so far. That usually doesn’t come this early on.

“My character is the paraplegic brother of a slain boxer, and my work in this episode is the most I’ve done in a single episode of a TV show. I did a ton of research for this part because I didn’t want to disrespect it in any way or turn it into a caricature. I wanted to do the role justice. It was a demanding undertaking, but one that I think was a great example and, hopefully, a preview of what’s to come in the future for me as far as putting in a lot of work on a single character.”

As someone who is serious about his craft, Joseph appreciates knowing he is sticking to the right path when it comes to acting. “I’ve been really fortunate not only to work regularly, but also get constant verbal affirmation from my peers,” he says. “That’s something precious to me, because it’s not something that people have to do, but rather chose to do. Especially with the last group of projects I’ve done, people have taken that moment to say, ‘Hey, you’re doing good work.’ It’s that affirmation that helps make you feel like you truly belong and gives you the confidence to move forward. It’s also a nice reminder that I’m in the right place and might just be here to stay.”

The Paul McCartney Archive Collection Rocks on with Wings Over America

2013-05-21T14:35:00Z

At the current rate, we’ll be lucky to see the end of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection reissue series by, oh, say about 2033 or so. The project began in 2010 with Band on the Run, then saw the simultaneous reissue of McCartney and McCartney II in 2011, and continued with Ram in 2012. That last one was the most elaborate package yet, soon to be eclipsed on May 28 with the release of the deluxe Wings Over America. Though the 1976 live album will be available as a standard double-disc edition, the box set also includes an additional CD, a DVD, and four books documenting Wings’ landmark 1976 trek across America.

With MPL Communications and Hear Music treating each reissue as an event, not only are these editions emerging at a snail’s pace, the ever-increasing price tags are sending many fans into a state of mild shock. On a more positive note, the Archive Collection has put an end to years of general neglect of McCartney’s back catalog. Predominantly focused so far on his ‘70s output, this material has been receiving a fresh appraisal, something McCartney himself was predicting would happen way back in the mid-‘80s when his critical rep was at a low point. The tour souvenir Wings Over America, originally released as a triple LP, stands as a pretty special album in his catalog. It’s all the proof needed to demonstrate that—once upon a time—McCartney could perform a two-hour set that mostly ignored his Beatles past while still thoroughly thrilling audiences.

Don’t expect a terribly significant upgrade in terms of audio fidelity with this remaster. If anything, these Archive Collection releases have only served to emphasize just how good the decades-old previous CD releases sounded. The best that can be said about Over America is that the overall level has received a modest but appropriate boost. The high end is just a tad crisper and the bass is moderately more resonant. As for the content itself, younger fans weaned on the likes of Back in the U.S. and Good Evening New York City might be surprised to find only five Beatles songs among the 28 tracks (plus five songs featuring band members other than McCartney on lead vocals). If you, like me, already have an undying appreciation of McCartney’s ‘70s output, with its flights of fancy and occasional weirdness, this is as solid a collection as ever.

What really stands out with Over America is that even its few concessions to Beatledom are mostly unnecessary. This was McCartney reborn, with a full complement of new hits and stylistically varied album cuts. His voice is in top form throughout and this particular Wings lineup really cooks, especially drummer Joe English and lead guitarist Jimmy McCulloch. The four-piece horn section is a distant reminder of a time when McCartney didn’t rely on synths to recreate brass and woodwind parts. Obscurities abound, buoyed by the impassioned lead vocals of “Call Me Back Again,” the deep groove of “Letting Go,” and the relative ferocity of the encore, “Soily.” Yes, this was an era in which McCartney could test out a brand new song (that had no studio counterpart) as a grand finale instead of an endless stream of Beatles tunes.

My advance copy doesn’t include the bonus audio disc, which contains eight previously unreleased live performances recording during a stop at San Francisco’s Cow Palace. I was, however, able to screen the DVD, which contains the 73-minute television documentary Wings Over the World and a slide-show presentation of tour photos. The documentary, which originally aired in 1979, is essentially a low-fi edit of the full concert film that followed, Rockshow, augmented by snippets of fly-on-the-wall documentary footage and infrequent voiceover narration. With the restored Rockshow due June 11 on DVD and Blu-ray, remastered from the original 35mm negative and boasting a 5.1 surround mix, the value of Wings Over the World is questionable at best. Some of the documentary footage is fun (including a bit of McCartney overseeing a soundcheck), but there isn’t enough of it. Basically it plays like a teaser for Rockshow, which of course is an essential release for any McCartney fan.

Those who opt for the Wings Over America deluxe box set will be treated to a plethora of additional printed material (if I can spare the dough, I’ll update this review with additional details). The 136-page replica tour book, with its reprinted tour program, tickets, and other ephemera, looks particularly cool for McCartney geeks. A word to the wise, however—a suitable budget-conscious alternative is Best Buy’s exclusive three-disc version that includes the standard double-disc album plus the eight-song Cow Palace disc. That, supplemented with the standalone Rockshow release, may be just the ticket for those who want to wait for a price drop on the deluxe box.

Blu-ray Review: The Hoax

2013-05-19T19:40:00Z

The Hoax, originally released to largely positive notices in 2006, chronicles the true adventure of author Clifford Irving and his researcher Richard Suskind as they concocted a phony “autobiography” of Howard Hughes. In 1971, this pair battled a career low point. Irving’s latest novel had just been rejected and, in a fit of inspired desperation, he announced that he was writing the most important book of the century. Hughes' status as a legendary recluse made it unlikely, Irving reasoned, that he would emerge simply to denounce the project. Without any direct connection to Hughes, Irving begins forging handwritten notes and transcribing “interviews” he created himself.

As with any film adapted from actual events, certain liberties were apparently taken in retelling Irving’s story. The real Irving himself took issue with some of these changes. His book is out there, supposedly more accurate, but then again who really knows the truth? Director Lasse Hallström (My Life as a Dog), working from a screenplay by William Wheeler, keeps things moving along at a fairly brisk pace for most of the film’s 116 minutes. As Irving, Richard Gere shows the increasing obsession that creeps in as the hoax becomes deeper and deeper. Irving, as depicted here, seems to practically start believing he really is writing Hughes’ official story.

The fun of the film is seeing how Irving and Suskind, with assistance from Irving’s wife Edith (Marcia Gay Harden), conspire to make the folks at McGraw-Hill believe they are in regular contact with Hughes. As Suskind, Alfred Molina has several hilarious moments. “He gave me a prune,” Suskind blurts out to McGraw-Hill agents, attempting to offer evidence of his meetings with Hughes. As Irving becomes more committed to perpetuating the hoax, Suskind becomes increasingly weary and paranoid. But the money is too tempting for either man to back down, even at their increasing peril as their façade begins to crumble.

Nothing particularly interesting to note about Echo Bridge’s 1080p, AVC-encoded transfer except that it looks quite good. Oliver Stapleton’s cinematography is pretty meat-and-potatoes here. The drab, early ‘70s period costumes and art direction didn’t really give him much of a color palette. That said this is a more than serviceable transfer that doesn’t present any problems. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix offers clear dialogue, which is about all it needed to do. Rears are engaged so little at times that I didn’t detect anything from them for long stretches. That’s not a knock, as there isn’t really any call for this track to be more active than it is.

The main supplement here is a commentary by director Hallström and writer Wheeler. As mentioned earlier, quite of bit of artistic license was taken in adapting Clifford Irving’s own account. The commentary addresses some of those issues. Deleted scenes, also with optional commentary, total about 14 minutes, with an additional 19 minutes of “outtakes and unused clips.” Lastly, there’s a short “making of” featurette that gives us a brief look at the real Irving.

DVD Review: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System - The Criterion Collection

2013-05-19T19:35:00Z

Masaki Kobayashi (1916-1996) was an Academy Award-nominated (Kwaidan, Best Foreign Language Film 1965) director whose films spanned four decades. Four of the Japanese filmmaker’s works have been anthologized in The Criterion Collection’s Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System. As with previous editions of the Eclipse Series, these films—The Thick-Walled Room (1956), I Will Buy You (1956), Black River (1956), and The Inheritance (1962)—are presented with no frills and minimal-to-no restoration efforts, but have nonetheless been rescued from obscurity. The films are probing examinations of the socio-political issues that were extremely relevant in postwar Japan.

The Thick-Walled Room is the earliest film, having been competed in 1953. In an attempt to diffuse any possible American objection to its portrayal of war criminal prisons overseen by U.S. personnel, the film’s release was delayed by three years. It’s an engrossing character study focused on the incarceration of rank-and-file soldiers, punished for carrying out their orders during World War II while their commanding officers live freely. Considerably different in tone and arguably the strongest film in the collection, I Will Buy You is a baseball film that focuses on the business side of the sport. Apparently the political controversy surrounding The Thick-Walled Room resulted in Kobayashi’s directing of several milquetoast dramas during the delay prior to its release.

I Will Buy You, as its confrontational title suggests, is certainly not light melodrama. A sobering look at the ruthless job of recruiting new talent, I Will Buy You tracks the efforts of Daisuke Kishimoto (Keiji Sada), a scout for the budget-challenged Tokyo Flowers. Along with every other team, he’s trying to sign college star Goro Kurita (Minoru Ooki) and soon realizes that everyone wants a piece of the young player. It’s admittedly a little long, considering the movie is essentially a drawn-out set of contract negotiations, but the actors’ subtle work helps ground it. There is precious little baseball footage, but the film shows just how cut-throat Japan’s baseball industry was even decades ago.

Continuing the theme of social critique, Black River takes place in a fleabag apartment building run by a slumlord (Isuzu Yamada). The women work as prostitutes while their unknowing husbands are at work during the day. One ailing resident is desperately in need of a blood transfusion, yet the other tenants steadfastly refuse to donate—even the sick man’s own wife. A jazzy score and quick pace keep Black River from being the weighty drag it might’ve easily become. Sly, satirical humor is laced throughout.

Moving into the ‘60s, The Inheritance is the only non-1.33:1 aspect ratio film in the set. Its 2.40:1 widescreen framings make this the most visually arresting, but thematically we’re still drenched in sardonic depictions of economic injustice. The Inheritance of the title is what Senzo Kawara’s (So Yamamura) heirs will receive upon his imminent, cancer-hastened death. Legally, he need only bestow one-third of his considerable fortune upon his wife, Satoe (Misako Watanabe). In order to include more recipients in his will, the search begins for his three illegitimate children in order for his lawyer to make the necessary alterations. Having much in common with I Will Buy You, this is another scathing look at the corrupting power of money and greed.

As is the general case with Criterion’s Eclipse Series, the films collected in Masaki Kobayashi Against the System are not graced by any supplemental features. Each slim DVD case contains a short essay printed on the inlay. The pertinent information helps provide context to the films and Kobayashi’s career overall. The films, while all certainly watchable, show their age with scratches, dirt, wildly fluctuating contrast levels, and other visual distractions. All four black-and-white films are accompanied by their original monaural Japanese soundtracks with English subtitles. The negative points are not really a criticism of the presentation, just a reality. Kudos to The Criterion Collection for keeping these seldom seen works readily available.

Bentley's Bandstand: Tom Jones, Swamp People, Freddie King

2013-05-17T18:55:00Z

Tom Jones, Spirit in the Room. What is more inspiring than seeing someone on the back nine going for the gusto and bringing it all the way home? Singer Tom Jones has had a most invigorating career, from Swinging '60s hits like "It's Not Unusual" to a long run in Las Vegas as one of the city's poster boys. Now it's time to get serious as he looks into his time left. With producer Ethan Johns and, just as importantly, A&R man Louis Bloom, Jones takes another crack at finding songs that speak to the very soul of man and lets him lay it all the way on the line.

Starting with Leonard Cohen's "Tower of Song," Tom Jones bears down on the lyrics like he's wrestling with Father Time and will not allow himself to lose. A searing run at Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan's "Bad as Me" leaves nothing to the imagination, while Richard Thompson's "Dimming of the Day" and Paul Simon's "Love and Blessings" become prayers for salvation. Then there's Mickey Newbury's "Just Dropped In." The last time this classic came around Kenny Rogers was singing it with First Edition; Jones turns up the heat and brings out the ghosts. Modern whizzes The Low Anthem contribute "Charlie Darwin," where Jones is joined by a heavenly choir to usher us right up to the Gates of Heaven. The last song, Bob Dylan's "When the Deal Goes Down" puts a life in perspective, letting us in on the secret that having someone by your side at the end might be the greatest gift of all. It sounds like only Tom Jones can sing these songs in a way that allows them to hit us in the heart with the force of a ball-peen hammer, proving that life's surprises continue to astound and that everyone is capable of constantly changing as we waltz to the finish line. Maybe that's not so unusual after all.

Various Artists, Swamp People. Killing alligators for a so-called television reality show may or may not be a sign of the times, but one thing is for sure: millions of people can't tune it out. Who knew the South was going to do it again in quite this way, but between this show and Duck Dynasty it's just too bad Ronnie Van Zandt took that fateful plane ride to the end of the line. The Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman could probably be president by now.

This 13-song collection of Dixie-fried Cajun, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and country and western is like a combo plate that just won't quit. On one hand is a washboard-fueled raver by Buckwheat Zydeco and the other a Cajun kicker by Beausoleil. Also included, just to cover all the various points on a Louisiana map, are songs by the Neville Brothers ("Fire on the Bayou" of course), Hank Williams ("Jambalaya" naturally), Tony Joe White (what sportsman's paradise picnic would be complete without some "Polk Salad Annie"?), and the ultimate closer, Bobby Charles' "See You Later, Alligator." The only thing missing is Jon Foose's underground '77 classic "Gator Git Down," but hopefully a second volume will correct that omission. Until then, it's time to do the bon ton boogie and consider a revamped Swamp People show where two huge alligators are let loose in a hunter's house in the middle of the night with all the guns gone and the doors and windows locked shut. Turnabout is fair play: chomp, chomp, chomp.

Freddie King, The Complete King Federal Singles. Sometimes it seems like blues guitarist Freddie King was the lone wolf of The Three Kings: B.B., Albert and himself. He never quite got out of the ghetto, though, through the support of people like Eric Clapton and Leon Russell, King got right up to the edge of breaking through the White Curtain. Song for song, though, nobody could bear down on the blues like this big man. He towered over his Gibson guitar, playing in a swinging Texas/Chicago hybrid style that was like a laser beam of emotional eruption. Plus he sang with the grace of a wayward angel, walking that line between the spiritual and the street. Ask anyone who really takes blues seriously and Freddie King is always mentioned at the top of their list.

How could he not be with songs like "I'm Tore Down," "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" and his instrumental classic "Hideaway" having become permanent standards, and his premature death in 1976 at only age 42 bringing to an end what was a career that always looked like it was ready to be launched into the stratosphere? This two-CD set of 54 songs will cure everything that could ever ail a willing listener, and prove once and for all that Freddie King took a backseat to no one. His blues placed him on the mountaintop, and are what made the big man big. Long may he burn.

Innovations in Health and Smartphone Technology

2013-05-17T18:10:00Z

Much emphasis has been placed on the entertainment and networking applications of smartphones, but it’s worth noting that you can use your phone to keep track of your health as well. Some phones, like the Samsung SIV, have built-in sensors and pedometers, and even have the option for supplementary accessories like a heart rate monitor.

That doesn’t mean that you have to run out and trade in your existing phone for a new one, though. There’s a fair amount of health apps available for iOS and Android users, ranging from simple instructional videos and calorie counters to full-on fitness trackers. Several of my cousins swear by MyFitnessPal, which allows you to keep track of the calories you consume versus the exercise you put in. Aside from the unbeatable price (it’s free!), it has a social aspect to it since it lets you share your progress with your friends, who’ll double as your diet support group.

While these are cool and useful, they’re all rather mainstream. Let’s take a look at three noteworthy innovations that’ll take your everyday smartphone to a different level—at least in terms of health applications:

HAPIfork

Lately, I find myself rather intrigued by several crowdfunding campaigns. Some are mind-blowingly creative, others sentimental and touching. Then there are those whose genius lies in their simplicity and practicality. HAPIfork falls into the latter category.

HAPILABS created this product to prevent us from doing something that is easy and natural to do—overeat. Their concept operates under the logic that the faster you eat, the more food you end up eating, and the greater chance you have of gaining unwanted weight. HAPIfork helps you keep track of your pace of eating by giving a gentle vibration to warn you if you’re eating too fast. This souped-up utensil also connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth and USB, and you can use the accompanying app to access your meal stats along with a free coaching program that’ll help you develop healthier eating habits.

i-limb Prosthetic Hand

Fans of will.i.am, Britney Spears and music videos in general have probably seen this futuristic-looking prosthetic in the “Scream and Shout” video. I, on the other hand, first saw it earlier today while I was waiting for my doctor’s appointment. In between updates about the Boston Marathon bombing, CNN featured the i-limb, what is touted to be the closest thing to a real hand.

What sets the i-limb apart from other prosthetics is that it has five individually-powered articulating digits, which allow for a greater range of grips aside from the standard claw-like pincer grip of older units. The hand gets its directions from muscle signals of the residual arm as monitored by electrical sensors. Touch Bionics, the group behind this invention, has also developed an upgraded model called the i-limb ultra revolution, which utilizes their biosim iOS app to control the hand’s movements and strength of grip based on 24 working presets. Amazing, right? It’s definitely—and literally—giving a helping hand to those who in need of a limb. Now, if only they could bring down that hefty price tag (according to CNN, the cost in dollars is roughly around a hundred grand).

EPFL’s Under the Skin Implant

Here’s something that’s still in the works and remains unnamed but has the potential to greatly impact the health industry. A team of scientists from Switzerland’s EPFL developed a tiny implant prototype that contains five sensors which can analyze targeted substances in your blood. The results are sent to your doctor’s smartphone and are used to monitor cholesterol and glucose levels, along with the effects of chemotherapy on a specific patient. For patients with chronic illness, this may forestall the possibility of complications or heart attacks by alerting them of symptoms before they emerge.

Personally, I’m a bit leery about having something embedded under my skin, but if it’ll help me in the long run (and remove the need for additional blood tests), I’m all for it. Unfortunately though, we have to wait around four years until this is made commercially available. Still, that’s something to look out for—and hopefully, this will lead to more breakthroughs in health technology.

New Music for Old People: Churchill, Spin Doctors, Jeff Lynne, Emeli Sandé and More

2013-05-17T12:00:00Z

TMR0517 by Lisa on Grooveshark

1. "Next to Me" — Emeli Sandé (3:08)

Well, I admit her photo got me at first. But this is a great CURRENT pop record and she shows signs of lasting if the songs and production remain at this level and she steers waaaayy clear of Chris Brown.

2. "Unconsolable" — X Ambassadors (3:35)

This is eerie at first but it rises up at the chorus and stays there. I also love words that people may have never used in songs before and the title may qualify. I also love the way “false start” is used in the lyric. There are other songs on this EP you will hear in the future. The group is currently on tour with Imagine Dragons.

3. "Remember Me This Way" — Edie Brickell & Steve Martin (3:29)

He is as good a banjo player as he is a comedian but he’s been banjo-ing longer. Well, we KNEW she was a good singer, but up to now maybe being Mrs. Paul Simon was a full-time job for the last 21 years. She sounds great on this — actually they both do. It’s rare to hear a banjo play seductively, but the comedian matches the subtlety of the vocal. A sympathetic duo with nary a backward glance to Victoria Tennant or Carrie Fisher.

4. "Change" — Churchill (2:38)

Other than the guitar squeaks in the quiet first verse, this is pretty much a perfect hit single including mandolin leads. They seem to have figured out how to sell records and be musically rewarding as well. There are three existing EPs and an album from 2011 (Happy Sad). Hopefully they can follow up the momentum of this hit single with a breakout new album in 2013. Bethany Kelly has a fine commercial voice and mandolinist Mike Morter knows exactly what to do. They’re from Denver, by the way.

5. "Blown Away" — Jeff Lynne (3:23)

Not the alpha, BUT the beta Beatle shows off what he can do anytime he gets ready. I think this is about 20 years old, but for understanding and replicating Lennon and Harrison, this is pretty damn good. Heard it again by accident the other day and just wanted to share it. Besides, it’s raining (and snowing) all over the world.

6. "Satisfied Woman/Satisfied Man" — Meg Love/Vernon Garrett (2:35)

It took me a few minutes, but Google says the maniac bassist on this vintage mid-'70s track is Billy Ray Charles. Never heard of him but I have heard this bassline in my dreams many times. This is a classic soul record and it takes me back instantly with each listen. While young and old are seduced by hit hop and rapped, I like to occasionally throw in old men’s sounds. Wadda ya expect from a grandparent?

7. "Fly" — The Child of Lov (3:11)

If you like "Gnarls Barkley meets sedated Sly Stone" you will surely enjoy this. The lyric is pretty gospel but the groove is basically un-religious and historical. This is one guy who shuns publicity, so I’ll judge him just by this track. He is GUILTY of reaching me before I knew it with some old tricks. Hope you share that experience with me. GREAT production, methinks...

8. "With Any Sort of Certainty" — Streetlight Manifesto (3:09)

I’m in it for the horns and the enthusiasm. This is new.

9. "Some Other Man Instead" — Spin Doctors (4:08)

They’re back! The good news is they’re stripped down and sticking with the basics. This is tasty and worthy of a weathered welcome.

10. "A Change Is Gonna Come" — Rick Vito (3:53)

In the early '90s I became aware of a comparatively new genre called Sacred Steel. The trademark guitar seemed to be vocalizing and it required skilled slide playing and a little knowledgeable foot pedal action. It was primarily limited to the black gospel field and its foremost practitioners were The Campbell Bros. and Robert Randolph. There is a compendium CD on Arhoolie of selected tracks from that era you may enjoy if you like this. Rick Vito is a bluesy white man who’s been around this wacky business for decades. We were friendly when we both lived in Gnashville. This is his belated nod to Sacred Steel and is beautifully performed in an understated manner. A great way to close.

I will try and return next week but I am still toiling away on the Mike Bloomfield box set. / AK

Blu-ray Review: Hellraiser: Deader

2013-05-17T01:00:00Z

I’ll admit this right off the bat — I’d never seen a Hellraiser movie prior to watching Echo Bridge’s reissue of the seventh film in the series (its Blu-ray debut). A 2005 direct-to-video release, Hellraiser: Deader will hold little appeal outside of diehard fans of the series. The film plays like a low-rent Silent Hill flick, hinging on an “is this a hallucination or reality” premise that’s barely interesting. What prompted me to take my maiden Hellraiser voyage with this clunker? A long-standing crush on Kari Wuhrer, who stars as journalist Amy Klein.

Deader actually works decently as a standalone movie, presumably owing largely to the fact that it started out as such. According to a bit of trivia reported by IMDb, the original screenplay by Neal Marshall Stevens was not intended to be part of the Hellraiser franchise. Another writer (Tim Day) was brought in to retrofit it as a Pinhead story. Director Rick Bota (responsible for two additional titles in the series, Hellseeker and Hellworld) seems to stretch out even the most banal of scenes simply to fill time. A plot that could’ve easily been squeezed into a 45-minute television episode becomes twice that length.

It all begins with an apparent snuff film shown to Amy by her boss. The victim, a member of a cult known as the Deaders, rises shortly after having her brains blown out. Off to Bucharest goes Amy, trying to investigate the video’s origin and the reason for the apparent resurrection. Soon she finds the puzzle box known as the Lament Configuration. It takes her moments to figure out how to unlock it, which releases Pinhead (Doug Bradley). Amy learns she’s in danger after her initial encounter with Pinhead. She eventually meets the Deaders’ leader, Winter LeMarchand (Paul Rhys), and becomes entangled in the world of the Cenobites. Production design and effects are decent for a low budget, DTV title. Bradley gets to do very little as Pinhead until the very end. Wuhrer mostly reminded me of Ashley Judd, albeit with less acting ability (but more sex appeal).

Good news for Hellraiser fans, Echo Bridge did a commendable job with this title in terms of high definition presentation. The transfer is surprisingly strong. Some of the hazier, hallucinatory sequences are somewhat lacking in contrast. But overall this is a consistently sharp, clean picture. The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix isn’t especially immersive, but it serves its purpose admirably. There are enough creepy, queasy effects coming from the surrounds to keep this mix interesting.

A whole bunch of supplemental features have been ported over from the original DVD release. However, series fans will unfortunately have to hold onto that earlier version because the commentary tracks have not been included here. All the features are in standard definition: 25 minutes of deleted scenes, a decent 17-minute “making of,” and three additional featurettes (focused mainly on special effects). The gag reel runs barely a minute and wasn’t worth including. There are also storyboard comparisons for three scenes. Even minus the commentaries, this budget-priced Hellraiser: Deader should make Pinhead fans happy.