I didn't rate this as high as the first Police Story film. Some fans do prefer this over the prequel. The film starts off with a montage of clips from the first film and we learn Jackie Chan has been demoted to a traffic cop for causing chaos. Eventually he works his way up to being something like an undercover agent. Meanwhile the bad boss from the first film harasses him with violent pranks.

This film features more of Jackie Chan's slapstick humour than the first film, but it is much darker in tone than most of his films with a fairly nasty torture scene involving "Thunder Bangs" and a fairly downbeat ending. The stunts are absolutely amazing and also dangerous. Jackie Chan on top of a double decker bus jumping through a sugar glass window gets talked about a lot (the sugar glass used was thicker than on most films and caused the cast to get cut much like the first film), the use of fireworks and a stunning fight in a cafe were everything gets smashed-up.

I think this isn't in the same league as the first film, but it is still a must see HK action movie fans. It is much more plot heavy than the first film and less action packed. At around 2 hours long it outstays it welcome by about 20 minutes.

Both the UK and US Blu-Ray feature the same print and it's as good as it gets. Really nice 5.1 sound, unfortunately the English Dub is really badly out of sync and no commentary tracks.

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Absolutely incredible action film from Jackie Chan. In recent years Jackie has become better known for his goofy action comedies like Wheels on Meals, The Tuxedo and Rush Hour this is serious by comparison.

Many commonly used action film techniques were copied from this film, the use of slow motion during action sequences to show off the stunts - unfortunately I think the tedious bullet time was an indirect result of this film, out-takes in end credit sequences (?), non-sequiter action sequences like answering the phones in the police station and the use of faster, more dangerous stunts as the spectacle rather than the plot that we see today in films like The Transporter. There are some stunts which would never get the green light in Hollywood even in the 80s; people going head-first through glass windows, a car chase through a shanty town with the buildings exploding, a motorbike scene in the mall (possibly a homage to Bruce Lee in Game of Death).

What separates this from other Hong Kong action films is there is genuine characterisation and a plot beyond "bad guys getting knocked about" and action sequences that are still striking today can the same be said for a later action film like Under Seige? The Mike Myers tribute scene is worth the watch alone.

The Blu-Ray features a superb print, but maybe looks a bit bleached out in places, but I think this is due to 80s film stock more than anything. The Cantonese soundtrack is nice with loud balanced levels, but the English Dub sounds awful with wimpy gunshots. Also the Bey Logan audio commentary is missing as well.

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I think a lot of people miss the point of Stephen King, "He wrote The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me (The Body), Misery, but he puts out a lot of trash". To be honest for someone so prolific you can't expect everything to be a great work of art and more to the point he gives his fans what they want.

Misery is of course one of the jewels in his crown. Very much a reworking of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? which is never a bad thing. It is fondly regarded for a great performance by Kathy Bates who manages to ham it up much like Joan Crawford while still being scary and controlling. You totally believe Kathy Bates is strong enough to lift up James Caan in the snow. James Caan gives a victim performance, pretty much an Achilles Legs character, who gets played at every stage. A great contrast compared to his slick, gangster role in the excellent Thief. Another feature that elevates this against the mass of psychothrillers in the 90s is some stunning photography of the "great outdoors" of Colorado.

The film toes the line between camp and genuine shocks, due to good pacing by Rob Reiner and the acting (special mention to Richard Farnsworth's lovable sheriff). The film has a really good humour to it with James Caan's Paul Sheldon character clearly modelled on King's own experiences with obsessive fans, but turned up to an absurd level.

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Good version of the classic arcade game. As you would expect it is vastly scaled down, given it is running on a machine which is half the power of the Mega Drive. This version I think has two, maybe three backgrounds for the stages, more limited animation and it runs at a slower pace. Much like the Mega Drive version a cheat is needed to activate the blood and gore, this version has more blood than the SNES version, but plays worse.

On the plus side it was a miracle this was even ported to the Master System and it's a fairly late title, but it sold well. To put it in perspective the Mega CD was out by this time and the Playstation 1 was launched in Japan a year later.

The game plays fairly well and I really enjoyed it when I owned a MS back in the day, I think it features all the characters and to me seemed easier than the other versions, which is a good thing because I am crap at games and the other versions are rock hard. It scores a solid 7 from me, but there is little point playing it now given the Arcade version has been ported perfectly since the PS2 and XBOX days (as part of the Mortal Kombat Deception Premium pack), the Mega Drive\Genesis version is also cheaper to buy for anyone looking for a cart version. For me it still holds nostalgia and I admire the developers Probe (arguably best known for Die Hard Trilogy on the PS1, PC, Saturn) for making a playable one on one fighter for limited hardware.

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Cute 'n' cuddly comedy that provided the inspiration for the TV series "Bewitched" more than two decades later. Veronica Lake is just gorgeous and her comic timing is also a treat. Snuggle up with this one & Arsenic and Old Lace while waiting for Halloween night to arrive.

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intended by skinner as a realisation in fiction of the utopia that would result from a society built and run upon the principles of his pet theory of ''operant conditioning'' - the raising of babies, children and young adults ''purely'' by systematically rewarding behaviour desired by their parents & societies' leaders, and by strictly punishing behaviour not desired by them - he succeeded in producing a frightening warning° of the dystopia that would arise in any regimented society so rigorously controlled by such means, and without any humane principles or ''moral philosophy'' underlying, to temper the excesses of the rule of this presumed infallible rod of iron -

° - albeit, completely inadvertently. . .

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Takes a good concept and does absolutely nothing with it. This film came out when Super Hero movies really started to become big box office draws again after the success of the X-Men franchise (2000 onwards), Spider-Man (2002 onwards) and Batman Begins and Fantastic Four (2005).

This film is more in the camp territory clearly inspired by Supergirl as well as Saturday morning cartoons like the Spider-Man animated series and Looney Tunes. What you end up with is really corny groan worthy action sequences like bank robbers having their guns bent. The other plot is sort of an alternative on a Rom-Com where Uma Thurman starts dating Luke Wilson and she basically becomes a psycho bitch. Then you get treated to such comedy gems as the bed breaking when they have sex because she's so strong.

Ivan Reitman has directed much loved comedy films from the 80s and 90s. This film I just found really annoying and crass, don't get me wrong when it comes to crass humour I like films by John Waters and the Farelly Brothers, but at least they are clever and original with it.

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I bought this recently after I'd seen James singing Witchita Lineman as a tribute to Glen Campbell after his death.

James' guitar playing has maintained a high standard even into his (now) old age but like so many, his voice isn't what it used to be, which is a shame.

This however, is a review of the record, not the live performance which was probably a decade after releasing this album. James' voice is still good here, although his selection of tracks may be considered doubtful by some. I bought it primarily for the above named track as I wanted to hear him do it justice, which he does.

Not quite as good as the original, but then again few seldom are, James does add his own touch and makes the song his own. You can hear that he loves each and every track and he does the vast majority proud.

Overall a good addition to my collection and well worth the very low cost from Music Magpie.

One last comment though is that like so many other artists, his output in latter years has not been a patch on the early recordings, like Sweet Baby James or Mud Slide Slim.

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Absolutely awful film. I liked the first Meatballs mainly due to Bill Murray and an exciting race scene. This one is total rubbish, only had a limited cinema release which says it all. I had a laugh at the young man who had to wear a neck brace due to trying to auto fellate himself, other than that very unfunny. It's a cliched Jocks vs Nerds film about teenagers losing their virginity. I saw this late night on Channel 5 (now called Five) in the UK.

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Mercy!

Hollywood really DOES do propaganda better than enemies of the state. Good propaganda commands some respect for its clever use of sound and vision to manipulate the subject at hand. Some of my favorite films belong to this category due to their creative license with reality during the WWII era. Runaway Jury left me embarrassed for the filmmakers (hell, for the film industry!) because they do the genre such a disservice. A small town community theater could make a more convincing case for any given topic, political or otherwise.

The screenplay is the nucleus of the problem, beginning with changing the subject of John Grisham's original novel from a legal battle with the tobacco industry to a favorite Hollywood screed, the gun industry. The film is sold as a smart courtroom drama / thriller, but rather than impressing the viewers with facts and stats from either side to make their respective legal cases, the script bypasses all of those pesky details in favor of pure emotion. As Dustin Hoffman recites his closing arguments against the gun lobby to the jury, sentimental music stirs the heart strings valiantly, but when the defendant's legal rep, played by Bruce Davison, delivers his closing statement, the music turns dark and eerie. Charming.

Then there's the technology. Gene Hackman portrays a shady jury consultant who employs a crack team of high-tech engineers using state-of-the-art surveillance gadgetry, quite a bit far-fetched in all but spy cinema. Our superhero, everyman Nick Easter (John Cusack) also possesses savvy skills in order to manipulate his way into the jury pool of his choice, and the psychological people skills necessary to swing a jury at the drop of a hat. Just some of the paper thin sketches of anything resembling plausibility.

The film's final message: Manipulating juries is fine if you happen to support the noble good guys who are doing battle against dastardly, evil corporate thugs with thick Southern accents who tie girls up and put them on railroad tracks in between enabling killers to go on shooting rampages. (catches breath) And just in case you STILL miss that message, feast your eyes on Cusack and Rachel Weisz as they celebrate their victory by going to an urban playground and watching young children play (largely ethnic, naturally), gazing into each other's eyes knowing that they have protected the next generation of innocents from those money-hungry villains.

Few things are as compelling as a good legal drama -- and I wanted so much for this to be just that, I really wanted to love Runaway Jury. I felt cheated and deceived into watching what appeared to be a courtroom thriller. There was little courtroom -- and those scenes had the tension of the finale in a rom-com. The majority of Runaway Jury focused on its agenda, a poison pen letter to the gun lobby. Political theater is hard enough to avoid, so having it sneak its ugly self in like a trojan horse was the last straw(man).

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This is a very clever concept, UB40 re-recorded their own songs with some of their musical heroes. It really works, and is easily UB40's best album since the 1980's

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Breach is a highly stylized representation of a short period in the life and crimes of Robert Hanssen, senior FBI agent and one of the worst traitors in U.S. intelligence history. In comparison to the previously filmed treatment of the story, the 2002 TV movie Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story, that earlier film unfolded in a realistic, visually muted manner, taking the time to examine all of the characters and their motivations. It was believable and convincing because the shock of a man turning on his country and duty was not embellished for the thrill factor, nor were any of the principals exagerrated caricatures enhanced for dramatic effect. The viewers of Breach get betrayed with popcorn-movie mechanics in favor of the real story, which is less exciting. Dark, gloomy lighting pre-empts the way most rooms and locations are really lit so that it builds intensity in otherwise bland environments; sadly, the same trick is played with characters and events as opposed to the real story.

In fairness, Breach only covers two months prior to Hanssen's arrest and some events are paraphrased into that narrow timeline. Further, there's the old pace issue in which producers strip away details in order to advance the story in a timely manner. That said, no attempt is made to see any part of Hanssen's personality aside from a lurid, enigmatic bad guy. An easy-to-hate villain italicized by some quirky issues that make his manner erratic and intimidating. I'm OK with conversations being invented to better sell the story and motives, but when the whole film is spit & polished for the sake of high audience score cards, it loses cred. There's a number of plot holes that also create a credibility gap, such as Hanssen's judgment, which spoil the depiction of him as a "master spy". On the other hand, there is indeed a great deal of accuracy that was scrupulously recreated, from locations such as FBI offices to involvement from the real life Eric O'Neill, who served as a consultant. It's not as if the film is a deception, just that the process overrides the real story.

The cast and crew are top shelf, particularly the lens work of Tak Fujimoto (Gladiator, The Silence of the Lambs). Billy Ray, a screenwriter by trade, is skillful and proves he can helm a project (this being the second of three films he's directed.) Chris Cooper delivers his usual fine work and carries the film with adequate support from Ryan Phillippe as his colleague. Although I like Laura Linney, her performance is a bit postured, overplayed and smug, I never believed she was a high-ranking handler for the FBI. The presence of Gary Cole and Dennis Haysbert bring needed charisma to the bleak proceedings.

Cooper's portrayal of Hanssen is depicted as more methodical than vulnerable, as we never learn the motivation behind his breach. Political and religious cheap shots are peppered in early on, Hanssen's faith routinely shown in a laughable extreme, and every other slight eccentricity enlarged the way a slasher film might detail the traits of its killer. Those aspects are not pronounced with the same animous in the 2002 film, which was painstakingly penned by Norman Mailer.

As a piece of entertainment with some historical value, Breach pushes all the right cinematic buttons, albeit at a slower speed limit than action fans weaned on Bourne films will have the patience for. If the story fascinates you at all, I would recommend the earlier film for a more complete version of a story that needs more than two months to represent and less attention paid to pacing to make its case.

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first of a major science fiction original anthology series founded by e. j. carnell (aka john carnell, aka ted carnell) to continue publishing the authors and the kinds of sf he'd published as editor of new worlds, science fantasy and science fiction adventures magazines until nova publications was bought by roberts & vinter at the end of 1963, and carnell was replaced by the new owners as editor of these magazines by young enthusiasts such as michael moorcock and friends, on new worlds, and by kyril bonfiglioni on science fantasy.

initially promoted as a quarterly, "new writings in science fiction" only rarely maintained that frequency, but was for thirty anthologies and thirteen years - out-living john carnell by half a decade in the capable hands of ken bulmer - for most of its lifespan the primary uk & commonwealth market for sf authors, and published much that was great fun, as well as absorbing and sometimes very powerful reading.

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Don't let the welsh dialogue (with sub-titles) put you off this compelling drama. A good solid police drama with lots of little twists and turns and smaller sub-plots to keep you engrossed.

Series One and Two both are equally viewable and I would recommend you spend sometime getting sucked into this series.

Available on BBC iPlayer as at August 2020.

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Due to work commitments I only got there for the Sunday. Dreadful weather. The "Stewarding" was carried out by Gorillas ( some biker group - maybe hells angels) They told people to sit down even though it was wet and if they didn't obey, they were put down not too gently.
Lindisfarne were very good on the day as were Monty Python who performed the Parrot Sketch - Brilliant. At that time I was not much of a fan of Slade and liked some of the Beach Boys stuff, but not really a fan. Slade put on a blistering performance and were excellent. The Beach Boys put on a great show with a great sound considering the studio technology they used in recording. Very impressive.

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Mostly well-known national hits, and some latter-day cash-in stuff, but there are several standouts from the regional scene included that aren't easily found elsewhere, including two by The Catalinas, two by The Showmen, some by The Embers and by The Tams, The Monzas, also the full version of Don Gardner And Dee Dee Ford's hit "I Need Your Lovin' " the first half of which was clipped off by Fire records when it was released. All in all, a good introduction to the Southern Frat-based 'Beach Music' scene.

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Despite the furore of the sacrilege of having rebooted the Ghostbusters t-shirt and mug business, this is actually a very entertaining film in it's own right.

The fact that it was almost deliberately shunned and has gone the short route through to TV to recoup losses makes me predict it will probably get repeated showings, and more people will watch it over time, and conclude, in spite of what they expected (wanted to expect), it's a very good, funny movie that is generally liked,

Perhaps the only real downside is that they tried to show too much reverence for the original Ghostbusters... constantly offering slavish nods to it - obviously in a vain attempt to appease them that could not be appeased.

But the response means that this franchise is a dead duck, and now.... they are rebooting it again!!!!

This new coming one looks more like a hazy romanticized JJ Abrams style Spielberg nostalgia kick... like Stand By Me meets Goonies with comedy ghosts, and more of a sequel to the original Ghostbusters films, judging by the trailer.

But, wait and see though, I suppose.

...just a shame they didn't have more courage to go with this incarnation, and let them do entirely their own thing with it.

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What an odd and interesting celebration of 'New York Doo Wop'! This is only to be expected, given that it was collated by long-time record dealer and Philly area based collector Val Shively. What is odd about the collection is that it is more a celebration of New York-based record labels than actually a collection of New York groups or even popular New York Doo Wop records. For example, the very first song on the collection is by one of the most famous Philadelphia groups, the Blue Notes. So much for being 'New York, Where It All Began'. The label is a famous New York label, Josie. Along with many of the best-known Doo Wop songs, there are numerous examples of extremely rare and unknown singles, along with the b-sides of several well-known singles.

Some of the rarities included: The Five Sharps singing 'Stormy Weather', Bill "Bass" Gordon And His Colonials (shown as by 'The Colonials') singing "Two Loves Have I", and the Coins doing "Blue, Can't Get No Place With You". The latter two are very early Gee singles and are extremely rare on 45. The Five Sharps is extremely rare even on 78, and no authentic 45 of it has ever turned up, although Jubilee was pressing all of their records in both formats at the time.

Most of the tunes included were originally on one of the following labels: Gee, Rama, Roulette, End, Gone, Port and Josie, but not all of them.

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In 1979, American teens were cruisin', listening to Southern rock or disco, and in the summertime, they might volunteer and be a counselor at a summer camp.

Завтрак на траве is one in a long line of Soviet television films that take place in their Pioneer camps. The genre consists of mostly wholesome stuff, and despite the limited pool of possibilities, somehow manages to captivate the viewer with its unguarded innocence and a commitment to the spirit of bonding.

During this era, American teens at camp were slightly different, having replaced campfire sing-alongs with playing naughty games after the tykes are sent to bed. The bad American teens fooled around, which resulted in them being violently slashed in American summer camp cinema. This slaughter of adolescence eventually found its way into nearly all holidays populated by hormonal youth.

There's none of that carnage here under the logical guidance of counselor Ivan Kovalev. Yes, there are songs. Yes, there's romancin'. And yeah, there's joy. Come on along for the ride.

It works as kitsch, so rear-project this behind your acid folk band and you're good to go. And no doubt, there's probably a bunch of ex-Pioneers that will have a nostalgic blast reliving those simpler days. About a decade or so later, these values got traded in for living on the streets and huffing cleaning solutions.

Have a nice day.

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Glossy art-house film that attempts to take a fresh new approach to Hank Williams' biography. Problem is, nobody has ever seemed interested in making a true, detailed biopic of Williams' life to begin with.

What hurts I Saw the Light the most is that the production design, the cinematography, the mood -- they're all meticulously (and strategically) rendered as neo-noir, more conducive to a film like L.A. Confidential than any type of music bio narrative. Even an obituary would be more uptempo than Marc Abraham's gloomy vision. Mind you, it's technically bulletproof, but the dark imagery and syrupy lens work would be more at home in a solemn French drama or a slasher film. Completely absent from anything resembling joy, Hank's life is represented as a disturbed state of internal anguish, personal demons and drunken incidents. Not only is his life dragged down into this chasm, but the entire era appears cold, isolated and depressing. You never get the impression that the true story is on display, rather interpreted as tortured declination. I Saw the Light only sees the light as Hank's death, opting to exhibit a disintegrating map that leads to that epilogue.

A typical bio-pic will load you up with the highlights of one's life before getting to the descent. A number of events depicted in the film completely lop-off the good parts (ie, Hanks's debut at the Grand Ole Opry, leaving out Hank's becoming the first artist to receive six encores!) Filmmakers seem to only be able to focus on one dimension of Hank Williams, and this is yet another shallow, misguided venture into a troubled, yet multi-dimensional artist.

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A stunning piece of cinema, excepting any liberties taken in grandstanding political ideals. The cinematography is remarkable and there's quite a number of impressive performances that make the nearly 200 minutes easier to digest. Diane Keaton has never been better (or more beautiful!) and Maureen Stapleton (Oscar winner for best supporting actress) is at the top of her game. Jack Nicholson also turns in a fine performance. Despite the rugged political subtext, the heart of Reds is indeed the love story.

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All Kinds Of Everything.

This was on telly the other day, so decided to finally watch it, so that I could tick it off my mental 'to see' list.

I wasn't too convinced from the outset, I have to say, because it had an air of "too good to be true" about it... what with the stellar cast, clothes by Givenchy (no less) a gently groovy Henry Mancini score (which is excellent!) it seemed a little like a film that was more 'designed' than inspired...

...Like someone sat down and constructed a movie based on what sells, for the sake of the box office.

But while that certainly is true I think, thankfully the story, kind of saves the day, and wins you over by gradually absorbing you in the intricacies of the plot.

...And the plot, indeed, the whole film, is a rather eclectic mix of different movie genres and film-making styles that in all honesty have no business being together, and give the movie a slightly odd feel:

Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn play through the middle of this whodunnit encased in a spy thriller rendered in a gloriously Technicolor Film Noir as a light-hearted rom-com adventuring bantering couple, for which both are usually known (and doubtless, for why they were cast here).

...As Audrey Hepburn's character seeks to learn why her husband, who she learns after his demise, was possibly a spy, was apparently killed, and almost immediately, enters a rogue's gallery of villains and shady characters at his funeral who begin gathering around her to discover if she knows where 'the money' her husband stole from them is... Cary Grant helps her dodge these schemers along the way, as the film moves from the usual rom-com fluffiness from these two, to something more like the Third Man noir-ish-ness with some of the most well made cinematographical noir sequences you'll see... in colour (!)

Very good homage to Hitchcock suspense thriller type of thing all round, even with a very strong whiff of Vertigo in the opening credits... and there's even a rooftop struggle to boot!

All round, a curious bag of disparate bits that shouldn't ought to sit well together , but, strangely, do. And in a way that makes this film feel like it must have been something altogether 'new' for the time, and certainly feels ahead of it's time on occasion... curiously more modern than the 1963 it was made in... it even makes the contemporary James Bond (Another film style this was trying to cash in on) films of the era feel a little dated.

But a very good, entertaining film.

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The second of three filmed versions of Robert Sherwood's play. Due to the Production Code, Myra's troubled situation is somewhat cryptic without reading between the lines, but even that aspect of the film is handled cleverly and without distraction -- even enhancing the flow of the story. You'll be hard-pressed to find a better shot and lit film from this era, but the shining beacon is Vivien Leigh, who was never more beautiful. Leigh considered this to be her favorite of all her performances and it's easy to see why.

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Spencer Tracy can always be relied upon to deliver the goods, and I can appreciate the reason the film was made, to raise awareness and money for the real Boys Town, which was in financial need at the time, but that doesn't change the fact that this is just unbearably corny. A chunk of screen time is spent just trying to get one boy to smile. Having to sit through Bobs Watson's performance is painful, never mind Mickey Rooney's boisterous schtick. Darryl Hickman, on the other hand, steals the show with the kind of spirited performance that kept him working for many years.

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Brilliant caper from one of the silver screen's all-time great bitches. Linda Fiorentino is sensational as the woman scorned having the last laugh. A clever thriller with twists and turns, but also a very funny movie (the comedy genre is never attached to this film, but should be!) Joseph Vitarelli's music score perfectly paces the film. Discover this sleeper.

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The performances are solid, but the sermonizing is quite a bit heavy-handed and ruins what could have been a great film. Most of the depression-era story follows the exploits of a nymphomaniac housemaid, then makes an abrupt turn into a women's rights speech in the final reel. All of the attention went to the performances of Laura Dern and Diane Ladd, but it's still Robert Duvall's show. Lukas Haas is also convincing.

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Sat and watched this movie (again) last night. It is currently on BBC iplayer and would recommend you spending a few hours of your time with it.

The film cover the metal health struggles Brian Wilson had and how they "influenced" his music in particular the period when he stopped touring with the band and lead a studio life. It certainly shows what a genius he was in being able to get the sounds from his head in to real life.

The film also covers the abusive control Eugene Landy had over Brian. Whilst it is apparent that Brian needed help at various points during the 70s & 80s there is no doubting that Landy abused his position. He was finally charged by State of California Board of Medical Quality with ethical and license code violations stemming from the improper prescription of drugs and various unethical personal and professional relationships with patients (not just Brian).

The attention to detail within the film is great. The studio scenes are beautiful recreated.. check the clip below.

[YouTube Video]

As they state in the trailer:

Once you know the story... You'll never hear the music in the same way.

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Quite a grim premise for an enjoyable movie...

...A deeply bitter, angry (nasty) mum, played brilliantly by Frances McDormand, who has lost her daughter in an unsolved case of rape / murder, and seems to be taking it out on everyone around her, especially Woody Harrelson's local Sheriff character (The only reasonably nice character in the movie!), who she primarily blames for the lack of resolution.

It's an evolving drama with many objectionable characters including Sam Rockwell's mostly dim, racist deputy, and other broken people who's lives are turned upside down by her actions.

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This is a clever and very catchy novelty song. Izzy is ill in bed and verses end with:-

" I am Izzy's lawyer and I called around because
I want to know is Izzy worse or Izzy azzy woz"

Great stuff!

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A very warm and friendly album.

I found this in a huge plastic bucket of clearance CDs in a charity shop...

(they also had a chair to sit in while you rumaged! - Hallelujah! - Needless to say I spent a good hour or so sat there like some kind of audio-gnome)

... and it turns out to have been one of my best buys in recent years in terms of the music.

Never really got into the Super Furry's that much, as they seemed (on the strength of Guerrilla) to be a bit too sporadic in terms of quality.

But this is magnificent.

They've seemingly jettisoned a lot of the too kooky stuff, in favour of a more fundamental approach of very strong tuneful and melodic songs, rendered in a more "honest" well played, and well crafted way.

And it is consistently excellent all the way through... not a duff track.

In style, it has a very warm, almost 1960s country-lite, gently psychedelic feel with nice harmonies (very slightly Beach Boys-esque), with the odd electronic tones and flavouring... but the real genius of it is that they have used all these (and other) elements with a very light touch, but in so doing, have allowed the cumulative effect of all of them together to make a very strongly cohesive whole.

Bags of great, memorable tunes, melodies, and a very soothing listen... a nice place to spend an hour or so, and which has made me listen to it quite a lot.

I think it will grow in people's affections over time too, because of this.

[YouTube Video]

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Abysmal remake which manages to effortlessly lose all of the edge from the original classic. Jersey-born director Tim Sullivan's disdain for the South is crystal clear, and he makes sure to overload this tepid quickie with broad Southern accents acquired by studying Cajun-chef cooking shows. We're also graced with tasteless bits such as a dim-witted young man with his pants down chasing a pig...seriously? As horrific as the Pleasant Valley ghosts are supposed to be, I found the "victims" even less pleasant, like all modern slasher film teens, one-dimensional hedonists bleeding rudeness and arrogance in every scene which they appear. The film's only satisfying element was Robert Englund's performance. And the ending.

I suppose it could have been worse; Rob Zombie could have directed it.

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The tracks are all popular hymn tunes set as instrumentals in a suitably soporific style by Steve Wingfield using keyboards for piano, xylophone and other instrumental parts, with plenty of tinkling cascades of bells.

Close on two hours in total. Very soothing for adults too.

Are they on YouTube? Yes and no, there are several Fisher Price lullaby videos, none with hymns but otherwise in exactly this style, with the same instrumentation, presumably also by Wingfield. This one is a single non-tune which repeats for two hours.

[YouTube Video]

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This was a 10/10 album in it's day but the running order on this particular CD re-issue undermine that fact. How so?
Well, the less than necessary bonus tracks, four in the middle and four at the end destroy this CD as a straight through listen. This jars with me as I have the original album and the track order imprinted in my brain so when the likes of "Strange Thing" pop up in the middle of the CD it really gets on my wick something shocking.
Of the first four bonus tracks only "You Say You Don't Love Me" matches the quality of what was the first side of the record and of the second set of four at the end only "Raison D'Être" cuts the mustard. The other six just interrupt the flow or detract from what was originally a solid album from start to finish. If they had put the bonus tracks on a separate CD it would be a much better proposition but as it is it's just a bit annoying to fast forward through three tracks in the middle of a CD.
A case of less is more unfortunately which has inadvertently reduced a great album to an average listen in the process. So only 8/10 for this version I'm afraid.

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There isn't one song on this disc that is even moderately bad. The obvious classics like "I Fall To Pieces", "Crazy" and "Sweet Dreams" merge with "Walkin' After Midnight" (re-recorded here unfortunately), "Faded Love" and “She’s Got You”. Two really great tracks that are not quite as well known, but should be, are “Back In Baby’s Arms” and “Leavin’ On Your Mind”. I know some people who, due to a certain musical discrimination, won’t listen to anything even remotely bordering country music. They lose out here because, as I see it, one of the biggest myths about Patsy Cline is that she is some kind of hard core "country singer". Forget that she’s wearing a cowboy shirt on the cover, it’s just a wafer thin veneer. Some reports would suggest that Patsy longed to do a more country and less pop sound but producer Owen Bradley wouldn’t hear of it. On many selections on "12 Greatest Hits" she is no more country than her label mate Brenda Lee. Recorded in the early 1960’s, these songs were aimed directly at that invisible gap between pop and country with the hopes of picking up sales from both camps. If you want to hear a harder country sound, you need to check out her earlier recordings. No one with even a passing interest in American popular music should be without this CD.

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I won't go into a detailed description of the history of the making of this LP but Columbia Records rushed it out so that they could get another S & G LP on the shelves to support their first huge hit "The Sounds Of Silence". And it shows. Two tracks, "We've Got A Groovy Thing Goin' " and "Somewhere They Can't Find Me" were recorded much earlier in May 1965, and have poppy arrangements unlike the rest of the tunes which are much more folk oriented. The title track was recorded back in 1964 and was buried on their first LP which quickly hit the delete bins until its resurrection. The rest of this record, including overdubs of drums and electric guitar to “The Sounds Of Silence”, was hastily recorded in December 1965. Because of a lack of new material, a lot of these tunes were re-recorded from Paul Simon’s first solo LP recorded in Britain in (I think) mid 1965. This record has some fine moments and could have been a lot better had more time been taken to produce it. It deals with many human emotions and activities including insecurity on "I Am A Rock" and "Leaves That Are Green" and suicide on "A Most Peculiar Man" and "Richard Cory". "I Am A Rock" is a different recording (the vocal at least) than the later mono 45 version. They must have re-recorded it for the single which I think was superior to the version here. Simon & Garfunkel scaled much higher ground with their subsequent releases but despite its flaws this album shows them in the learning process and without the polish of their later material.

(This re-mastered copy is far better than my original CD in that it has informative liner notes and four bonus tracks, only one of which actually was from the December 1965 sessions.)

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An excellent documentary that I'm sure is of interest even if you hate football. You could describe it as a rise and fall story but there's much more to it than that. What strikes me is how little protection he is given, both physically as a player getting kicked off the pitch and mentally as he is swamped by fans and reporters with no visible PR team to shield him.

Some might argue that Maradona was his own worst enemy but I think that's harsh. He was such an incredibly talented footballer that you can't help thinking what could have been if he'd obeyed the Barcelona hierarchy and curbed his 'lifestyle'. Instead he joined Napoli where he turned an underdog team into league winners but at an incredible cost to himself as the local camorra encouraged his worst off pitch excesses. he eventually left Italy in disgrace, both loved and hated, with not much inbetween.

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This is a brilliant compilation. You get some great and important songs from the sixties and seventies. 'I'm not your Steppin' Stone' is a crackin' track. Even more 'Psychotic Reaction' which is my favourite track on this CD of course along with the 18 minutes plus version of 'Hallelujah' from Can.

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Unfairly maligned by critics who likely never even gave this album a chance...

This is a pretty good album, and it has way more contributions from Brian than reviews would often have you believe. There is a definite tendency for publications to hate on Mike more than actually look at who is writing the songs. I know it was Mike who talked the group into recording the album where they did, thus giving the album it's name, but that is not too important really. You've got some strong cuts on here. The 70's flavor is definitely interesting, and very strong, but it's not so 70's that it's jarring and the songs don't suffer for it. I'd personally prefer the album start with the absolutely majestic cover of Come Go With Me and can't fathom what they were thinking by having the album start up with She's Got Rhythm instead, but it's not a bad track by any means. Highlights in my opinion include about half the whole album (Come Go With Me, Wontcha Come Out Tonight, Sweet Sunday Kind Of Love, Pitter Patter, My Diane, Match Point Of Our Love). My favorite track, as with a lot of later 70's albums by the boys, has a devastating lead vocal from Dennis, on "My Diane" which is about the sister of Brian's long time wife. I can't believe the man released that song, although he claims he doesn't remember the time frame of recording the album. I don't know if I buy that, but it certainly might explain a few things. Anyway, don't hate on it before you give it a listen. It's much better than it's given credit for.

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Renaissance was a difficult album for the Association to record. Coming in the wake of a serious hit album (And Then...Along Comes the Association) and two huge hit singles ("Along Comes Mary," "Cherish") and at a time when the group was experiencing more bookings than its members had ever dreamed possible, Renaissance was rushed out under pressure from the band's label. Alas, Renaissance bore little resemblance to its predecessor. For starters, the Association had lost the services of producer Curt Boettcher, who was the architect of the earlier album's extraordinary sound. Additionally, Renaissance was comprised entirely of original material, much of which had been written while the group was touring. These songs were competent and showed some flashes of inspiration but, apart from "Come to Me," nothing here offered anything even remotely as catchy as either of the band's two previous singles. With Association rhythm guitarist Jim Yester's brother Jerry Yester producing, Renaissance has a more stripped-down, conventional folk-rock feel. Apart from lead guitarist Gary Alexander and wind player Terry Kirkman, none of the other members played on this album, but Alexander is a delight, mixing melodic folk-rock picking and strumming, throwing in a few high-energy licks on one or two numbers, and even using a koto for the album's single, "Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies." The latter, despite having a grotesque title when following up a single like "Cherish," is a prize piece of pop psychedelia, all gorgeous harmonies and spaced-out sensibilities backed by a bracing beat. Renaissance wasn't a bad album, but was a more routine, predictable recording than its predecessor and, without a hit single to help push sales, it never reached audiences in remotely the same numbers.

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This is a really refreshing album full of wonderful melodies, harmonies and beautifully crafted songs. It is loud and thrashy at times with full-on aggressive guitars and at other times low key, soft with sweet voices. Kami Thompson (daughter of Richard & Linda Thompson) is the female voice in this duo who delivers a pure, sweet, at times haunting vocal. The male voice is her husband, James Walbourne who moonlights as the guitarist for The Pretenders with Chrissy Hynde (or does he moonlight for his own group?). At any right there are hints of The Pretenders in the sound and also hints of Kami's father's sound with the electric guitar given full prominence at times.

The duo's singing voices work beautifully together, weaving different melody lines in harmony, never both on the same note or octave. There's sufficient variety in the tracks to make each new song a new adventure, never the same twice. Without exaggeration I could play it for 24 hours non-stop, hearing new things in each play. This is a simply sublime album and I have it on CD and vinyl. I'm particularly fond of the vinyl version but the production is probably so good, the CD version will sound even better. The production really is VERY good, with orchestrations and full sound so that you feel smothered by the music (in a good way) and at the same time during the quiet moments, you're drawn towards the speakers to hear every sparse note.

You will not regret listening to this album!

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The six-man band The Association were at their creative and commercial peak (and averaging 250 shows a year) when they recorded 1968’s Birthday with producer Bones Howe and members of the Wrecking Crew. The opener, “Come on In” (written by San Francisco folkie Joe Mapes), power pops alongside a pair of Top 40 carefree groove-fests: “Time for Livin’” and “Everything That Touches You” (the band’s last Top 10 hit). From there, the beautifully arranged musical detours are many (and no doubt influenced by Sgt. Pepper). Guitarist Jim Yester, for example, contributes two gentle psych ditties that sound like David Crosby fronting The Mamas & The Papas: "Birthday Morning” and “Barefoot Gentlemen.” (The latter features a lovely, elaborate mix of French horns, flugelhorns, and tubas.) Singer/guitarist Russ Giguere’s self-serious dreamer “The Time It Is Today” sounds like an intellectual folkster taking on Gene Clark. The baroque and reaching “Bus Song” is told in three musical chapters, complete with an imagined audience, a barbershop quartet, and a plethora of experimental studio ideas worthy of Brian Wilson.

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Not a great film by any means but it's harmless fun to play spot the popstar (Including a very young Mitch Mitchell)

This film is also a must see for anyone who is a fan of Joe Meek with many of the tracks and artists featured being products of his Holloway Road production line.

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Well, 62 years later, it still clocks in at under half-an-hour.

Still could be questioned about all the riffs & chords sounding similar.

You might still even question how derivative of earlier jump-blues artists it is.

But, it still rocks,smokes and blasts out of the speakers just like it always did right from August 1957. No weak tracks, thank you, no fillers, just a human (probably!!) perpetual motion machine, even just on vinyl, blasting a sort of rock 'n' roll Mount Rushmore, with 12 faces this time.

Heaven:-I'm glad I've had a copy nearby ever since, as I was only 5 when it first came out, and I don't recall many successful attempts at playing it on the recorder at infants school-just goes to show you can't beat the original!

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Following in the footsteps of Pavaroti, Andrea Bocelli 'scores' a UK top 40 hit thanks to footy. Canto Della Terra originally charted in 1999 reaching a peak of No 25 on the week ending 25th of September. It subsequently re-entered the top 40 when Euro 2000 coverage started and bettered it's original chart position by one place peaking at No 24 on the week ending 1st of July 2000

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This is the review I wrote on another forum (yes, there are others! :wink:

Oh my God, what a film! I'd not even heard of it before (I know, I know) but, after the first few minutes, I knew it was something (completely) different! Shirley (Anne) Feld - I'd not seen her act like that before, why wasn't she a megastar? And Oliver Reed - wow! What presence, the making of a legend!

This is like no other Hammer film I can think of. The B&W photography, the desolate Chesil Beach locations (must! visit! Chesil!) , the acting (even the kids!). Viveca Lindfors is so sultry and almost steals the movie at times.

I couldn't quite believe the relationship between the two leads (it reminded me of late-period William Holden films where we are forced to believe a vivacious young thing would fall for someone of his age) and there were some creaky moments but they are minor quibbles.

BTW, according to IMDB, it is from where The Damned took their name!

:happy:

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This is a rather confusing collection of Junior Walker's 1970s LP releases that might have been more precisely called "A Reissue Of The Six LPs By Junior Walker That Were Released In The '70s In The UK credited to "Junior Walker & The All Stars".

I shall elaborate ….. around 1975/6 Motown dropped the "All Stars" part of "Junior Walker & The All Stars" so what doesn't get included in here are Junior Walker's last three US released '70s Motown LPs "Sax Appeal", "Whopper, Bopper, Show Stopper" and "Smooth", which used only his name, but what does get included is his withdrawn US LP "Jr. Walker & The All Stars" that did get a UK release in 1974 and which contained some tracks that turned up eventually on the aforementioned omitted "Junior Walker" LPs.

To add to the confusion, the eagle-eyed may notice that the label scans of the final LP, "Hot Shot" show that the tracks were credited simply to Jr. Walker (at least in The USA) even though the cover showed the full name.

So what we have here isn't (from a USA point of view) exactly what the collection's title would suggest but (from a UK point of view) probably is!!

Anyway, having explained that (I hope) it's on to the music, which covers Junior Walker's output from 1970 to 1975, lots of hits in here such as "Do You See My Love For You Growing", "Walk In The Night", "Take Me Girl I'm Ready", "Way Back Home", his "Northern Soul" biggie "I Ain't Going Nowhere", lots of instrumental versions of hits from other artists (his 1974 UK only LP is remarkably similar to what a lot of "Smooth Jazz" artists were producing in the early 2000s), lots of gruff vocals, some infectious funk workouts, plus guest appearances from Stevie Wonder and Thelma Houston. A large proportion of what is in here I've never previously owned so I for one am happy.

There are a couple of curiosities (typos?) in here … "Killing Me Softly With His Song" has become "Killing Me Softy With This Song" and "Until You Come Back Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" has become "Until You Come Back To Me (That's What I Gonna Do)", unlike on the original UK LP. Interestingly the artwork used for the "Peace & Understanding" LP combines The US labels with The UK cover.

There is also a very thorough and extremely interesting essay by Sharon Davis in the booklet that covers the early life of Autry DeWalt (aka Junior Walker), explains how he became known as Junior Walker, and chronicles his career throughout his years at Motown and up to his death in 1995.

Great Stuff!!

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This is a nifty collection from James Purify and his cousin Robert Lee Dickey (aka "Bobby Purify) that brings together all of their Bell Recordings in one place.

The duo shot to fame at the end of 1966 with their US smash "I'm Your Puppet" (number 6 on Billboard's Hot 100) and had an impressive run of US hits over the next three years. A remake of "I'm Your Puppet", that was so close to the original that it can be difficult to tell them apart, was eventually to get to Number 12 in The UK in 1976.

Although none of their '60s singles made it into the UK National Charts they did pick up quite a following in Britain and their three follow-ups to "I'm Your Puppet" got heavy airplay on offshore "Pirate Station" Radio London (check my list on 45Cat of records that made The Big L Top 10 without making the national charts for more details) and their version of The 5 Dutones "Shake A Tail Feather" is a perennial "Northern Soul" and "Party" spin.

The 20 page booklet that comes with the CD chronicles the story of the duo and how they fitted in with other popular Soul duos of the day such as Mel & Tim, Eddie & Ernie etc. etc. etc. and also addresses the thorny issue of suggestions that they sounded too similar to Sam & Dave for comfort (seven of the thirty-eight tracks on this collection are Stax songs and that isn't including two Sam Cooke compositions that were also recorded by Stax artists!!).

Although it would be easy to dismiss the duo as merely being a more "polished" version of Sam & Dave they were really much more than that; some tracks have a snappy (almost Motown) feel, others veer into "Country/Soul" and "Section C" (Disc 2, Track 13) comments on overcrowded ghettos.

Incidentally, in the booklet we learn that "Bobby Purify" on "Section C" wasn't Robert Lee Dickey at all … it was a stand-in who went by the name of "Buddy Grubbs"!!

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This Special Record Store Day Reissue has the Rare Prince Extended Version of Pop Life. It is not a dance remix, it is true to the original, containing additional lyrics not use on the original album version. Paisley Park Remix is exclusive to this album as well and also contains additional lyrics not use on the album version. These tracks alone is worth the price of admission. Even with all the previously released songs, how can you go wrong?

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Well, here's a funny thing! 10/10 for a Keanu movie!

I really liked the first two Wick movies so was looking forward to this one. The reviews were sound, the storyline seemed like fun, but, you know how it is - looking forward to something? Hmmm...

Anyway, the plot picks up after the second film where Wick has broken one of the laws of his craft and killed someone on hallowed ground: a safe house within the organisation known as the High Table.

A price is put on his head and... hilarity ensues! Really! This is a funny movie!

Even the violence is chucklesome, almost Tom-And-Jerryish in places!

Yes, the audience actually groaned at one point, due to some grisly meet-your-makering, but then everyone laughed at the absurdity of it. Oh, and the effects are unbelievable! How did they do that!? So realistic!

Also, I must mention the sound - especially of the gun-shots. Wow! So much bass! :cool:

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A member (Affleck) of an armed bank robbery gang falls for a potential witness (Hall) to a heist. Another member (Renner), starting to show psychotic tendencies and in favour of getting rid of "loose ends" suggests they do away with the witness, without knowing about Affleck's affection for her.

She is the one who could force him to take a new path but, due to the persistence of an FBI agent (Hamm), she finds out and, not to put too fine a point on it, freaks out!

Affleck tries to reassure her and wants out but circumstances prevent this.

After an explosive start, where a bank robbery takes place, it cools down for a while - to the point I considered not watching it.

The plot picked up after that, when both Renner and Hamm found out about the above relationship, and I really enjoyed it!

I'd not heard about this film before but I found the stars immensely watchable and could not predict the ending. :happy:

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