My Amazon Reviews: David Bowie "Let's Dance"

Underneath The Serious Moonlight
4 Out Of 5 Stars

In the documentary "5 Years," there's a segment about "Let's Dance" that is kind of telling. When he arrived at the studio with producer Nile Rodgers, the consensus was that A) He wanted to make a 'hit record' and B) He was in fighting shape, buffed out from working out and taking boxing lessons. Those boxer gloves on the cover were not an affectation. Neither was the desire to have a commercially successful album. "Let's Dance" became Bowie's biggest hit to that date and racked up three hit singles, two of them top ten and only his second number one in the title track.

The album, as a whole, has held up quite well, given the production being very much of its time. Rodgers' bass lines are prominent, but the secret weapon was then little known guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. His sinewy guitar fires up "Modern Love" and the second recorded version of "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)." (The original was a synth heavy and more ominous version produced by co-writer Giorgio Morodor.) It's the first thing you hear on the CD, firing off the trio of hits back to back; "Modern Love," "China Girl" (co-written with Iggy Pop) and the title track's triumphant dance wallop. Had the album been an EP of the first side alone, the rating would have been five stars.

It's the lesser known songs that don't completely fulfill the early promise of "Let's Dance." That leaves "Ricochet," "Without You," "Criminal World," "Cat People" and "Shake It" to flesh out the album. I've already said how much I enjoy "Cat People," and of the others, only "Shake It" sounded like it could have been a follow-up single to the big three. The rest just can't compete.They aren't total tail-waggers, It's just that the initial salvos were flawless. Bowie is in fine form throughout, and he got his wish. "Let's Dance" still sounds like it was supposed to, and that is purely commercial, brainy and danceable pop.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Various Artists "CBGB Original Soundtrack"

The Spirits of the '70's
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Offering conclusive proof that the 70's were more than disco balls and The Captain & Tenille, this punky soundtrack to the movie "CBGB" mixes in classic New York punk and new wave, along with some classic proto-punk and the late owner of the club, Hilly Kristal, singing a country inflected ditty called "Birds and The Bees." It's enough to make you sappy for the old, ugly pre-Disneyfied Times Square.

The mix is pretty cool, as well. While you get some of the more obvious (IE famous) bands to break out from the CBGB stage (Blondie, Talking Heads), you also are offered some of the better bands that got brought into the big label league, only to fall victim to an audience (and more often than not, record labels) that just didn't get it. Those bands include delights from The Dictators, Laughing Dogs, Tuff Darts and others. Then there's the notorious of the bunch, like Wayne (eventually Jayne) County and Johnny Thunders. There's also quite a few others that fell somewhere in the middle, building a well known reputation but never equaling the talk with the sales (New York Dolls, Television, Dead Boys).

If it seems to you that the bands I'm pointing out are all pretty darn different from each other (Dead Boys' nihilistic punk is not the same as Blondie's power pop is not the same as Television's arty guitar compositions), then you're right. The tiny stage of CBGB's was a place that hatched all sorts of Bowery Bands, and while the DIY ethic was often the same, the bands could often be miles apart. So having the likes of the MC5 ("Kick Out The Jams"), Iggy and The Stooges ("I Wanna Be Your Dog") and The Velvet Underground ("I Can't Stand It") along for the ride shows that the roots of the NYC Scene came from just as many sources as the sounds the new bands were making on their own.

There are a few nods to the aftermath of the time, including Joey Ramone's posthumous "I Got Knocked Down (But I'll Get Up)" from 2002 as something of a footnote to the period. The neighborhood that fostered musicians and junkies is now gentrified and the original club closed. Kristal died in 2007, a year after the bar closed over a rent dispute. At one point, some jokers in Las Vegas wanted to open a club that carried the namesake amid all the rest of the phony glitter. There's real gentrification for you. But as Richard Hell sings, "I was saying let me outta here before I was even born!" which about sums up the heart of this whole soundtrack. While the trendier of the 70's NYC luminaries were headed for Studio 54, a whole batch of young ne'er-do-wells were smashing their way out in the opposite direction, preserved here on the "CBGB" Soundtrack.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Glee Cast "Season 4 Volume 1"

Glee 2.0
3 Out Of 5 Stars

With most of the cast of Glee 'graduating' at the end of last season, it's up to a batch of newcomers to pick up the slack and help out old favorites. The new members seem to be cloning the old (Mallory is Rachel, Kitty is the new Quinn, etc), so it's a bit tough to make distinctions in the musical presentation. It helps that old hands Blaine, Artie, and yes, Rachel and Kurt are still here to add support. It's just not enough, though.

There are highlights, like the group sung version of Coldplay's "The Scientist," and Marley and Rachel's duet on "New York State of Mind." Talking David Bowie's was an adventurous choice (even more so was Sam and Britney doing "Celebrity Skin," which is not included here). Kitty and Marley do a nice job resurrecting Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For a Hero" (from "Footloose"). Minus points are given for "Gangnam Style," this years most annoying one hit wonder.

Missing are the songs from outside the pop spectrum. I'd have much rather had "Let's have a Kiki/Turkey Lurkey" here than a few of these songs, along with Kurt's version of "Being Alive" from the musical "Company." I miss the variety; I guess the "Glease" CD was supposed to satisfy that segment of the musical audience. Overall, "Glee: Season 4 Vol 1" is not a total dud, but the series seems close to jumping the shark.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Soundtrack "The Hunger Games"

Songs to Kill People By 
4 Out Of 5 Stars

300 Years in the future and folk music is still high lonesome depression. Guess "The Hunger Games" thinks that - other than watching kids kill each other for sport - we won't be changing all that much. These songs (mostly inspired by the film/book as opposed to being featured in said film), stick mainly to acoustic guitars and the sad laments of the participants. I find it funny in the odd way that kids usually pounding their way to hip-hop and punk rock will be lapping up country waltzes ("Tomorrow Will be Kinder" by Secret Sisters) and Appalachian cries like The Carolina Chocolate Drops doing "Daughter's Lament."

T-Bone Burnette, as executive producer, allows for few curve balls. Kid Cudi gives the disc its heaviest and most ominous song with "The Ruler and The Killer," which sounds more like the oppressive state that would find a real life version of "The Hunger Games" to be a day's TV dinner. Adam Levine is pulled away from his comfort zone, as Maroon 5 pick up a mandolin and ditch the synths for "Come Away To The Water." Taylor Swift sounds all grown up as she teams with the Civil Wars for "Safe and Sound" then The CW gets their own chance to shine with "Kingdom Come" ("Don't cry my dear, it will all be over soon").

The Alt-Rock crowd gets two dollops from Arcade Fire and The Decemberists. AF pounds out a militaristic drum tattoo on the threatening lullabye "Abraham's Daughter," while Colin Meloy keeps the Decemberists in REM territory for "One Engine." It also happens to be the most propulsive song on the disc, so maybe life in District 12 won't be so sad after all. It used to be that you couldn't turn on the radio without being pummeled by songs from a film, be they good or bad. Since that has changed and the deluge slowed, good soundtracks are harder to come by. "The Hunger Games" is one of the better one and hits more than it doesn't.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Queen "Flash Gordon Soundtrack"

Flash! Naahhh!
2 Out of 5 Stars
 
A Cheesey soundtrack for an even cheesier movie, this album arrived a mere six months after "The Game" began establishing itself as Queen's biggest American album. But let's not kid ourselves about this one; "Flash Gordon" is a mish mash of dippy synthesizer effects, Freddie Mercury wailing away operatically, and snippets of the film's campy dramatic dialogue. The theme itself is classic Queen, with the powerful "Flash! Ah Ah! Savior of the Universe!" The bonus disc offers the single version, with almost a minute of Ming The Merciless's dialogue chopped off, and a rework of "The Hero" to a single-like version (again, minus dialogue).

As Queen albums go, this is the bottom of the stack. Guess I am too nostalgic to not have bought it, and the bonus disc offers some good stuff, which is why I offer two stars instead of one. "Flash Gordon" is more a soundtrack that features Queen music than an album by Queen themselves. For that, get the pseudo "Highlander" soundtrack, "Kind of Magic."

     

My Amazon Reviews: Dwight Twilley "Soundtrack"

The Music of His Life
3 Out Of 5 Stars

When Dwight Twilley was approached to write some new music for a documentary about his varied and rather story filled career, it would have been easy for him to hand off a few unreleased tracks and them load the disc up with previously released (or re-recordings of) his best known material. Instead, Twilley hit the studio in a burst of creative energy and came up with what can only be called an autobiography in sound.

"Soundtrack" plays as ode to a musician who started as a star struck teen with a minor label hit ("I'm On Fire") before seeing the gods of the music industry ping him around like a human pinball. But never does "Soundtrack" betray bitterness, just fascination on his life and what has transpired over nearly 40 years of music making. When he talks about "two little boys with little guitars" in the wonderful "Good Things Come Hard," there's just now way to think it isn't about Dwight and his late friend Phil Seymour. Or the "Bus Ticket" that takes him and his compatriots from Tulsa to Tupelo being about the club gigs that gave The Dwight Twilley Band their Liverpool-via-Memphis sound. Even his years at Shelter get a tease, in the Tom Petty-esque "God Didn't Do It," which apologetically looks at the ups and downs of his music career.

"God didn't kill your record career
He didn't make your fame disappear,
He didn't whisper a plan in your ear,
You gotta admit, he didn't do it
...we did it to each other."

It's as honest (and darkly funny) assessment of Twilley's career, and the man's putting out there himself for all to hear. Finally, we have "The Last Time Around," a terrific Twilley record that has all the hallmarks of what we fans love about the guy. A swell melody, touching lyrics, the touching hiccup of a voice, and a message; "You better get it right, because this may be the last time around." Twilley has been on the fringes of power pop fanaticism for decades. Although I found "Green Blimp" to be a better album, it would be poetic justice if this movie ever came out and gave him the recognition he deserves.

   

My Amazon Reviews: Glee Cast "Volume 7"

Not so lucky 7
3 Out Of 5 Stars

The Glee Third Season has seemed to be a bit forced, and so has the music. With the exception of the Michael Jackson episode, the songs seem random. I would have been more appreciative had the producers done a "West Side Story" and Michael Jackson whole disc, then cherry picked from the rest of the best for this disc.

That doesn't leave the disc without its highlights. Matthew Morrison does a nice job on Coldplay's "Fix You" and the Adele mash up of "Rumor Has It/Someone Like You" is a knockout. The cast version of Jackson's "Man In The Mirror" is a standout as well, but again, a full Jackson CD would have been even better (ala the Madonna disc a year ago). Instead, we get cheese like Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual" and a poor imitation of the original Warblers (The Tufts University Beelzebubs Glee Club, now replaced by studio singers) doing Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl." "Hot For Teacher" made a great video moment, but stalls out without the visual.