WILBURYS,BEATLES & TAMI: CAN YOU TAKE ME BACK?

Handle (click) with care...

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One can usually find something worthwhile in the UK music mag, MOJO, and the April edition is thankfully-at $15, per-no exception.
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And most worthwhile is a feature on a new Genesis Publications limited edition book on the Wilburys, by Otis Wilbury, AKA Jeff Lynne, which I have kindly scanned for you to
click upon, at left.
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Difficult to believe that 22 years have gone by since the Wilburys debuted, and that the groups two most iconic members, Roy Orbison and George Harrison, are sadly, no longer with us.
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Also on tap today is a new Beatles mini-coffee-table book.
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From Trans Atlantic Press comes, "The Beatles Illustrated Biography," with many, rare

and/or tasty pics of the Fabs throughout their careers.
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OK, go and roll yer eyes at the thought of another book on the boys
but these largely pictorial editions are wonderful eye-candy that
can bring back the memories, or educate younger fans.
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And like I have wrote before, it never ceases to amaze that for
an act that was probably photographed more than any other in pop culture history.
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This book contains several shots I have not seen, including the one at left, from the photo-shoots around the time of Revolver.
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Personally, I will never tire of seeing the lads when they were in
what they later called "the eye of the hurricane."
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And what is particularly interesting to me is how these photos have
aged.
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Most of the first-Gen Beatles fans saw these images when we were between 9 and 14 years of age.
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Of course the younger one was, the more the pictures would
interpreted differently, especially for girls.
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My memory is how much even the modestly long hair of the Beatles totally freaked out my father, who referred to the Fabs
as "sissies," which he actually meant as gay.
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Kind of took me down a peg to find that my Dad considered my
heroes to be light in their Cuban-heeled loafers.
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But then again, my father also said, "they'd never last."
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Finally, we finally have the long awaited TAMI Show on DVD.
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Shout! Factory somehow got all the relative parties to convene at the legal
table to finally get this much talked about but little seen iconic music special out to the masses.
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Although many reviewers-and for good reason-concentrate on James Brown's other-worldly performance, I'd like to throw my lot in with the Rolling Stones' nice effort, and how Gerry Marsden had either the gall or the bollocks to on the same stage follow the great Chuck Berry with a cover of
a Berry song!
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For much more on TAMI:
http://www.boomermediareview.com/TAMI2010DVD.html

GET EXPERIENCED, SOME MORE

The Voodoo Chile's big return




To paraphrase Rolling Stone's 1980s all-timer on Jim Morrison, "He's hot, he's happening and he's dead."
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But the "dead" one this time, is Jimi Hendrix.
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And so "hot," and happening, he is on, as they say, the cover of the Rolling Stone 40 years after his death.
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Well worth picking up, with a nice essay by David Fricke on Jimi's plight near the end of his life, as well as a sidebar-scanned for you to click at left-that has some very interesting and welcome news on a forthcoming Hendrix box set of studio rarities, alts and outs, and live recordings.
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But sadly, there has been a more recent death of another important pop culture
chronicler from the golden era of rock/pop music who helped forge the JH legacy.
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Photog Jim Marshall, who shot what was arguably one of the most
important, and certainly iconic image of a rock performer died this
week in New York City, at age 74.
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Marshall captured Hendrix in all his white-hot glory and indolence in June, 1967,at the Monterey Pop Festival, as the guitarist closed out his ground breaking set by trashing the stage and setting his guitar on fire.
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The shot would go on to be one of the most recognizable pictures of performing arts in the 20th century.
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Marshall also did important work with Janis Joplin and Bob Dylan,
among many, many others.
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At upper left is a clickable scan of the very informative obit penned by Ben Sisario for the New York Times.
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JH&JM; RIP.

NUMBER 1, BY WAY OF RUSSIA, AND "JAPAN!"

Nyet, nyet!




Man, you gotta hand it to them Rooskies.
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Why it was just 20 years ago today, that even bringing a dirty
beatles LP into Mother Russia could lead to the wax being scratched, or at least ripped off by the customs wankers.
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But now, the ex-Bull-shevickies are leading the way in completely
free enterprize music marketing.
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And free, as in just about producing anything they want, regardless.
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Case in point is the "Japanese Import" version of the year 2000 multi-million seller, Beatles 1.
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As far as I can tell, there never, ever, was a (legit) double CD, gate fold version of the release in Japan, or anywhere else.
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But, doing a needle-drop from the (legit) remastered vinyl edition, that DID have a gate fold, and groovy inserts like mini-cards, and a poster-all of which is scanned here for you click, is based on some reality, if not legality
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And the boys from Mother Russia have done a good job with the
wax to polycarbonate swap.
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This thing sounds pretty damn fine, although obviously not up to
the quality of last years Beatles' complete catalogue remasters.
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This here thing was picked up for around 30 dolleros, and as a curio, is probably maybe even worth that much to a hard-core
Beatles fanatic.
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Plus there will be those anal audio-heads who will claim the vinyl
is "warmer" than the CD.
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Yet when the vinyl itself is advertised as "digitally remastered," it
is difficult in any but an Alice in Wonderland looking glass class to hear how it could be ANY different from the CD!!
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Any how, it is obvious that these knock-offs are reproduced in professional
music-making manufacturing dens, as artwork, inserts and CDs are all very
well put together.
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Plus these things are sort of marginal collectors items since they are usually only made in smaller runs of a couple thousand, and once they is gone, brother, they is gone!
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Unless of course until the next bunch of Fabs filches crank out another version
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Back in the USSR, indeed.

THE KING IN THE FATHERLAND, and VIVA LAS VEGAS!

Yassar, yassar, 10-hut, Sir E!




Can anyone over 50 believe that Elvis would have been 75 this year?

Yeah, I can, cuz soon I'll be closing in on a social security benefit..

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Anyways, I became a rock music fan with the Beatles, but prior to the British

Invasion of 1964, my folks used to take me to Elvis movies, because by then, the Fabs and the Rolling Stones had made EP just about parent-kosher, no longer the sexual-scorching pelvis twister, but rather a mainstream movie star and pop ditty crooner.
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Hell, The King even went in the US Army without being drafted!

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How much "safer" could one be?

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And speaking of EAP in the service, here we have a new release from the Presley specialty label, Memphis Recording Service, entitled Off Duty with Elvis Presley.

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But to advise up front, this is really not Elvis for everyone.

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Only 4 of the CD's 35 tracks were recorded in studio, with all others strictly "private

home recordings" that sound it.

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Historically, the home recordings have value, culled from sessions in Germany and Texas. circa 1959 and 1958.
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But the BIG bonus with Off Duty is the absolutely FABULOUS 94 page booklet that

contains an incredible amount of colour and and B&w shot of Elvis

whilst he was in Germany, in the US Army, and in Nashville, when

he returned home, and back into music and movies.

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This package is a little pricey ($40) for what is really a glorified mini-book along with a 60 minute CD, but for devoted fans, Off Duty will most likely be another must-have.

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However, if you would like to get more bang for your music buck,

you must check out the newest, greatest Presley Sony/Legacy

reissue.

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Elvis on Stage, paired with In Person, two original live LPs released in 1970, have been given the deluxe remastering treatment, along with 10 heretofore unreleased bonus tracks from

the historic Presley stand at The International in Las Vegas, circa 1969 and 1970.
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Even though Elvis was just 7 years from his untimely death, he was in most excellent form, here, and those who actually got to see the shows in person were lucky, indeed.

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This new CD package is proof of the above.

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For much, MUCH more on The King in Vegas:

http://www.boomermediareview.com/ElvisOnStageLegacy2CD.html

NO LONGER EXILED TO DIGI-DREK, COME A ROLLING STONES MAY 17!!

OI; a bit of aw-roight, then!

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Well, Rolling Stones' fans, it took a while-a remastered Exile on Main Street was originally skedded for last October-through the last few months' incomplete press reports, as well as precious little from the band itself, that left consumers wondering just what kind of EOMS was to be offered.

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But that's all over now, as we finally have the fully monty beggars banquet product buzz in front of us, as of March 18.
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And the latest, greatest news came from the Stones' website, which in the past has not been that helpful when it came to details

on the very iconic Exile.

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Let's be kind and say that maybe they were working to get it right.

Probably not accurate, but kind.

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Any who, if you like your EOMS just as it was presented in 1972-only better- you can pick the new two disc vinyl version.

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If you've long ago chucked yer platter-spinner, then you have a choice of the remastered single CD of the album proper, or the-preferred-"Deluxe Edition" of EOMS with 10 bonus unreleased

tracks from the Exile sessions.

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(And interestingly, the Stones have brought Voodoo Lounge producer, Don Was, on board for the reissue, despite he and Mick Jagger having their differences in 1994. Yet if Was has obtained the excellent quality of sound and vibe of the Voodoo recordings from Exile's 38 year old tapes, all will be very good, indeed.)

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But if you are a fan of some cash repute, and want to drop about $200 by the time all is paid and done, you can upon this day pre-order the Exile "Collector's Edition Boxset" from the Stones' website which really is an orgy worthy of the band, wot with its 64 page book, double EOMS CD, 30 minute DVD, and an "exclusive free unreleased track."

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Check it all out at:http://store.universal-music.co.uk/restofworld/Artists/The-Rolling-Stones/icat/therollingstones?utm_source=RollingStones180310&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Pre-order+message+UK+%26+IE

CAPITALISM IS LOVED, BUT AT WHAT COST?

Money, money, money, money-MONEY!

I am (mostly) a fan of Michael Moore, but I was not sure I was going to like his latest docu-dramatizer and polemic, Capitalism: A Love Story.
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After all, capitalism certainly has its faults, but for the most part,

all other forms of economic manipulation have either failed outright,

or fall short of duplicating the capitalist system's ability to sustain a
a middle class, without bankrupting the sitting government.

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Yet Moore has laid out a cognizant, and engrossing treatise on why today's form of capitalism in inherently, unsustainable "evil."

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And although it was a Michigan priest who opined about the evil,
Moore produces enough mainstream economists and financial experts who while rarely using the
"E-word," do think our democracy has been overridden by a
star-chamber-like plutocracy, which is surely taking us peasants
to hell in an imported, off-shore, hand basket.
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Moore essentially blames every politician from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush for tax breaks to the rich and financial deregulation as the source of our malaise-and even includes Jimmy Carter's much maligned 1979 speech warning about the worship of money over all else.
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Carter's entire 17 minute "malaise" speech to the nation is contained in over an hour's worth of excellent bonus material in this new DVD, making the video required viewing even if you have already seen the the theatrical release.
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A must-see; see.
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And for some rock capitalism, try:
http://www.boomermediareview.com/JoanJettHits2CD2010.html

WHY ARE MOST RECORD COMPANIES-AND SOME ARTISTS-SUCH DICKS??

Here yesterday; gone today

This wanking rant is certainly not just directed at David Bowie's current record company, EMI-although they are perhaps the wankingsest of the wank-but why, oh why, do they all have to be such incorrigible, weasley wankers?

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Courtesy of my anal retentive independent record/CD peddler who
boarders on a candidate for the TV show Hoarders, I have upon this fine day (re)acquired-sold me first one when short of brass-a sealed copy of Bowie's 30th Anny Ziggy Stardust double CD from

2002.
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It is a beginner's absolute delicious package, with remastered version of the original Ziggy LP, plus, a second disc of 5 of the Ziggy tracks in alternate and demo form, plus 7 other unreleased and very worthy rarities.
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And to make it even tastier, there is a terrific 40 page booklet housed in the mini-book-style digi-pack.

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The booklet, with many unseen and/or rare shot of Bowie et al circa Ziggy, features a very insightful essay by David Buckley who
(probably correctly) writes that Ziggy was "the first post-modern pop record," due to the "nifty deceit" Bowie fashioned for Ziggy, as a stand-in for himself.

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So, given all this and that, why the bloody 'ell is this package

presently commercially unavailable?

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Good question; I'm quite sure that there is some bizarre, Byzantine answer as to why, but I'd also reckon it won't be a good one.

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SONY/Legacy, which knows a thing or two about deluxe reissues rarely deletes their special two disc offerings, probably due to good due diligence
and a dash of common sense.

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Yet in this case, EMI seems to jettisoned a viable package, whilst at the same
time repacking lots of other Bowie stuff that although not up to the standard

of this Ziggy, is still readily available.

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It's bollocks, but why is it that record companies-and EMI did it with the Beatles Mono Box CD set, only delivering minuscule numbers when first released, while now stores can't give it away, even discounted heavily-get good product and then seem to consciously sabotage the fookin' thing?
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The only semi-logical explanation would be a plan to put out a 4oth Anniversary Ziggy Stardust, with maybe a few extra bon-bons, and hard-core music fans/collectors like silly moi will buy it again.
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If the above is the case, the corporate bastards best better hurry it up because many of us who were old enough to live through Ziggy are no longer young, and dumb(er).

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More at: http://www.boomermediareview.com/

THE VERY BEST OF THE 35mm WORLD'S WANKING WORST

72 minutes of bad, brain damage
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We all should adhere to the doctrine that art is in the eye-or ear-of the beholder.

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But then again, so is sheit. Even if you can't smell it, it will still stick to yer shoes.
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Cases in point for today: two of the most sickly sticky and majorly malodorous moving pictures created in the history of the medium.
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The 1960s schlocker-horror-monster-chillers, Plan 9 From Outer Space, and Frankenstein Meets The Space Monster are the

deux turds in question.
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Plan 9 may be more familiar to a wider audience due to Johnny Depp's virtuoso performance circa 1994's "Ed Wood," as the director of the infamous P9 bomb. (Wood, besides making trash films, also struggled with transvestism and fetishes.)

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Yet although Wood's mesterpeice is regularly cited in polls as the "worst" movie ever made,

Frankenstein Meets The Space Monster and Plan 9 are surely on par at, 1(a) and 1(b).
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Both were made for under $25,000 per piece as summer, drive-in, grindhouse fodder, and only Plan 9 had a recognizable "star," in Bella

Lugosi, who died from poor health and drug addiction before the film was completed. (Oh, all right; LA cult TV "personalty" Vampira was on board as well, and Wood actually thought of himself as an "auteur.")
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And both films have ridiculous plots/story lines that are not even worth

wasting another word on, but for the masochistic, the Frankenstein Meets The Space Monster DVD has nice little 16 page historical and reference booklet on the film and its making.

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And as noted in the booklet, the two rather shady characters who made Frankenstein/Space Monster went on to luck out into a million dollar pay-day for two, other pieces of celluloid crap, and the "screenwriters" of Frankenstein/Space Monsters, who received the grande total of 50 bucks for their script, went on to good careers in the arts and academia.
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Hard to say what my personal fave is between these two stinkers, but the creepy little, bald, elfen-eared player from Frankenstein/Space Monster is just as effective as the dopey space commander in Plan 9

who famously shouts "You, stupid, STUPID people," as the earthlings get
wise to what is going on and blow him up.

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But as terrible as these movies are-props to the DVD makers of Frankenstein/Space Monster, though, for formatting the video in 16:9 HD size-lets not forget that when Bay Boomers were first exposed to these flicks at ages between, say, 8-14 years, these things could be pretty
engrossing and yes, even SCARY!
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Especially if you were watching them alone, late at night, and no one was with you.
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At that time, these movies were serious, not just seriously bad.
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Here are some snippets/trailers from the films in question:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl8euHz-NHE
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-kCC8WUKYk

GUITAR JUST DOES JIMI JUSTICE!

Very, very groovy, baby

Yes, Jimi Hendrix is all over planet this month, as Sony Legacy takes over all but a smidgen of his catalogue, and as usual, Legacy has done a outstanding job on the reissues of Hendrix's first three-and only- studio albums, plus a new CD of unreleased tracks, a compilation, and a live recording. (Much more on that, at the bottom of the page.)

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But GUITAR mag has also done a bang-up job in its current isssue, with a neat little essay by Allan di Perna on the reissues, and the "new" Valleys of Neptune CD, the first unheard JH in close to 10 years.
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Entitled "The Lost Year," di Perna retraces Jimi's most chaotic year of our Lord, 1969, and

speculates on what was possibly planned to come out of the year when Hendrix dropped The Experience tag from the billboard.
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But perhaps the two best features of the article concern the technical, and operational aspects of Hendrix's career.
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di Perna stresses how much focus left Hendrix when manager Chas Chandler left/got the boot/whatever/ and Jimi was left to

try to keep it all together on his own, basically not having much to
with his new "arrangement" Mike Jefferys, who does not enjoy a very upstanding reputation.
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Gone were the tight, polished 3 minute song-gems of the first three albums, in were long, messy jams, that even Hendrix recording session veteran Eddie Kramer was not much a part of.

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But, the GUITAR piece explains how 40 plus years later on, Kramer has come to rescue on the vintage Hendrix master tapes with 21st century technology-Burl Audio Analogue-to-Digital converters and of course, Pro Tools-to turn ancient 4, 12, and 16 track tapes into audio dynamite.
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Finally, a sidebar gives the lowdown on the next, major offering from Experience Hendrix, a CD and DVD of the famous 1969 Royal Albert Hall concert, which was expertly filmed and recorded for theatrical release.

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It will finally get that showing later this year.

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For much-that's MUCH more-on the Hendrix reissues:

http://www.boomermediareview.com/JimiHendrixCDReissues2010.html

MORE NEWS TODAY, OH BOY: THE DAILY MAIL DOES JOHN LENNON, PLUS TB RAGES ON WHILST SEAN WELPS!

No anal peasant, he!

One of John Lennon's sons-not the first one-recently called a fan who questioned the Lennon estate licensing of his late father's image for a car commercial, an "asshole," and just to be clear, a "peasant," as well. (Or, in other words, baby come and drive John, he's a car and we've sold out/in, so fook off.)

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Well, yes, of course, most of us not a lucky shareholder in Lennon Inc. are but lowly serfs and servants toiling for our daily bread as bona fide, rabid, running dog lackeys of the bloody bourgeois.
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Yet for those who could care less what Son Number 2 says or does, there's this: a neat little pictorial bio of JL by the Daily Mail, with
many a rare and unseen pic, as well nary a comment from a spoiled, filthy rich, possibly even a little lite-in-the-loafers, rock royalty brat.

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Yes, the DM has done a right jolly good job with The Illustrated Biography of Johnny L, comprising as it does of 200 "classic, rare & unseen photographs."

We've included a nice shot here of Cynthia Lennon with John, circa May, 1964, along with a very informal Lennon, looking a bit knackered during the
second US tour in 1965.

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As noted previously in this space, it is difficult to believe that there is much "unseen" Lennon out there such was his profile, but then again, with so many shutters being clicked, and no Internet, where would all the pics have gone? Not enough trees for that, mate.
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Moving roight along, but still in the same general forest, we've just now 'eard from olde Apple hand and author, Tony Bramwell, whose 2005 book, Magical Mystery Tours is still wheeling along. But who the 'ell is this Royal Rosie Kingslander also listed on the cover of the well-received tome? Never 'eard of 'er, I'm afraid...

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Yet, yes, olde Tone seems to be on his bike and well on the way to becoming one of the top "go-to" boys on the Beatles as so says Paulie Macca.
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Hopefully, we shall see a second, bound installment of TB's daze as
a Fabs' friend and facilitator.

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But good Lord, boys and girls; can it really be near 50 years now since the Lads first played the Rats Skeller in the Fatherland?
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Cor, and bleedin' blimey!

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Roll up and visit the ongoing MM tour at:

http://www.tonybramwell.com/

ARE YOU EXPERIENCED, AGAIN?

Little wing, and wild thang!




The late, great, Jimi Hendrix only released three original albums during his way too short 27 years on the planet. But on March 9, we will get another chance to savour them.
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Those 1967-1970 iconic offerings, Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold As Love, and the double LP Electric Ladyland, plus later live and compilation releases have been available over the past four decades in many formats in varying degrees of audio fidelity.
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Due to previous legal infighting within the Hendrix heirs, some of the material was worthwhile, and some was marginal to say the least.
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But now, in the 40th year since Jimi's death, all the ownership stars are aligned, and Experience Hendrix-now the only official Hendrix hay-day music product peddlers-is releasing a batch of CDs that promise to be the "best" sounding since they were made to tape.
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Jimi's original recording engineer, Eddie Kramer has gone back to the best quality master tapes available, aw well in some instances, the individual multi-reel recordings, to 60s Hendrix worthy of 21st century technology.

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And the mining of those tape archives will also lead to the first "new," or heretofore unreleased Hendrix in some ten years, entitled Valleys of Neptune, a 10 track recording that Jimi was well underway with at the time of his death.

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The newest version of that planned 4th LP by Hendrix does contain some recent adds and over-dubs-something that many posthumus Hendrix recording have been criticized for-but according to Kramer the tone and theme of the originals have not been altered.

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The style of Valleys of Neptune is a sort of less funkified Band of Gypsys sound, embracing the blues, while style unmistakably Hendrix, overall.

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A smoker of a go at Sunshine of Your Love is a stand-out, as well.

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Experience Hendrix claims that there are about 10 years worth of unreleased material-studio and live-that is available for release, but the timetable was not spelled out.

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Also in the works is an anthology-type box-set of Hendrix rarities, plus remastered issues of Monterrey, Atlanta Pop Festival on CD and the Woodstock DVD will be out March 9.

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As well, the first 3 Hendrix masterpieces will contain a "making of" mini-doc DVD and expanded liner notes and many unseen pics.

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Can't wait to once again move over rover, and let Jimi take over.

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As of this writing, here are the only audio samples of the 12 tracks of Valleys of Neptune:

http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/mediaplayer.asp?ean=886976405625&track=2&disc=1

OH NO; ONO IN SATAN'S BED!

That's what she wants, yeah!

Yoko Ono has done some pretty funny things over the past 45 years, with actually saying that she had never even heard of the Beatles even by 1968, when she claimed the biggest one, John Lennon, surely a keeper.
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Yet perhaps for high inclusion on the Ono Larf List is her co-starring role in the 1965 schlock, soft-core-porn sleazoid, sex-offender friendly B minus "movie," Satan's Bed. No piece given a chance, here. The"ocean child," in a sea of cellulod sheit. And it was 45 years ago, today! Or at least 'round about there.
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YO's participation in Satan's Bed is not generally well known-damn, I wish I would have known about it when I interviewed her in 2000-and given the asinine awfulness of the flick, who could blame the girl for not dining out on it like the Lennon legend.
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Now, according to lore Mz. Ono has strongly suggested to friends and family that she may have some supernatural powers, and even entitled her 2007 CD, Yes, I'm A Witch. But getting horizontal in Lucifer's boudreau is something else all together, now!

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And courtesy of Something Weird Video, which has paired Satan's Bed with another blockbuster called Scare Their Pants Off, we can all witness a performance by YO that may not have been Oscar bait, but at the very least, crow (bait).
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Ah well; pre-Beatle, somewhat of a bloody living had to be made.

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Yoko suffered for her art, and courtesy of DVD, now we all can as well.
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SATAN'S BED TRAILER, courtesy of BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO, Cleveland, US and A
http://www.blockbuster.com/browse/catalog/movieDetails/72319