Get Your Kicks

Peace out, baby....

The Little Dragon was probably the closest thing to a real-life superhero the world ever had. Sure, guys like Schwarzenegger and Van Damme amped up the action and violence as they took on deadly foes - with the aid of cinematic tricks. But the former was slow and hulking and often relied on cybernetics and/or weapons, while the latter simply took his cue from the legendary Bruce Lee - with varied results. And to this day, nobody has come very close to Lee's example. 

I think it was when I was about twelve or thirteen years old that I first saw a Bruce Lee movie on TV. I was hooked immediately, drawn to his direct and powerful fighting style. Let's be clear here.... I was never a fighter, other than defending myself a couple of times back in primary school. A little blood was shed but everyone walked away in one piece. And I ended up befriending those assailants. I marveled, however, at Lee's poetry in motion, his quiet philosophy coupled with focused training, and of course, I wanted that physique (never happened).

I felt I was more than just a martial arts fan... I really wanted to learn Kung Fu or something like it. I bought a couple of books packed with photos demonstrating techniques and persuaded my brother and friends to stand-in as bad guys so I could try this stuff out. I never really learned a lot that way, but it was fun and gave me something positive to occupy my time. Hey, I could have been sticking firecrackers in frogs instead!

Around that time, when my family went on a summer vacation.... I can't remember if it was out on the Canadian Prairies (yawn) or over to Niagara Falls, I discovered in a little souvenir shop a very cool and colourful Bruce Lee T-shirt, picturing Bruce flying through the air, kicking and punching. I bought the shirt with my paper route money and wore it until it was nearly rags. 

A youth-oriented magazine that I subscribed to featured Lee in one issue, including a pull-out mini-poster showing Lee in one of his iconic poses from Enter the Dragon. Still got it!

I'm sure Bruce appeared on tons of magazine

covers over the decades, but this was one I 

picked up back in the early 80's, I believe

The comic book The Hands of Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu came along during the height of the North American kung fu craze. Sadly, Bruce Lee passed away that same year, 1973, but as his legacy spread across the world, his fan base grew exponentially, and of course, a lot of people wanted a piece of that action. So books and comics and all sorts of merchandise were dropped on the unsuspecting public. Anyway, Shang-Chi was a fun comic, endowing a gifted martial artist with superhero status - minus the super powers. Watch out, bad guys!

When actor David Carradine stole the lead role from Lee for a new TV series, I was all over that. I didn't know about Lee being considered for the role at the time, so there were no hard feelings. But Carradine on TV's Kung Fu gave the viewers a highly realistic performance of the martial art. Rather different from Lee's screaming devastation, Kwai Chang Caine (Carradine's character) was a humble traveller, helping those in need as he passed through dusty towns of the American Old West. 

Even though my parents knew I loved this stuff, they failed to see how martial arts classes were a good investment. So nothing of the kind happened. After a while, I stopped "pretending" with the How-To books and simply enjoyed the Lee movies.

As an adult, with some time and money to spare, I did take Kung Fu (plus Tai Chi) classes for a while, and though I thoroughly enjoyed it all, the cost became difficult to manage. I dropped the classes, but remain hopeful that I can return to it someday. My interest through films is still there, and I absolutely love the Donnie Yen Ip Man pictures. Ip Man was Bruce Lee's teacher, passing on his knowledge of Wing Chun. Lee, after mastering that art and many others, developed his own system, Jeet Kune Do, the origination of mixed martial arts. So all those MMA fans out there can thank Bruce for that!

Lee was a pop culture icon of the 20th century, a man made larger than life through his immense success in many pursuits.... as martial artist, martial arts instructor, filmmaker, and actor.

Two Lee books from my youth on the right, and a more

modern text at the left

Here's Johnny.... Fever

Where's Johnny?

Back in 1978 I caught the premiere of WKRP in Cincinnati, an American sit-com about a fictional struggling radio station. The show, with its offbeat style of humour and rock radio backdrop, carved out a spot on my viewing schedule and in TV history. The great cast of actors defined their roles so perfectly that they are still best remembered as those characters:

Dr. Johnny Fever - wacked-out aging hippy DJ
Venus Flytrap - well-dressed, slick and funky DJ with a past
Herb Tarlek - the station's sales manager who does little but obsess over his hair and coordinate his necktie and belt 
Les Nessman - the incompetent bow-tied news director who always sports a bandage somewhere on his person
Jennifer Marlowe - the pin-up girl receptionist who didn't really work much, but got the attention of every red-blooded male in the vicinity
Bailey Quarters - the cute and shy on-air news reporter who quietly got the job done
Arthur Carlson - the father figure station manager with a weak will but a heart of gold... and a controlling mother who owns the station
Andy Travis - the new program director who brings rock'n'roll and feathered hair to WKRP

The colourful characters were strong enough to carry the series, even when a script was a little sub-par, which it rarely was. 

Johnny Fever will forever remain ingrained in my mind for his comic insanity in the episode about the "phone cops", when his paranoia peaks as he seeks to evade those who he believes are enforcers from the phone company. 

And station manager Mr. Carlson, who innocently thought turkeys could fly, and had them dropped from a helicopter as a Thanksgiving publicity stunt. Oops!

Les Nessman, nerd-o supreme-o, was the lovable misfit of the station, eliciting wise-cracks from Herb most of the time. One of his defining moments was when he put lines on the floor of the shared office area to mark his personal space, which he felt everyone was invading.... and interrupting his work. 

WKRP ran for four seasons, and I believe I saw every episode.... several times each once the show reached syndication. 

Something I loved about WKRP were the popular songs of that time played by Johnny Fever when he took over the DJ booth. On more than a few occasions, I heard songs I loved on the show, then the next day I'd go hunt down the record (because there were no CDs back then) of the song. I distinctly remember a few of those tunes that had an impact on me.... first, there was Foreigner's Hot Blooded, which I bought on 45 rpm single... then there was Jefferson Starship's Jane, a not-so-well-known rocker from their not-so-well-known album Freedom at Point Zero (which I bought solely on my exposure to Jane on WKRP).... and there was the catchy Lonesome Loser, by The Little River Band. So thanks, Johnny!

WKRP was briefly revived in the early 90's, but it obviously stunk, for I can't remember a single thing about it. A shame that ever happened.... the show should only be remembered for its classic '78-82 run.

Booger!

All That Jazz

Mr. Rollins, weapon in hand

It was in the mid-90's that I "discovered" jazz. I'd been ever so slightly aware of some jazz music prior to this but it was extremely casual listening, and I only had one recording... by one Dave Brubeck, who eventually became a favourite musician. 

It was around this time that I decided to attend for the first time the International Jazz Festival here in the city. This was an eye-opening experience for me, for not only did I suddenly have access to loads of music but I could also witness the strong and vital vibe that resonates at a live performance. I'd been to dozens of rock concerts, and while there was an electric ambience at those shows, the jazz gig attracted a very different audience, one that was seemingly more sedate, but actually more attentive and not a bit less engaged.

The musicians and the listeners are connected in a way that's almost indescribable, yet I will try to describe it: there is something cerebral about the technical intelligence of the artists, and even their ideas... song structures often startle in their oddity but once absorbed, they are understood to be something approaching genius. This may not apply to all jazz, but there are styles within the form that present themselves this way. And all of this stimulates the audience in a way rarely seen in rock, though progressive rock does often share this characteristic. 

The imaginative and spiritual components sink in at levels not always perceptible to the listener. While the playful or jarring challenge of some songs is immediate, there is often a subtext that rides just below the surface. The most adept jazz artists wrote music that worked on more than one plane. Sometimes without them even knowing it. And that's the beauty of the form - the organic and innate way that the musicians communicate with listeners. Then the spiritual side, which you might have to work for, resonates at a deeper level, once the listener has allowed the music entrance to more than his or her ears. I've found at concerts that once my visual "need" has been satisfied, if I close my eyes and not just hear but also feel the music, something else altogether takes over. I'll call that spiritual, even though I have never thought myself a spiritual person. But maybe I am?

I took a two-week summer "stay-cation" (a stay at home vacation) during that first jazz festival (and for summer jazz fests in subsequent years) so that I could take in as many shows as possible. I saw a minimum of one or two concerts per day over the ten day period, sometimes as many as four or five in a day and evening. That was so long ago, and so packed with shows, that I can't even recall who I saw that first time out. But I know I was impressed. 

I watched the free (often big band) afternoon shows at the park, I came for the two big bandshell concerts (major artists - both youngsters and veterans) in the evening, and then I took in the late evening "experimental" gigs (like free jazz) indoors at the arts centre. A wide variety of styles from all over the world, music from past and present. 

During my several years of attending the jazz festival, I saw greats young and old, like Dave Brubeck, the Marsalis family (I saw a show featuring the two sons plus their dad!), Tony Bennett, Michael Kaeshammer, Molly Johnson, Sonny Rollins, and many more. 

Buying up CDs at an astounding rate, I educated myself on the history of jazz in short order, developing an appreciation for established artists who soon became my favourite musicians... like Rollins, Miles Davis, Brubeck, Art Blakey, Monk, Guaraldi, and Charlie Parker. 

Krall - supermodel of jazz

When I discovered the young and talented Diana Krall, I felt complete. After checking out All For You, Krall's Nat King Cole Trio tribute, from the library, I proceeded to snap up all of her albums and then follow her career from then on. I caught Krall in concert in 1999, very shortly before she went huge.... international. I'm glad I saw her when I did because thereafter it was nearly impossible to get tickets to her quick-sell-out shows. Krall's warm, sultry voice was perfect for the material she played, both the standards and her original pieces. The best of her catalogue, in my opinion, were her earlier efforts, concentrating on small band accompaniment... the trio format worked amazingly well, complementing but not overpowering her vocals and accomplished work on the piano. And her interpretations of the jazz classics were wonderfully spun, respectful and creative in their own right.

Bookish Bond

There are more books about the world of James Bond than any one person could ever find and obtain. There are the novels and short stories, books about the novels, books about Ian Fleming (creator of Bond), books about the Bond films and their music and their movie posters, books about the actors and the film-makers... the list goes on and on. 

I used to scour the bookstores in search of unusual titles, and though I don't do that on a regular basis anymore, I am always more than willing to snap up a neat find should I see one in my travels. I have a decent little collection, and I would like to see it grow... not just for the sake of owning things, but because there are so many fascinating stories behind Bond and his creators. I say "creators" in the plural because there first was Ian Fleming who invented the character, and then there were the many movie directors and actors and writers who often re-invented Bond for the silver screen. We've seen more than a few interpretations of 007.

A few of the weird little nuggets I've found over the years were about the Fleming novels and about Bond in general, including the films:

I haven't even read these yet, but they'll keep the shelf

warm until I retire and have all the time in the world for them

My two shelves dedicated to Bond books and videos are crying out for some help. Time for another shelf? Naturally, I have all of the Ian Fleming novels and short stories, most of them in multiple editions with different cover art. Then there are the spin-off novels by noted authors that came after dear old Ian passed away. Those books varied in quality, but I made a point of acquiring at least the better ones, ones that were recommended as worth a try. Kingsley Amis wrote the first continuation novel Colonel Sun, released in 1968. Pretty good, but still not Fleming. 

The 80's and early 90's saw John Gardner take up the assignment to carry on the Bond literary series. Gardner did a respectable job, often quite good, mimicking enough of Fleming's "voice" on the page to convince the fans. A slightly more modern 007, but retaining the "feel" of Fleming's era. Of all the post-Fleming Bond authors, I admire Gardner's work most. He knocked out sixteen books before retiring from the Bond gig. 

Raymond Benson took the job in '96, proceeding to deliver a handful of Bond novels, short stories, and film novelizations. Some were rather good. Something about his style reminded me a lot of the Timothy Dalton Bond movies of the 80's. Each author had a way of eliciting a mental image of a different film Bond. Gardner made me think of Roger Moore, perhaps because his tenure began during Moore's run as 007. 

Some early editions of Fleming and one by Mr. Amis

After Benson lit out, a few writers took turns at the typewriter, each turning in just one book apiece. I don't know if that was due to a lack of success by each author, but the fact is that none of those stories quite rivaled the best of Benson or Gardner. Devil May Care, by Sebastian Faulks, was perhaps the best of them... for me, mainly because I pictured Sean Connery as I tore through that book. Definitely a 60's vibe. The next entry, Carte Blanche by Jeffery Deaver, was a bit of a disappointment, especially since I was a Deaver crime fiction fan to begin with. But he failed to bring Bond to life in an exciting tale. 

The latest, Solo by William Boyd, was a bit better, but I am wondering where all this is going. An author will eventually need to settle into the job and develop a sense of the character and spin stories that will thrill us... at least a bit. But these one-offs are creating a sort of disjointed Bond universe, lacking a consistent flavour as the series goes on.

It's been years since I've read the Fleming novels, but I'm feeling the itch to revisit at least a few of my favourites, such as On Her Majesty's Secret Service and From Russia With Love. And maybe even one or two of the Gardner books. 

The gun is mightier than the sword, he said knowingly

I'm Talking About Some New Kicks

Seems to me he's the baddest cat alive

Back in my formative years, developing some semblance of musical taste as a teenager, I discovered a dangerous band called Van Halen. Crap, that guitarist was insane! And genius! I worshipped Eddie Van Halen's six-string talents for ages, and I still love the vintage Van Halen albums, up to and including 1984.

I guess I must have stumbled across these guys not long after their recording career got going. I seem to recall hearing songs from just their first three albums on the radio at the time. Then my acquisition of their albums began, and that's when I found even cooler and heavier songs than the radio stations were brave enough to play. I particularly remember some stuff from Women and Children First that suitably blew me away.... Fools and Loss of Control were a couple of blazing rockers that put everything and everyone else to shame. Aggressive and creatively and technically brilliant. 

The band with Roth singing existed since '74, but it wasn't until '78 that they released a full length album. Van Halen definitely paid their dues, but it was largely guitarist Eddie's prowess on the instrument and with songwriting that catapulted the guys to stardom. KISS's bassist Gene Simmons even had a hand in developing their first demo tape, but a difference of opinions saw him split from that party. Not long after, the band was signed to the Warner Bros. Records label. And the rest was history.

Van Halen's first, self-titled, album went to number 19 on the US Billboard charts, at the time making it one of rock music's most commercially successful debuts. Pretty good for a band that didn't like to compromise and played heavy music to boot. But they did take a bit of advice from a night club manager and learned to write at least some songs that girls could dance to.... that was the formula that both earned them respect from the musician community and got them tons of radio airplay during their lengthy - if rocky - career. 

Van Halen's music was popular throughout my high school years, the soundtrack to many weekend parties. And I played it constantly in my basement bedroom, usually with headphones clamped onto my skull, since my pop couldn't stand that "jungle music", as he put it so eloquently. 

Between David Lee Roth's party hearty call to arms hollering and Eddie's mind-bending axe-picking, the group simply ruled the rock and roll sphere. Colourful photos of Van Halen were splashed across music magazines back in the day.... Roth clad in his wacky spandex designs and Eddie in his ultra-cool jumpsuits. These guys set the standard for fun and crazy clothes in rock... until it simply got out of hand with all of the Van Halen imitators in the 80's.

To this day, one of my favourite rock albums of all time is 1981's Fair Warning, the band's fourth release. Edgier and darker than anything else Van Halen ever put out, this disc not only introduced a rawer and more inventive approach to guitar and a few raunchy lyrics, but it also ushered in the use of electronic keyboards. Eddie had a solid grounding in piano in his youth, so he happily played with the keys, mostly creating some weird synthesized sounds on the album's last couple of tunes. On the follow-up album, Diver Down, we'd get a whole wack more keyboards. Not that we asked for that.

Strangely, but most deservedly, Fair Warning was awarded a spot on Esquire magazine's list of the 75 Albums Every Man Should Own. A  cool fact to file away for a beer-drinking trivia contest. 

I never cared much for the Sammy Hagar recordings.... once Roth departed after the monster album 1984, I pretty much forgot about the band. I did buy the first couple of albums with Hagar but got sick of them pretty quickly. Not just his voice, but the whole vibe was wrong. The songwriting just wasn't there. Not for me, anyway. 

Van Halen's best years were long gone, but that incredible classic set of six Roth-sung discs will always remain in my CD collection. 

Sneakers styled after Eddie's custom-painted guitars

.... really

Battlestar Bonanza

Apollo, Adama, and Starbuck, flashlights at the ready

Television back in the late 1970's was pretty sweet for a kid who loved sci-fi. Star Wars (the original '77 film) had changed the world. Every TV network was jumping on that bandwagon, hoping to grab some cash while the craze lasted, though little did they know that the face of pop culture and what was considered "cool" would change forever. 

Let's be honest here, anyone who obsessed over sci-fi or fantasy up until the 80's was considered an undesirable. Not a terrible person, but he or she simply wouldn't fit in with the so-called cool gang. Ostracized by that clique, the nerds generally created their own community, but even that notion was in its infancy.... Star Trek conventions were among the very few new-ish "socials" for the bookish, science-oriented, or introverted types. As the decades wore on, Star Wars and Star Trek picked up steam rapidly in the public consciousness, and eventually, character names from those shows and movies became household knowledge.... even Mom and Dad (not mine, though) talked about the Wookiees and the Klingons. And more and more movies and TV shows of that genre were on the menu at any given time. They began to dominate pop culture. 

Then everyone liked that stuff, even the "cool" kids. Nowadays, people young and old who would have been considered geeky back in the 70's or 80's are the cool ones. Sci-fi is everywhere, so just enjoy it (if you like it), whoever you are.

In 1978, Battlestar Galactica hit the TV airwaves, sending up a resounding cheer within the Star Wars fan camp. We loved Star Wars and we wanted more! Even if it was only slightly similar... in tone, in look, conceptually, story-wise... the fans wanted - no, needed - a longer fix of science fiction and space fantasy. Battlestar did the trick.

The original TV show was a combo of Star Wars styling with biblical story themes. The spiritual ideas that were apparently in the mix were lost on me, just a dumb tween, at the time. The show's creator, Glen A. Larson, blended his own religious beliefs into the show's story, much to the dismay of some viewers (the critics). Veteran Canadian actor Lorne Greene, who played the lead role of Commander Adama, even wore robed outfits that resembled those of a religious minister.

Possibly the weirdest thing about the show

But the rag tag fleet of cruiser ships and the Viper fighters, the eerie warbling Cylons, the robot puppies, the Han Solo-style duds, Egyptian space helmets and the short cloaks... it all resonated with familiarity and yet brought a fresh approach to the show's viewers. Slick and punchy. Not quite as talky as Star Trek and not as fantasy-laden as Star Wars, Battlestar struck a decent middle ground.

The show's budget allowed for good special effects, which according to my memory (but not necessarily fact) rivaled those of Star Wars. Space dogfights, laser gunfights, the Cylons, and anything SFX-oriented were impressive enough to win over followers of the genre. 

Battlestar, like Star Trek and Star Wars before it, spawned a barrage of toys, games, model kits, comics, and books. I built a Viper model myself.... it's not terribly impressive, but hey, I was a beginner way back then. The model is still kicking around and is in fine condition, as you can see:

Given my recently revived interest in scale modeling,

maybe I could go back and spruce up this old Viper

Unfortunately, Battlestar didn't have the legs to take it very far.... just one season in, the show was cancelled. It was revived briefly in a weaker and drastically changed state as Galactica 1980, but lack of interest from anyone killed it in the water. As everyone in this and surrounding galaxies knows, the Galactica reboot in 2003 was a huge success, beginning as a mini-series, then regular series, movies and webisodes. I saw the original mini-series, but that's as far as I took it. Maybe I'll revisit the show someday and follow it further. Or not. 

I think I'd just like to hang onto the memories of the original, space puppies and all. 

Barry, John Barry

A young John Barry... could have been Bond, eh?

As a huge aficionado of all things James Bond, I have a wealth of stuff to talk about on the subject. So where to start? Today I'll just touch on the Bond movie music, which is itself a huge area to cover, since so much outstanding music was created for the long-running film series. The classic era of Bond music was the 60's, though the 70's and even the 80's had some surprises for us.

To begin with, a man named Monty Norman wrote the music for the very first Bond film, Dr. No. Included in that soundtrack was the now-famous James Bond Theme, which has appeared in some form or other in every 007 film since. Composer John Barry was brought on board to tweak that Theme to suit the tastes of the film-makers. That created a years-long legal battle over who was responsible for the piece of music. Most deservedly, Norman finally won two libel action suits so that he could claim the Theme was his.

But that was the end of Norman's association with the Bond films... though he did receive a wack of royalties over the following decades.

John Barry took over the musical production duties on the second Bond movie, From Russia With Love. Here, he began to flesh out the musical world of Bond, introducing soundscapes that placed the listener in the driver's seat during a Cold War spy mission. The "007" theme that appears in FRWL became a motif that fit well into future Bond films. It's militaristic percussion and staccato horns collaborated with the more melodic string section to build a catchy, tense, and forceful piece.

And the rest is history. The now prolific English composer scored eleven of the Bond movies between 1963 and 1987. During his fifty year career, Barry created music for over one hundred films, not to mention the television themes, musicals, and his recordings with the John Barry Seven and John Barry Orchestra. A busy lad. 

When I began collecting the Bond movies for the first time during the late 90's, I became more and more aware of the great music this multiple award-winning composer gave to the world. So along with the movies, I also accumulated a set of the Bond movie soundtracks. Plus many of Barry's non-Bond scores, some of which are just as good if not better.

While the CDs are for my listening pleasure, a few of the old vinyl LPs (some are first issue) are proudly displayed on my walls for my viewing pleasure. 

The soundtrack albums are wonderful listening in their own right. Certainly, Barry's music is meticulously arranged for the films, from beautiful sweeping flourishes (as in You Only Live Twice) to gripping, tense pieces (as in On Her Majesty's Secret Service). It was for OHMSS that Barry invented some brand new motifs that would later be identified with Bond just as much as the original Monty Norman theme and the 007 Theme. The "OHMSS main title" especially would be re-interpreted many times over by modern artists.... Barry successfully captured the essence of the spy film in the piece, with its Morse code-like descending riff played against the lush, exciting horns and strings, plus the chase scene-paced percussion. 

While I generally favour the earlier Bond soundtracks, some of his best work appears a bit later in the film series. Moonraker and A View to a Kill contain some amazing orchestral pieces, again proving the music was better than the movies for which they were produced. 1971's Diamonds Are Forever also fell into that category.

And then there was Barry's (sometimes co-written) string of highly successful Bond movie theme songs: from Shirley Bassey's brassy rendition of Goldfinger to Nancy Sinatra's You Only Live Twice, from Louis Armstrong's We Have All the Time in the World to Duran Duran singing A View to a Kill. And Carly Simon's Nobody Does It Better. Click the link for my discussion of that huge hit. 

Whole books have been written about Bond music, so I see no reason to delve too deeply into things all in one shot, or at all. But it's important to recognize John Barry's contribution to film and to the Bond series. His legacy will stand for ages, for as long as we love living precariously through the adventures of 007.... and as long as we enjoy relaxing with a vodka martini, listening to CDs of some of the greatest movie music of all time.

The Lucas Menace

How can you not love that face? Easy....

A long time ago in a theatre far, far away (just across town, actually) I stood in the ticket line for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Hey, who knew?

Space... 1999: This was the opening day of the long anticipated Star Wars prequel, and the lineups were insanely long. The queue ran out the doors of the theatre and wound through a cordoned waiting area that snaked across the parking lot! Good thing it didn't rain. I was out there for quite some time, an hour... two hours.... three... I have no recollection. It's best that I don't remember the particulars.

While I felt the visuals were stunning, I left the movie with mixed feelings. There were interesting elements to the story. There were weird and confusing facets, too. And there were downright awful bits that still make me cringe when I re-watch the film (very rarely, I should add). 

Liam Neeson's character Qui-Gon was a neat, if brief, addition to the world of Star Wars. Ewan McGregor was a great choice as young man Obi Wan. Anakin - the kid - was mostly dull and perhaps slightly annoying sometimes. Natalie Portman was a pretty face dressed like a clown, delivering terrible dialogue. Well, the dialogue only got worse as the film series continued, so comparatively, it wasn't too bad. Darth Maul was a cool villain.... all creepy make-up, agile acrobatics, and double-ended light-saber. The droids were there.... R2 was our one familiar "face", twirping and buzzing with glee; 3P0, on the other hand, was a technical work in progress, a prototype that would later become the gleaming priss we already know... barely recognizable but for his butler-ish voice. 

Oh yeah, and then there was Jar Jar, the biggest joke of the whole Star Wars universe. Designed to sell toys and to annoy and/or offend those who won't buy the toys. The awkward Jamaican-accented fish-man appealed to someone out there, but it sure wasn't me. Between his ridiculous manner of speaking and his childish fart jokes, the character was reduced to a crude Saturday morning cartoon. Way to go, George!

We who are brutally critical of the prequels, especially Phantom Menace, blame Star Wars inventor George Lucas. For Phantom Menace, the man in plaid took over directorial duties for the first time since the original '77 film. And he obviously had lost his touch in that department... all three prequels suffered in their presentation. Its follow-up Episode II: Attack of the Clones was a scattered mess, a string of often dizzying CGI action scenes that failed to satisfy. Though Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was a neater package, it would have been tough to screw that one up anyway, since it had only to rely upon the original trilogy for direction. 

Lucas's skills at screenwriting, especially believable dialogue, really hit rock bottom in the prequels - most notably in Episodes II and III. The scenes with young man Anakin and Amidala are either painful or hilarious to watch, depending on your mood at the time. "Anakin, you're breaking my heart". Right. And it only gets better.... er, worse. 

Old George's decision to explain away The Force with science was baffling. Why not leave it as the mystical aura or whatever, no secrets revealed, and leave some mystery and fantasy for us to appreciate? 

And don't get me started about all the political mumbo-jumbo. What on Earth (or Tatooine, for that matter) was Lucas thinking? Imperial blockades, Trade Federation routes, the Senate, blah blah blah.... who, young or old, wants to hear lengthy speeches about all of this junk? That stuff drove the movie (all three prequels, really) to a stand-still every time. Why slog through boring political discussions only to be rewarded with kiddie jokes by Mr. Frog Face? Lucas flip-flopped (mostly flopped) between scenes that were too adult and too childish. 

Though I had issues with The Phantom Menace, I was still swept up in the new wave of Star Wars mania. I picked up the glossy program at the theatre. And I bought the Official Souvenir Magazine off the newstands. And a movie poster, which I've since given away to a young fan. When the movie was first released on home video, I snapped up the limited edition VHS set, which included a behind-the-scenes booklet and small strip of 35mm film, all housed in a handsome storage case. Any takers?

Collectible or not?

And now we have a new Star Wars film on its way, presumably to hit theatres just before Christmas of 2015. This will be the continuation of the original trilogy, picking up thirty years after Return of the Jedi. Director JJ Abrams should be an able helmsman on the film, given his very Star Wars-y presentation of the Star Trek re-boot flicks. Abrams is joined by Empire Strikes Back (the best of the bunch) scripter Lawrence Kasdan on the re-writing of Lucas's outline. Lucas is no longer involved, after having sold off all things Star Wars to Disney. While I'm nervous about Disney holding the reins now, I remain hopeful.

Many of the main actors from the original trilogy will appear in Episode VII. It should be interesting to see how they figure into the new story and just how much screen time they have. All I can say is I feel sorry for the much aged actors who play Chewie and the droids... it's going to be very uncomfortable wrapped in fur and plastic or metal for those roles. Good luck, guys.

And hopefully there won't be any Ewoks this time around. 

Line 'em up....

Cheap Trickery

The music's up loud... and we don't care

Zipping back to my early days of high school, I find myself watching TV one day, the local station.... and there is a guy I recognize from my school playing drums in a band. You know, one of those little local talent shows where people tap dance, sing, and play the spoons. Well, I only slightly knew this guy at the time... he was a friend of a friend (of a friend?), and I did see him wandering the halls of my educational institution now and then. Dave was his name. Long hair and an air about him that said "I'm not like the rest of you". But in a friendly and unchallenging way. Nice guy, really. I got to know him a bit better over time, as my buddies and I played "roadies" for the band at one gig and watched them rehearse a few times. 

So - Dave and his bandmates scored a gig on TV, and I was impressed. They played pretty well, too, certainly better than me. I'm sure it was an unpaid performance, but hey,it was free promotion. The band played a Cheap Trick song... I'm not positive which one, but it might have been Hello There. Anyway, at the time, I stored away this information for later. 

This is where the story of Dave ends and the story of Cheap Trick begins. Dave's TV appearance was my introduction to Cheap Trick. There you go.

Then I went bananas for Cheap Trick. I started collecting their existing records, not in any particular order, but it wasn't long before I had them all. The local record shop had them on sale for just five bucks apiece, so I found it pretty easy to afford them - one by one: Cheap Trick, In Color, Heaven Tonight, Cheap Trick at Budokan, Found All the Parts, and Dream Police.

Those were good times, spinning all of those great 70's rockers, ballads and pop songs. Cheap Trick became my favourite band, and I think my obsession with them pre-dated my immersion in Rush just a bit later. I even owned two copies each of Dream Police and ... At Budokan, one on vinyl and one on rickety old 8-track tape, if you can believe it. Years later, I'd replace those with cassette tapes and then CDs. Oh, how those recording companies (and artists hopefully) cleaned up on my multiple purchases of the same album.

After All Shook Up came out in 1980, I sort of lost touch with the band. Rush was number one for me by then and my tastes were rapidly veering deep into heavy metal territory. Sabbath and Maiden and Scorpions were gaining footing in my music collection. But occasionally I'd hear a new Cheap Trick song and would then come running back to revisit those great old tunes. The soundtrack for the movie Heavy Metal featured two terrific CT tracks, I Must Be Dreamin' and Reach Out. My friends and I loved that soundtrack, playing it constantly at our respectable gatherings.

Collectible? Hmmm, could be....

Oh, and included in the cool 1980 EP Found All the Parts was a bonus promotional single of Everything Works If You Let It, one of my favourite CT songs. It was the eclecticism of the band that I loved so much. The variety of styles in their catalogue rivaled that of The Beatles, to whom CT was frequently compared. Trick never quite reached the heights of the Fab Four, but they certainly made their mark on the world for a few years, even if their post-70's work was less successful. I'm guilty of not weathering the rough ride with the band. I stopped following them entirely until 1988, when Lap of Luxury put them back on the map with the international hit ballad The Flame (which plays everywhere nowadays, and sadly, which many younger people cite as the best CT song ever). Good song.... excellent guitar solo.... but it doesn't touch their 70's output. 

A few years back I filled in some of the gaps in my Trick CD collection, but I intentionally left some holes. Maybe I'll eventually try out those remaining albums and see what I think. I did, however, get their latest, called The Latest, released in 2009. Pretty good for a band whose glory days were decades in the past. The talent is still there, instrumentally, vocally, and perhaps to a lesser extent, in the songwriting department. Still....

Fast forward to 2011 and I'm standing with my daughter just a bottle cap's flick from the stage at an outdoor music festival. Cheap Trick is looking awesome, about four songs into their set. Then a blast of wind sent from deep space tore through the stage.... we were too close to the mayhem to stick around so we turned and ran for our lives. It was scary! The stage supports buckled and the roof and everything came tumbling down. Rain bucketed down and high winds ripped through the festival grounds. I thought a tornado was descending upon us. But that wasn't the case. Just that one massive gust, enough to ruin the day for everyone. 

It was a miracle no lives were lost that day. But I sure hated missing out on the one opportunity I had to see Cheap Trick up close. Well, they still tour, so maybe I'll get my chance again sometime. 

Coming Up Red Roses

A curious little rocker, Old Siam Sir by Macca

I was never a huge Paul McCartney fan outside of his work with The Beatles, but I did dabble in some of his post-Fab Four offerings of the 70's. While I enjoyed some of the Wings music he produced, I never invested in any of those albums. I did, strangely, pick up the single Old Siam Sir, from the critically lambasted Wings album Back to the Egg of '79. A friend of mine played the album for me so I got a taste of its uneven music. The song Getting Closer was one of the few decent ones, I believe.

My first solo McCartney purchase was the Coming Up single of 1980. That 7" record also included a live Wings version of the song, plus an oddity called Lunch Box/Odd Sox. The quality of the dance-y pop tune Coming Up prompted me to pick up the 1980 LP McCartney II. 

The Coming Up single, plus a live version & some other weird tune

McCartney II  was entirely self-produced, cobbled together in the ex-Beatle's home studio. Paul fiddled with electronic gizmos as he pounded out a set of very experimental music, quite unexpected for someone as mainstream as this fellow. Wife Linda did some backing vocals, but that was it for outside interference. Paul did everything else on the album. 

I wasn't crazy about the album, but it was intriguing and challenging. And I just now learned that the Wings live version of Coming Up, a bonus 7" vinyl single included with the LP, was in fact a bit of a rarity, only available with some copies of the album in North America. The album charted high in the U.S. and UK but it was greeted with mixed critical reviews across the board. Coming Up, on the other hand, received high praise and hit number one on both U.S. and Canadian music charts. Yay!

The one-sided live Coming Up single, a bonus from the 

McCartney II LP - a collectible? Well, mine is in pristine condition....

Hold the Phone.... Hold Your Fire

Jivin' at the jazz club

Canada's homegrown heroes Rush released their twelfth album Hold Your Fire back in 1987. I was there. Though the album didn't quite live up to the standard set by even the previous two discs Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows, HYF did have a certain charm. A very jangly guitar dominated the mix while keyboards took a backseat - more tastefully complementing rather than engaging in a power struggle with guitar. And a pop sensibility reigned in both arrangement and execution. 

The songs of Hold Your Fire are short by Rush standards, so they feel punchy and to the point.... no lengthy epics of dragons and spaceships here. In fact, lyricist (and drummer) Neil Peart's focus had by now shifted more firmly into the real world, examining the ills of the world and its past on GUP, commenting on the global situation on Power Windows, and now putting personal relationships under the microscope on Hold Your Fire. Unfortunately, the sound mix of the album assigned a bright, almost tinny cast to the whole affair, where the bass lacked the gutsiness of previous recordings. 

While I wasn't bowled over by the material on this album, I did find a lot to like. For instance, songs like Force Ten, Time Stand Still, Prime Mover, Lock and Key, and High Water were catchy rockers... well, Time Stand Still leaned dangerously into Top 10 Pop territory, but it was still enjoyable. Other songs had their weaknesses, but even Second Nature and Tai Shan were captivating in their lighter approach. More mainstream than progressive, this collection of songs veered in a direction that thankfully would be righted shortly after.... where the band would return to a warmer, more organic feel on Presto.

This 1988 concert exists as a blur in my memory... it was a busy time of my life, having just settled in a new city in a new job with a new girlfriend. Life was bustling along, and I recall it was a task to shoehorn this Montreal Rush show into my schedule. But I do remember the fine glow one wears for days after attending a Rush concert. 

My concert program and ticket, plus a stub from a Toronto

show that I never even attended... where'd that come from?