A Few Recommendations for Summer 2022

Every now and then when it comes time for me to write a Saturday post, a large, overarching one about a single topic, I realize I don’t have one. So I’m going to provide a few recommendations of things I’m listening to, watching, or reading.

Top Gun: Maverick

Now THIS is how to do a legacy sequel. Age up the characters in real time, address the passage of time, and provide a wonderful piece of closure with a legacy co-star. Oh, and incredible action sequences. Holy cow was this a great movie. I took my wife who didn’t necessarily want to see it but she emerged very entertained. Not as entertained as I was: now I want to see this film in IMAX.

And please tell me I’m not the only one who saw the movie and kept having to slow down the car while driving home.

Def Leppard: Diamond Star Halos

Taking a page from the legacy artist idea I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, Def Leppard released their newest album last Friday. Fifteen tracks (17 if you buy from Target) of classic rock goodness. Much like the modern band, The Struts, the Joe Elliott-led five piece band wear their influences on their sleeves, and it starts with the album title.

There’s a whimsical vibe to these songs from the opening chord progression of “Take What You Want” to open the album to the last few notes of “From Here to Eternity.” Allison Krauss lends her vocals to a pair of tunes but make no mistake: this is a rock/pop/metal album just like the band used to make in their heyday.

Lyrically, the guys know their age and acknowledge it throughout the entire record. This was an album I looked forward to ever since it was announced and boy did they deliver.

And yes, we listened to Def Leppard on the way to and from seeing Top Gun: Maverick.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

The third thing released last Friday, this is a Star Wars series I’ve been eagerly anticipating since it was announced as well. In fact, I even held off reading the old Extended Universe novel.

We knew what we were going to get from the trailers: an older, wiser(?) Obi-Wan, living on Tatooine, watching over a ten-year-old Luke Skywalker. What I didn’t expect was his sister, Leia. In fact, it is her plight that propels the series.

I appreciate the slower roll, just like I did for the Mandalorian. I have zero issues with the actors on the show either (so a certain segment of the Star Wars fandom can just go home).

As big a Star Wars fan as I am, I didn’t watch the animated shows so everything in Obi-Wan Kenobi is new to me.

Oh, and so great to see Darth Vader back to being the feared force he is. But I’ll say something that might make a few of y’all look at me askance. I’m fine with James Earl Jones voicing Vader, but how about some more intense inflection, huh? I mean Vader/Anakin finally lays eyes on Kenobi after ten years and it’s like their talking over tea. The last thing Anakin yelled at Kenobi in Episode III was pure hatred. Where’s that emotion in Vader’s inflection?

No Time to Spy by Max Allan Collins and Matthew V. Clemens

If you like James Bond, might I point you in the direction of this trilogy of book by Collins and Clemens. The premise is pure fun: the main character is John Sand, a real spy who worked with Ian Fleming and the latter author based James Bond on John Sand. Sand, now outed as a spy, marries a rich Texas oil heiress. Despite his retirement, action and adventure follow Mr. and Mrs. Sand.

While I’ve not read all three books—Come Spy With Me; Live Fast, Spy Hard; To Live and Spy in Berlin—a compilation ebook is on sale *this weekend* for only $0.99. You read that correctly: for a dollar(!), you get three novels. Seriously, it’s an impulse buy at that point.

Here’s the Amazon link.

Roll With It by Jay Stringer

Jay Stringer broke the news that his latest novel is now available as an audiobook on Audible. As a person who primarily consumes books in that manner, this was great news.

But Jay went above and beyond and made available a few promo codes. These are US only—UK codes will be forthcoming—so if you haven’t had a chance to read his post from yesterday, head on over and see if any of those codes are still available.

Even if they’re not, the book is only 1 credit ($13.96 if you just want to buy it) so get on over to Audible and get a copy. Also, for you library folks out there, be sure to request your library to buy the book and help spread the word.

Alice Cooper with Halestorm in Houston

The year 2019 began with discovering a unknown-to-me Alice Cooper record, so it was altogether fitting that the original shock rocker himself toured during the summer of 2019. Back in January, my son played Welcome 2 My Nightmare, the 2011 follow-up to Alice's 1975 Welcome to My Nightmare. Love this record, especially the opening track, "I Was Made of You," a powerful slow burn rock song that would be great as an opener. The album surprised me as I had barely heard any Alice Cooper music for nearly my entire life.

My son, who has continually expanded his collection of Alice Cooper album, and I caught the show in Houston last night, and it was incredible. It was no surprise Cooper put on a great show, but what really surprised me last night was the opening act.

The Discovery of Halestorm

Last night, I went from "Who the heck is Halestorm?" to "Holy cow, you've got to listen to Halestorm!"

Sure, I could have looked up their music ahead of time, but I wanted their show to be new on the spot. So glad I did. This four-piece band is led by a charasmatic lead singer/rhythm guitarist named Lzzy Hale. It's not everyday you see a female-fronted rock band that is this damn good. She, however, is incredible. Her singing voice is a unique mixture of gravel and clear, depending on what she wants to do with it. Her guitar playing keeps the band's music humming, but she can cut a solo pretty darn good. More importantly, she was having an absolute blast. Sure, she's snarl on some songs, but more often than not, when she'd leave the mic, she was grinning, like "Can you believe this is my job?"

The opening tunes were good, but by the end, I was sold. Heck, that last song, with its extended guitar solos, all but morphed into the chord pattern and rhythm of Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4." My ears may have been hearing what I wanted to hear, but I could have sworn part of the lead guitarists notes were homages to Terry Kath.

Check out Halestorm live if you can. You'll be standing and cheering by the end of their set.

The Shock Rocker Himself

Alice Cooper is touring behind his Ol' Black Eyes is Back show which features what seems like not only a greatest hits show, but a greatest hits of stagecraft. His stage setup resembled some Gothic castle with an upper part and the main stage below. The drum kit was off to the left side which enabled the giant central door to to center stage.

Much like David Bowie's arrival on this very same stage in 2004, Alice knows his silhouette is unique. So after the extended introduction, the curtain fell, the band turned it up, and there he was, on the top, waltzing down with a top hat and cane.

Cher's got nothing on Alice. With almost every song, Alice would alter part of his wardrobe. A few songs later, Alice brought out maracas with lights on them. Maracas in a rock band? Yup. He brought out a bloody crutch for Eighteen, a sword (foil) for Billion Dollar Babies, and a riding crop for Poison.

Aside from his wardrobe changes, every now and then, he'd have various stage hands, all dressed in costume, come out and be part of the show. Sometimes they'd appear as knights, other times, as mental asylum attendants complete with baby-faced masks. The entire show, Alice never broke character. He knew where the cameras were and played to them, snarling with aplomb and giving the audience all it wanted.

The Guitarists

In any given rock back, you have a lead guitar. The Alice Cooper band has three, each of whom could front their own band. Here, they're just part of his band, but each gets to shine.

In an evening of discovery, one of the three was Nita Strauss. Given everyone's long hair, it took me a song before I figured out she was a she. Cool, I thought, Alice has a lady guitarist. She was no mere guitarist. She is a phenom. She shredded as good as I've ever seen. She was incredible, as was the other two guys in the band.

I may have waited nearly fifty years to catch my first Alice Cooper concert, but it was well worth it. Absolutely loved the show last night and the discovery of Halestorm. If you have a chance to catch this show, buy a ticket.

Movie Review: Bohemian Rhapsody

If I were the writer of this film, I knew the perfect ending. Turns out, I was right.

As a kid who came of age in the late 1970s and attended high school in the 1980s, Queen was just always there. I owned every record starting with "Jazz" and it was them who compelled me to ask "Who's that guy singing with Queen on this great song 'Under Pressure'?" and was thus introduced to David Bowie.

But I didn't know a lot about the band itself. Sure, we all knew Freddie Mercury. He was the outlandish singer who strutted around the stage with a mic and half a stand. Brian May was the awesome guitar player with a massive amount of hair whose guitar tone you could pick out of a line up. Bassist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor were the other two. It was rare for me to know the names of all the members of a band that wasn't KISS, but Queen fit that bill. Needless to say, I knew the band's pretty well, including the discography and dates, and I was eager to jump into this new film about the band, but centered on Freddie Mercury.

I enjoyed the film, but I'll admit that knowing the chronology so well kept jolting me out of the film with the occasional "That's not the right year" or "That song came out later."

Shrug.

I'm a big fan of learning how bands got together. Young Freddie Mercury, working at Heathrow airport, wants to be a singer. He stumbles into a club and sees May and Taylor playing in a band call Smile. When he mentions he writes songs, the pair pretty much shuffle him away. Until Freddie turns and belts out a few well-sung notes.

May and Taylor reconsider.

From here, the movie jumps from this crucial scene to that one. It is mostly linear, but the jumps can be a few months or a few years. With the title like "Bohemian Rhapsody," you know you'll get the recording of the song and the album from which it comes, and those scenes do not disappoint. To be honest, the more I watched this movie, the more I wanted the documentary on the band. I suppose it's out there somewhere. I'll have to look it up.

Ever since this film was announced back in 2010, I was ready for it. The original actor tapped for the role of Freddie was Sasha Baron Cohen. When I heard that, I nodded in approval. Then he dropped out and Rami Malek was cast. The guy from Night at the Museum? Maybe so. Then that first image appeared, and I knew they had cast well.

Malek portrayed Freddie Mercury so well, he won the Oscar for Best Actor. He did a splendid job, all but disappearing as himself. Rarely in the film did I think "Oh, that's Rami playing Freddie." Yeah, there are critics who think Rami didn't 100% own the role because he lip synced to Queen's music, but let's be honest: who in the world can sing like Freddie Mercury other than Freddie Mercury? That Rami nailed Freddie's on-stage antics was more than fine.

And I nailed the ending.

If you ask anyone who saw Queen what their greatest performance was, they'd say Live Aid. I remember that day--13 July 1985--very well. I woke up at six Houston time and basically did nothing but watch that broadcast all day long. Heck, David Bowie was going to perform and I'd never seen him live at that point. But when Queen came on and did what they did, my teenaged self was amazed. Who else but Queen could get a stadium full of people to sing "Radio Gaga" and clap their hands in unison? It was mesmerizing.

It was equally mesmerizing in the film. They all but performed the entire set in the movie. I loved seeing how not only the crowds but folks in bars watching all gradually got into Queen's performance. It was clearly the highlight of the film, and Rami and the rest of the actors playing Queen did so well, you'd think you were watching the real band. Speaking of other actors, it wasn't until I saw his name a few minutes ago that it dawned on me who played John Deacon. It was Joseph Mazzello. Ring a bell? He was the kid from Jurassic Park!

After the movie, my wife told us about seeing the band live here in Houston in 1977. Her descriptions of the concert opening, in darkness, to "We Will Rock You" sounded very cool. I'll have to scour YouTube to see if there are any videos of the era.

Now, I do have a criticism. When the Live Aid segment was over, the film faded to black and you read about Freddie's death from AIDS. In the film's chronology, Freddie had AIDS when Live Aid happened. My wife and I both questioned that. I don't think he did, but since the movie had the blessing of the remaining members of the band, maybe he did.

Doesn't really matter. Bohemian Rhapsody is a good film about a great band with an outstanding singer. And if nothing else, it'll make you remember and appreciate just how many awesome songs they wrote that are a part of your life.

On discovering The Struts

So, yesterday, I was flipping through Facebook and ran across a Facebook ad for Rolling Stone. The photo was small and I didn’t recognize the band. Heck, I didn’t even know the band name: The Struts. Anyway, the little one-sentence headline read something like “Blah blah blah blah GLAM ROCK blah blah blah blah.” I honestly can’t remember. All I saw was “Glam Rock.” That’s enough for me. I read the article. [Here’s the link] Hmm, I thought. They sound interesting. The article mentioned Spotify. I’ve got the free version so I headed over there.

I found the album, “Everybody Wants,” and set it to play. The free version of Spotify doesn’t play the albums in order, so I had to suffer the shuffle play.

 In retrospect, it would have been nice to note which song I heard first. I can’t remember. From the opening lines of the first song, I was hooked. Shades of the band Slade from the early 70s were all over this song. The second song just kept up the momentum. The lead singer has a way of rolling his Rs just like Freddie Mercury. By the fourth song—this one I know: “Put Your Money on Me”*—I was grinning like a goofball, tapping my foot at my cubicle and bobbing my head. I hadn’t even finished the new LP before I was up and asking my co-workers if they had heard this band and telling them all about the new LP.

 I heard The Struts for the first time around 10:00am or so. By 12:40pm on my lunch hour, I had purchased the entire record. The last time an album has so captured my imagination was in 2013 with Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories.

If you like FUN music, unabashedly flamboyant songs as cheeky as they are catchy, and unashamed to tout their artistic influences, The Struts are the band for you.

*Side Note: I *heard* this music before I even saw the band. The music is so fantastic. The presentation, specifically in lead singer Luke Spiller, is over the moon.

Check them out for yourself.

Put Your Money on Me

Could Have Been Me (This appears to be the single)

 Kiss This (good concert footage here)

Here's the Amazon link for the new 2016 reissue (with extra songs!)