05/14/07
SHOUT FACTORY
EMERSON LAKE & PALMER/Pictures at and Exhibition: Their auspicious debut was two albums back by the time this third album came along, and if you think about it now, this should have been their shark jumping set when they decided to show the kids about how classical music could be updated with electronics. Wisely, they chose the kind of dramatic work that lent itself to the strum and drang side of progressive music at the time and the train kept a rollin’. With baroque flourishes and all the schtick that people that don’t get prog would wince at, the gates of Kiev became a good place to stop and roll a fatty. It kept parents quiet and added new colors to the pallette. Hey, you take your wild stuff where you find it. If you play most of your music on your laptop, this is one that requires ear buds to really get the most from it.
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EMERSON LAKE & PALMER/Trilogy: With the exception of an over the top, revved up version of Copeland’s “Hoedown” (yeah, classical meets country filtered through progressive electronics), ELP were back in pre-classical diversion form, although they did use it as the gate way to add classical to the repertoire. This was a turning point set as they officially made the studio a forth member of the band and segued into what was the digital realm for that time. Progressive music requires the players to keep looking forward and they did a great job of it here making it hard to believe it was only a few, short years away from “Lucky Man”. Ah, a nice serving of bombast in the right hands…
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DVD SUPPLEMENT
SHOUT FACTORY
JOHN PRINE/Live on Soundstage 1980: Prine’s success has been so low key that when you are part of his original coterie of Chicago fans, it almost seems like you still have to explain who he is. Well, this Soundstage performance let’s the music do the talking. One of the most revered songwriters of the modern era pulls out all the stops reflecting on his first decade in the biz with some performance aspects added to the performances. Loaded with classics and signature songs to that time, this is some nice prime Prine that’s on the money throughout.
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MEN BEHAVING BADLY Complete Series: One of the few misfires from the Carsey-Werner stable, this was the moment after SNL when Rob Schneider firmly cast his image with the public and set the course for the rest of his career. Oddly, this show has mixed reactions in people who seem to think it wasn’t funny, seem to think it hasn’t held up well, bla bla bla. Well, this certainly wasn’t a show the networks could tame and it came along just a touch too early to find a safe haven on pay cable, but it’s a riot. C’mon, Schneider seems so natural when he uses underwear for a coffee filter. A sure bet for the social retard in everyone, this show is a riot, and it probably would have been funnier and lasted longer without network interference. With all the shot and unaired episodes included, you get a full dose of Schneider being unleashed on an unsuspecting world. It’s ok to admit you like low humor and this show knew how to deliver it on a tarnished silver plate. Now you can laugh it up without network interference.
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Volume 30/Number 195
May 14, 2007
MIDWEST RECORD
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Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
(c)2007 Midwest Record