04/30/08
AMERICAN BEAT
DAVID JOHANSEN/David Johansen; Live it Up: The gang over at the Beat dig up two more slabs of Johansen as a scenester away from the scene he started as the 70’s gave way to the early 80s and he was a lounge lizard under a few different names. Letting fly on these two dates with the other side of Buster, Johansen is an unabashed rocker serving up hot covers, even if they were of his own making a few times out, and letting things rock 80s club style before new wave really took hold. Landing firmly somewhere between here and there, these a wonderful artifacts of the era that have aged gracefully and are in a time and place for a new generation to dig. Take that Starbucks, these babies are flying out of Amazon.
FLAMIN GROOVIES/Flamingo: Rock has never had a shortage of glorious underachievers and this crew was one of the top ones for quite a few years running. The band’s second set from a million years ago finds them rocking against the tide delivering basic rock that heads right for the gut. Hardhitting and very underground feeling, if you can remember back that far, this was probably something you sorted your stems and seeds on. If not, there could be a dandy retro rock experience waiting for you in these bytes.
MICHAEL BLOOM MEDIA RELATIONS
PEGGY LEE/Lost 40s & 50s Capitol Masters: There’s been some interesting unreleased Lee creeping out lately but this is the grand daddy of the bunch. With stuff that’s never been on cd as well as a handful of tracks that have never been released, the real Lee collectors will have a blast with this double album of real tracks, not stuff made for other sources. In her prime, even the left overs were pretty hot. Us whippersnappers that don’t really feel the impact of who she was 60 years ago are up for a cool trip down memory lane that can get us some quality time with our parents. A solid way to fill in the blanks on a real pro.
TELARC
ROSA PASSOS/Romance: Passos has such top form chops that she’s never bothered to coast on her looks on her cd covers. This time around, she grows into a yuppie diva look with soft edges that would look right at home in an upscale club where these Brazilian sounds could percolate perfectly. Never laying an egg yet on any previous outings, the female Joao Gilberto delivers again with a gentle album that should have come packaged with cigarettes and cognac. Sophisticated and accessible, this is a tasty, adult jazz/pop winner that goes the extra mile.
DVD SUPPLEMENT
PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
INDIANA JONES-The Adventure Collection: Can you believe it’s been 5 years since these three pics were last released in a box? 25 years on since the first one hit the theaters and in time to rev up the machine for the summer release of #4, the tech improvements since this was out last will grab newbies, probably piss off old fans and leave those on the fence waiting for the probable box this Christmas with all four in a state of dither. For those of you that don’t own it and can separate the marketing from the movie, this stuff is a gas and it’s time to make it a part of your movie collection as this stuff is as seminal to American film making as stuff like “Casablanca”. Lucasberg came up with the state of the art contemporary last word in over the top adventure entertainment and this line up is still the team to beat. Get on board.
Volume 31/Number 181
April 30, 2008
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
©2008 Midwest Record