Don Henley and the album ‘Building the Perfect Beast’

Following a successful career as part of the band Eagles, Don Henley of Gilmer, Texas achieved success with work under his own name. The second album released in this way was Building the Perfect Beast, which was released in the third week of November, 1984.

(Shown is the album cover for Don Henley‘s second solo album Building the Perfect Beast).

The Boys of Summer opens Building the Perfect Beast with lyrics by Don Henley and music composed by Mike Campbell of Panama City, Florida and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. The song is a look back at what was had with a past relationship and wanting those feelings and experiences back again. Evoking a feeling of summer at a beach offers a pleasant sense of nostalgia for me.

(The Boys of Summer was the first single released from the Don Henley album Building the Perfect Beast on October 26th, 1984).

You Can’t Make Love offers a rather grim look into the physical and emotional limitations that keep the singer from a full expression of love. I sense Henley saying that engaging many of the heartfelt parts of love will offer simply the illusion of love without granting the intimacy that offers true emotional connection. Henley wrote this song with Danny Kortchmar of Larchmont, New York.

Man With a Mission offers a country dance floor sensibility to suggesting that is singular focus is on emotionally connecting with someone he wishes to know romantically. J.D. Souther of Detroit, Michigan joined Kortchmar and Henley writing this song.

You’re Not Drinking Enough went full country lament for the sadness of a love lost. The song focuses on the hurt of loving another, with advice to drink more as a coping mechanism against the pain. With writing credits for Danny Kortchmar here, this song was most popularly covered by Earl Thomas Conley of Portsmouth, Ohio, with another cover by Alan Jackson of Newnan, Georgia here.

(Supporting the Building the Perfect Beast album, Don Henley‘s Not Enough Love in the World was released as a single in 1985 and hit #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart).

Not Enough Love in the World lands with a soft rock sound with writing credits for Benmont Tench of Gainesville, Florida, Henley and Kortchmar. The song deals with another rocky relationship wherein the singer indicates he remains in love. As indicated here, the relationship sung about might be one between Henley and Stevie Nicks of Phoenix, Arizona.

Don Henley’s second studio album gains its title from the song Building the Perfect Beast. In what feels like a reference to the beast that couldn’t be killed in the song Hotel California by Eagles, this song offers a sarcastic look at the psychological torment that losing in love does in turning a man all around. That the distance traveled to building that beast is our own doing is a cruel feeling indeed.

All She Wants to Do Is Dance present writing credits for Danny Kortchmar. The song, as indicated by SongFacts here, “draws on classic literature for song inspiration.” The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald of St. Paul, Minnesota and The Ugly American by Eugene Burdick of Sheldon, Iowa and William Lederer of New York City, New York are those classics. The song itself is among Henley‘s more successful in his solo career in part due to the pop groove of the sound.

(All She Wants to Do Is Dance was released as the 2nd single from Don Henley‘s Building the Perfect Beast album. The song peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart).

Written by Don Henley alone, A Month of Sundays offers a sentimental ballad of a lifestyle lost and looked upon in retrospect. Looking back as a grandfather who built things with pride, the song is sadness, lament and acknowledgment that the current world is no longer the one he knew.

Sunset Grill offers the writing collaboration of Henley, Kortchmar and Tench once again. As captured here, the “Sunset Grill is a real place and a favorite spot for Henley. Located on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, it’s a place where Henley could see how everyday people interact, which isn’t always easy to do when you’re a celebrity in LA.” Further, the Sunset Grill was used as “a metaphor for what he liked, what he thought was great about society. And then he also used it to describe what he didn’t like, which is plenty.”

(Sunset Grill was released as the fourth single from Don Henley‘s Building the Perfect Beast album).

Drivin’ With Your Eyes Closed brings a perspective of the elevation of women in the eyes of men in romantic relationships. Stan Lynch of Gainesville, Florida and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers joins Henley and Kortchmar with writing credits, wherein Henley‘s lyrics point out that improperly appreciating women in romance is bound to end badly.

Land of the Living is the concluding song to Building the Perfect Beast, granting Henley and Kortchmar their final collaboration for this album. The messaging gets into an uplifting feel as an album sendoff. Lyrically the song is a call to slow down and metaphorically smell the roses with the one you’re with. The song does provide the light touch in bringing me home with satisfaction and lightness of spirit.

Additional musicians contributing to Building the Perfect Beast included Steve Porcaro of Hartford, Connecticut, David Paich of Los Angeles, California, Michael Boddicker of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Albhy Galuten of Hartsdale, New York, Randy Newman of Los Angeles, California, Bill Cuomo, Lindsey Buckingham of Palo Alto, California, Charlie Sexton of San Antonio, Texas, Larry Klein of California, Pino Palladino of Cardiff, Wales, Tim Drummond of Bloomington, Illinois, Ian Wallace of Los Angeles, California, Kevin McCormick, Jim Keltner of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Maren Jensen of Arcadia, California, Jerry Hey of Dixon, Illinois, Belinda Carlisle of Hollywood, California, Sam Moore of Miami, Florida, Martha Davis of Berkley, California, Michael O’Donahue, Carla Olson of Austin, Texas, Patty Smyth of New York City, New York, Waddy Wachtel of New York City, New York, Marie Pascale Elfman and Dominique Mancinelli.

Matt – Saturday, November 19, 2022

Titus Welliver, Jamie Hector and Amy Aquino in Season Four of ‘Bosch’

The Michael Connelly character Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch first premiered in a series of books begun in 1992. As this is written, the character has led to 24 distinct books and two distinct television shows. We focus here on the fourth season of the series Bosch (2014-2021), starring Titus Welliver in the title role for the series.

(Titus Welliver as Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch in season four of Bosch).

Season four of Bosch picks up three months after season three with subject matter from the Connelly books Angels Flight of 1999 and Nine Dragons of 2009. Irvin Irving, as portrayed by Lance Reddick, has been named police chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. As with Irving’s ascension to police chief, threads from previous seasons visit upon the police department, the larger community of Los Angeles, California and the personal lives of the police, members of their families, and the stakes for the cases under investigation with this season.

(From left, Jamie McShane as Francis Sheehan, Tamberla Perry as Gabriella Lincoln and Winter Ave Zoli as Amy Snyder in season four of Bosch).

Important threads for this season tug on racial strife, with the murder of civil rights attorney Howard Elias, as portrayed by Clark Johnson, serving as a central catalyst. Elias was in the process of representing a black man accusing LAPD of police brutality. Irving appoints Bosch to lead a task force, which includes Jerry Edgar, Santiago ‘Jimmy’ Robertson, and sergeant Amy Snyder and Gabriella Lincoln. Jamie Hector, Paul Calderon, Winter Ave Zoli and Tamberla Perry portray Edgar, Robertson, Snyder and Lincoln, respectively. A significant storyline involving Francis Sheehan, as portrayed by Jamie McShane, emerges that captures the attention of this this task force.

(From left, Amy Aquino as Grace Billets and Jamie Hector as Jerome (Jerry) Edgar in season four of Bosch).

Grace Billets, as portrayed by Amy Aquino, continues to serve as lieutenant for the Hollywood division of the LAPD, where the Elias investigation is based. While trying to manage the personalities of the multiple threads of police officers already mentioned, Billets is juggling an assignment as captain without the job title, which presents difficulties that are felt in their own ways by threads of the past for Bosch with Edgar, Robertson and Snyder. Calderon’s own past plays a part in this investigation, while Jerry Edgar has familial struggles with his wife, Latonya Edgar. Ingrid Rogers portrayed Latonya Edgar.

(John Getz as Bradley Walker in season four of Bosch).

Bradley Walker, as portrayed by John Getz, played a relevant role in the fourth season. While having the ear of Irvin Irving as the president of the police commission for the LAPD, in addition to being a former officer, Walker had requested ongoing updates into the investigation into Elias. Harry Bosch had suspected Walker of complicity in the death of Marjorie Phillips Lowe, Bosch’s mother. Things worsened when Bosch‘s ex-wife and the mother of Madeline Bosch, Eleanor Wish, was murdered. The background between Wish and Reggie Woo became more transparent after the murder, with the relationship between Harry and Madeline becoming more visible. Madison Lintz, Sarah Clarke and Hoon Lee portrayed Madeline, Eleanor and Reggie, respectively.

(Sarah Clarke as Eleanor Wish in season four of Bosch).

The fourth season of Bosch offered a good deal of clarity for the larger story being told across the lives of the central characters of the Amazon original series Bosch. With that longer range storytelling, in combination with groundwork laid for additional seasons of the show, I recommend this series. I grant season four of Bosch 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, November 12, 2022

Titus Welliver, Jamie Hector and Amy Aquino in Season Three of ‘Bosch’

The Michael Connelly character Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch first premiered in a series of books in 1992. As this is written, the character has led to 24 distinct books and two distinct television shows. We focus here on the third season of the series Bosch (2014-2021), starring Titus Welliver in the title role for the series.

(From left, Jamie Hector as Jerry Edgar, Titus Welliver as Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch and Peter Douglas as Tom Jay in the third season of Bosch).

Season three of Bosch picks up with a 16-months on time between the second and third seasons. Harry copes with the truth of the Los Angeles Police Department‘s role in his mother’s death, and that the guilty party had died without facing the truth. Harry‘s daughter, Maddie Bosch, as portrayed by Madison Lintz, has moved in with him as Maddie’s mother and Harry’s ex-wife, Eleanor Wish, has moved to Hong Kong with her current husband, Reggie Woo. Sarah Clarke portrayed Wish as Hoon Lee portrayed Woo. The conclusion to the Father Tabakian murder charges against Veronica Allen, with Tabakian portrayed by Jack Topalian and Allen portrayed by Jeri Ryan, intersects with Bosch‘s fragile emotional state right from the beginning of the season.

(From left, A.J. Tannen as Middle Aged John and Bridger Zadina as Thomas ‘Sharkey’ Niese in the third season of Bosch).

Three other cases gain Harry Bosch‘s interest in this season, one being the death the homeless Billy Meadows as witnessed by Army Green Beret Thomas ‘Sharkey’ Niese. Another is the murder of Donatella Speares, which has led to a trial against Hollywood movie director Andrew Holland. A complicated alternate theory has former LAPD detective Rudy Tafero helping Holland to deflect guilt. A third case, the death of suspected serial killer Edward James Gunn, leads to Detective Jimmy Robertson, as portrayed by Paul Calderon, pursuing Harry for criminal charges. Chad Van Allen, Bridger Zadina, Ana Flavia Gavlak, John Ales, Arnold Vosloo and Frank Clem portrayed Meadows, Niese, Speares, Holland, Tafero and Gunn, respectively.

(From left, Titus Welliver as Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch and Amy Aquino as Grace Billets in the third season of Bosch).

A degree of slick handling through much of the storylines above, and what this means to different relationships between cops and for cops and their families, come to pass with this season. What will the appearances of corruption do to Harry Bosch and his partner, Jerry Edgar. Will Lieutenant Grace Billets get the promotion to captain that she has been seeking? Will interim chief Irvin Irving, with Mayor Hector Ramos getting reelected after Irving leaked a video that damaged Richard O’Shea, stay on as police captain? What happens to Harry Bosch, Maddie Bosch, Eleanor and Reggie. Jamie Hector, Amy Aquino, Lance Reddick, Yancey Arias and Steven Culp portrayed Edgar, Billets, Irving, Ramos and O’Shea, respectively. This season draws from the Michael Connelly books The Black Echo of 1992 and A Darkness More Than Night of 2001.

(Lance Reddick as Irvin Irving in the third season of Bosch).

The depth of storylines and detail packed into season three is accomplished remarkably well. Some storylines are resolved with this season while others are not. As with the Father Tabakian and Veronica storyline, clarity for a previous season comes into play with this third season. That Bosch, the Amazon original series, does this so well makes we want to keep coming back for additional seasons. I recommend this series, granting 4.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5 for season three.

Matt – Saturday, October 29, 2022

Titus Welliver, Jamie Hector and Amy Aquino in Season Two of ‘Bosch’

The Michael Connelly character Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch first premiered in a series of books in 1992. As this is written, the character has led to 24 distinct books and two distinct television shows. We focus here on the second season of the series Bosch (2014-2021), starring Titus Welliver in the title role for the series.

(From left, Brad Carter as Chilton Hardy and Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch in the second season of Bosch).

The storyline for this season picks up six months after Harry Bosch‘s police unit in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California sought a serial killer in the show’s first season. The ten episodes of the second season were adapted from the Michael Connelly books The Last Coyote, Trunk Music and The Drop. The story sees Harry Bosch following a new case of a Hollywood film producer with potential connections to the mob. Information about the years-ago death of Bosch‘s mother introduces the possibility of driving the detective to distraction.

(From left and near lectern, Erika Alexander as Connie Irving, Lance Reddick as Irvin Irving, Steven Culp as Richard O’Shea and Leslie Stevens as Patricia O’Shea in season two of Bosch).

Deputy Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, Irvin Irving as portrayed by Lance Reddick, at first aims to stay above the details of the investigation that Harry is pursuing. Irving‘s son, portrayed by Robbie Jones with the character name George Irving, goes undercover on the force. Harry’s investigation heads to Las Vegas, Nevada as George’s experiences in plainclothes begin to introduce a set of considerations for the full Irving family.

(From left, Jamie Hector as Jerry Edgar, Jeri Ryan as Veronica Allen and Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch in the second season of Bosch).

Harry’s time in Nevada reveals that not all is well for Harry‘s ex-wife, Eleanor Wish as portrayed by Sarah Clarke, and her situation with her current husband. The child between Eleanor and Harry, Maddie Bosch as portrayed by Madison Lintz, in certain ways is caught in the middle of multiple situations. Deputy Chief Irving, meanwhile, chimes in with his support of the mayoral race by supporting Richard O’Shea. Steven Culp portrayed by mayoral candidate O’Shea.

(From left, Jamie Hector as Jerry Edgar and Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch in season two of Bosch).

While Deputy Chief Irving’s support for mayor begins to introduce some political fallout for the deputy chief, things too get messy between Bosch‘s murder investigation, the mob and his familial past. Bosch‘s encounter with mob boss Joey Marks, with roots in Armenia and as portrayed by Tom Mardirosian, lead to serious questions for what course to pursue. Bosch and his partner, Jerry Edgar as portrayed by Jamie Hector, pursue Marks while Bosch takes specific measures to protect his daughter and ex-wife.

(From left, John Marshall Jones as Jay Griffin and Sarah Clarke as Eleanor Wish in season two of Bosch).

Circumstances escalate severely in the familial lives of the Irving family and the Bosch / Wish family take unexpected and dark turns as the tensions elevate each family. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) brings in a surprise approach, through Jay Griffin as portrayed by John Marshall Jones, that prompts the LAPD officers to reconsider their original theories of the murder that opened this season. There are the threads of the murder investigation along with the FBI‘s interest in a potentially related set of crimes. There’s familial fallout for the Irvings, the Bosches and the Wishes sharply placed in focus against the trajectory for the mayoral campaign and violence that comes to call with the mob story that includes the tales of Veronica Allen, as portrayed by Jeri Ryan, and Carl Nash as portrayed by Brent Sexton.

(From left, Amy Aquino as Grace Billets and Madison Lintz as Maddie Bosch in Bosch).

The stakes in play for season two make for entertaining television. The tension is real, the characters have depth and character growth. Addressing the puzzle with Harry Bosch‘s mother was an appreciated twist. The investment in feelings among the characters makes for an engaging experience binging this season. I grant season two of Bosch as presented as an Amazon original series, 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Titus Welliver, Jamie Hector and Amy Aquino in Season One of ‘Bosch’

The Michael Connelly character Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch first premiered in a series of books in 1992. In the summer of 2022, the character has led to 24 distinct books and two distinct television shows. We focus here on the first season of the series Bosch (2014-2021), starring Titus Welliver in the title role for the series.

(From left, Jerry Hector (seated) as Jerry Edgar, Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch and Amy Aquino as Grace Billets in the television show Bosch).

Harry Bosch is a homicide detective in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California for the Los Angeles Police Department. Beyond his past service with the United States Army in the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991 and Afghanistan, part of the discovery of the first season is learning about how Harry Bosch‘s past impacts the case presented with this season. The underlying story for this season of ten episodes was adapted from the Michael Connelly books The Concrete Blonde of 1994, City of Bones of 2002 and Echo Park of 2006.

(From left, Jason Gedrick as Raynard Waits in the television show Bosch).

The story of the season deals primarily with the discovery of buried skeleton in the woods. The deceased is a boy that had been horribly beaten, with evidence of abuse that had occurred for a prolonged period before this. Jerome (Jerry) Edgar, as portrayed by Jamie Hector, catches the case with Harry Bosch, who is standing trial in federal court. Amy Aquino portrayed Grace Billets, a lieutenant, supervisor and friend to Harry.

(Lance Reddick as Irvin Irving in the television show Bosch).

While quarreling with deputy chief Irvin Irving over the federal case, Raynard Waits, a serial killer pulled over for a traffic violation, confesses to the child murder being investigated by Jerry Edgar and Harry Bosch. The case leads from here leads to Jerry and Harry getting into the details of the dead boy’s past. Jason Gedrick portrayed Raynard Waits as Lance Reddick portrayed Irvin Irving.

(From left, Annie Wersching as Julia Brasher and Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch in the television show Bosch).

Harry takes an escalating romantic interest in Julia Brasher, a rookie police officer assigned to the same station. Tensions escalate following the trial and with changing circumstances with Raynard Waits, which leads to further action towards Harry from Irvin Irving. The escalating circumstances leads Harry to buckle down on the current case in front of him. Traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada to see his ex-wife Eleanor Wish, as portrayed by Sarah Clarke, professional assistance from his ex-wife is requested. Annie Wersching portrayed Julia Brasher.

(From left, Sarah Clarke as Eleanor Wish and Madison Lintz as Madeline (Maddie) Bosch in the television show Bosch).

Harry takes the time to additionally see the daughter Eleanor and he share while in Las Vegas. Maddie, the daughter to Eleanor and Harry, is portrayed by Madison Lintz. Things escalate and change interpersonally on many levels at this point, taking a mature, sophisticated and engaging path through much of the background of characters introduced through the above background. The emotional intensity grows with each episode and change of circumstances.

(Writer Michael Connelly at an event for the television show Bosch).

The conclusion of season one addresses many questions. Many unresolved issues setup intrigue that it seems clear will present fodder heading into future seasons that are on the way. The show itself is meant for a mature audience, with my recommendation to consider this point. I grant the first season of Bosch, presented as an Amazon original series, 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, July 27, 2022

The Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio documentary ‘George Carlin’s American Dream’

The HBO documentary of comedian George Carlin aired in two episodes this past weekend. George Carlin’s American Dream (2022) offered a fuller look into the man, his career and his life than I ever had seen and read before, attracting commentary from contemporary and subsequent comedians, family, and industry colleagues both directly and through archive. The use of Carlin‘s own writings and archive footage were also used. Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio directed and produced the documentary.

(From left, comedy partners Jack Burns and George Carlin).

“In the 1960s, George Carlin enters the scene as a straightlaced stand-up, but soon gains notoriety for his fearless countercultural comedy,” as quoted from HBO here. Jack Burns was an early partner for this straightlaced period from their radio days in Fort Worth, Texas, as we saw in Part 1 of George Carlin’s American Dream. It is during this period that Carlin meets and marries Brenda Carlin (Hosbrook), whom he meets in Dayton, Ohio. The couple had one child, a daughter named Kelly Carlin-McCall.

(From left, first wife Brenda Carlin (Hosbrook), daughter Kelly Carlin-McCall, and George Carlin).

The partnership with Burns lasted a couple of years, through radio and early television appearances from audition tapes in Hollywood, California. The two worked at a television station while working their craft in coffee houses at night, later moving onto television variety shows. Guest appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for Carlin, who eventually broke from Burns, were a part of this period. This phase of Carlin‘s career lasted through the late 1960s, was relatively profitable compared to the period that followed, and ended in a straightlaced fashion around the end of the decade, despite continued guest hosting of Carson‘s The Tonight Show.

(George Carlin after transitioning from a more straightlaced presentation).

The first major transition of George Carlin‘s comedy into a more countercultural comedy began approximately in 1970. The transition began with the first episode of the documentary, with the remainder of the comedian’s life and comedy addressed with Part 2. “Fellow comics reflect on George Carlin‘s later years and how his prescient political commentary continues to resonate today,” as quoted from HBO here. We get further into the background of Carlin the man, moving beyond the complex relations with his deceased and abusive father, his controlling mother, and his abused brother. We see the complexity of the relations with Carlin‘s first wife and daughter, and subsequent marriage to Sally Wade.

(From left, George Carlin and second wife Sally Wade).

George Carlin‘s career took a major turn when he began using cocaine and his first wife began drinking when losing a connection to helping her husband’s career, like she had at the beginning of their marriage. The use of language became much more pointed and anti-authority. Record albums recorded in the 1970s proved helpful financially, yet complexities did not. The Seven Dirty Words routine, which changed legal history more than a decade after Lenny Bruce was arrested in Chicago, Illinois for swearing in his routine, would offer indecency guidelines. Carlin would become the first guest host of NBC‘s Saturday Night Live in this period, something he would repeat in 1984 after his 1981 A Place for My Stuff album and his 1982 Carlin at Carnegie television special. The 1990s and 2000s would see shifts into increasingly political subjects, including about abortion, race, people as individuals rather than in groups, and in frustration with how decisions were made and the lack of perceived influence over large scale life individual people really have.

(George Carlin quote about the American Dream).

George Carlin’s American Dream provides a deeper dive into the career and life underpinning the man than I have provided here. The insight into the cultural force that the man’s thoughts and feelings were, culturally, as well as offering a sense for the flawed man that existed underneath offer an insight that were shown with a comprehensive quality that in fact was quality. The bridging of the messaging from Carlin‘s past into today was also an achievement, both for the man and the documentary. I give the documentary George Carlin’s American Dream as directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Fifty years and the Jethro Tull album ‘Aqualung’

March 1971 brought the release of Jethro Tull album Aqualung. The eleven song album reached number four in England and number seven in the United States, with the credited musicians for the studio album including Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Jeffrey Hammond, John Evan and Clive Bunker. I am a fan of many of the songs from this album. Listen in with me in this appreciation.

(Presented here is the front album cover of the Jethro Tull album Aqualung).

The title song of the Aqualung album is the song Aqualung. As mentioned on the SongFacts website, Ian Anderson mentions that the song itself reflects “a guilt-ridden song of confusion about how you deal with beggars, the homeless.” The confusion of snapshots included in the song remain relevant today.

Cross-Eyed Mary takes a look into the spiritual side of what Ian Anderson describes in the main character, Mary, as “schoolgirl prostitute type.” As reviews on All Music for the album and with the opening songs, the album offers a conceptual addressing of what the band sees as “the hypocrisy of Christianity in England.”

(From left standing, Clive Bunker and Ian Anderson. From left sitting Martin Barre, Jeffrey Hammond and John Evan. This is Jethro Tull of the album Aqualung).

Cheap Day Return belies the concept that the songs of the Aqualung album are a cohesive statement on spirituality, at least as I am taking this introduction into the song Mother Goose. The song offers real world feelings of love for one’s father and the care he is given, juxtaposed against the fame that Ian Anderson as singer and songwriter experiences.

Mother Goose continues to offer a progressive rock musical feel to a message that picks up where Cross-Eyed Mary left off considering the lifestyle placed upon school aged girls and the circus atmosphere described overall. The juxtaposition nursery rhymes imagery alongside circus and human exploitation are jarring.

Wond’ring Aloud offers a wistful feeling of the feeling of love in a relationship, as I hear the song in isolation. There’s a warm sense of glee and joyful acceptance of what is good in a relationship.

I here the song Up To Me in isolation rather than with an aim to find its meaning within the continuity of the larger theme of the Aqualung album. With this perspective, I hear a man taking personal accountability for his own choices, including the self-reflection and spiritual meaning he aims to ascribe to the actions of others or himself. Therefore, live with what moral consequences are the due of the singer and his mates.

(Presented here is the back album cover of the Jethro Tull album Aqualung).

My God opens the second side of the Jethro Tull album Aqulung. This song definitely gets into a concept that I hear within the larger construct of the album in speaking for moral justice, societal justice, and for the sense of God as a moral being. There is a definite criticism of religion, which I take from Ian Anderson’s perspective as the writer of this song to mean, as was stated with Cross-Eyed Mary, English Christianity.

With Hymn 43, I think American Christianity comes front and center for a closer look into the misinterpretation of the message and meaning of God. Interspersing a sense of Hollywood into the narrative makes the point clearly for me.

Slipstream feels like a bridge from one American excess with Hymn 43 into another with Locomotive Breath. I personally hear an echo of New Testament verse Matthew 19:24, which has Jesus Christ saying this: “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

(From left, Jennie Anderson and Ian Anderson. The song Aqualung is the only track of the original eleven on the Aqualung album where writing credit extended beyond Ian Anderson himself.)

Locomotive Breath reflects an out of control train in the specific, yet society in general with a lack of systemic, societal, or personal discipline in aiming to collectively control the train for what is just, good, in the image of God. It is near the end of the song that, lyrically, Ian Anderson as the narrator of Locomotive Breath sees Old Charlie is God. Hence, the concept of a spiritual tone to Aqualung the album, too, feels clear.

Wind-Up makes his notion of formal religion exceptionally clear, moving from any doubt that he was in favor of God and the formal religion of England or the United States and would dispenses with the second. For Jethro Tull as a band and Ian Anderson specifically, dispense with the hypocrisy, do right by the word of the bible and the notion of God, and forget the claims of the church.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this look and listen into the album Aqualung by Jethro Tull.

Matt – Monday, May 10, 2021

Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie and George C. Scott in the movie ‘The Hustler’

Life can be a cruel mistress when moving from innocence to experience; from curious to aware; or, to borrow from the dialogue of the Robert Rossen directed The Hustler (1961), from loser to winner. In the movie based on the Walter Tevis book The Hustler, billiards, ambition and love mingle into a socially conscious take on the emotional cost each activity has in relation to the others.

(From left, Paul Newman as Eddie Felson and Myron McCormick as Charlie Burns in the Robert Rossen movie The Hustler).

The sport of billiards, or pool, offers insight into the human experience that I didn’t see coming when opening The Hustler. Paul Newman stars as “Fast” Eddie Felson, a young yet emerging pool hustler supported by Charlie Burns, as portrayed by Myron McCormick. The relationship between Burns and Felson was close, financial, and mutually beneficial.

(From left, Paul Newman as Eddie Felson and Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats in the Robert Rossen movie The Hustler).

The relationship along with Felson’s billiards skill offer Burns the confidence needed to sponsor a high stakes player-on-player pool game between Felson and famed billiards professional Rudolph Walter Wanderone, Jr., aka Minnesota Fats. Jackie Gleason portrayed Minnesota Fats. Based strictly on game play, both Eddie Felson and Minnesota Fats prove themselves of similar pool playing talent. A bottle of bourbon and 25-hours left Felson’s $18,000 advantage lost to Minnesota Fats.

(From left, Paul Newman as Eddie Felson and Piper Laurie as Sarah Packard in the Robert Rossen movie The Hustler).

In the shared sleeping space of Burns and Felson following the session, Felson left half of the money he had left and stowed his belongings at a bus station. Felson meets Sarah Packard, as portrayed by Piper Laurie, in the terminal there. They bonded over alcohol, mutual life experience, and not much else. Circumstances and a stay at a boarding house for Felson build into something of a relationship between the two. Felson’s choice between his sense of love for Sarah and his sense of ambition for billiards prowess begin emerging.

(From left, George C. Scott as Bert Gordon and Paul Newman as Eddie Felson in the Robert Rossen movie The Hustler).

Bert Gordon, as portrayed by George C. Scott, takes clear interest in Felson at the match between Minnesota Fats and Eddie Felson. The notion of losing and winning, as Gordon and Fats understand it, are on the table. As Felson works to regrow his stake through small time hustling in order to pursue another tournament against Minnesota Fats, the hustling gambler Bert Gordon puts the gambler’s understanding of the psychology and costs of high stakes, high pressure gaming on love based relationships. After a particularly cruel public humiliation, Sarah Packard and Eddie Felson both realize a truth that reaches its full expression in the closing acts of the movie.

(Robert Rossen directed The Hustler, also writing the screenplay with Sidney Carroll).

The social messaging of The Hustler made the film a touch more serious than many made around Hollywood in the era wherein this film was released. The human message of the film, despite or in the face of the fact that Rossen had been blacklisted ahead of this film, perhaps offers the achievement of this film further relevance. Ultimately, its the human stories that lead me to the value present in the movie. I give Robert Rosen‘s The Hustler 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Margot Kidder, Jennifer Salt and the Brian De Palma movie ‘Sisters’

My first introduction to Brian De Palma was the movie Scarface (1983), which Matt Lynn Digital holds as quality cinema in this review from October 2020. Moving backwards in time eleven years offers a trippy movie clearly inspired by the mystery thriller movie genre pioneered by Alfred Hitchcock with a clear and gleeful foray into the slasher film yet to come in Hollywood with the movie Sisters (1972).

(Margot Kidder as Danielle Blanchion and Dominique Blanchion and Lisle Wilson as Phillip Woode in the Brian De Palma movie Sisters).

Margot Kidder stars as conjoined twin sisters Danielle and Dominique Blanchion in the independently made, low-budget Sisters. The films opening credits offer shocking images that hint at part of the background of the Blanchion sisters would mean in the telling of the story inspired by facts that only later give the psychological punch that offers the film and reputation De Palma would establish for himself meaning. The disquiet, edgy qualities are central, effective and worth a viewing for this film.

(From left, Jennifer Salt as Grace Collier and Charles Durning as Joseph Larch in the Brian De Palma movie Sisters).

Before getting into the backstory of the Blanchion sisters portrayed by Kidder, we at first are introduced to Phillip Woode, who is portrayed by Lisle Wilson. Woode and Danielle Wilson cross paths through an odd circumstance wherein their backgrounds are unknown to one another with a mutual attraction that offers the opportunity for intimacy. To earn that outcome, however, the two need to act cunningly against the prying eyes that we only later learn belong to Grace Collier and Emil Breton. Jennifer Salt portrayed Collier as William Finley portrayed Breton in the movie.

(From left, William Finley as Emil Breton and Burt Richards as an uncredited Hospital Attendant in the Brian De Palma movie Sisters).

The character of Breton feels like a stalker from the beginning of the movie. While that feeling is relevant, the trippy role he plays in supporting that feeling in the larger narrative that the movie offers definitely holds hope over time. The shocking parts of the movie intersect strongly with the stories we get from Joseph Larch, Arthur McLennen and Detective Kelly.

(From left, Barnard Hughes as Arthur McLennen and Dolph Sweet as Detective Kelly in the Brian De Palma movie Sisters).

Charles Durning portrayed Joseph Larch in Sisters. Barnard Hughes portrays magazine writer Arthur McLennen. Dolph Sweet portrays police Detective Kelly. The mysteries, suspense and slasher thrills of the movie Sisters, with the slasher components being one place where De Palma separates himself from Hitchcock, are told in many ways through the changes in experience for many of the movies characters. This fact, combined with the psychological impact for much of the movie, gives the movie the punch that allows me to bring this movie to you.

(From left, director Brian De Palma and actress Margot Kidder on the set of the Brian De Palma movie Sisters).

The larger cinematic experience and narrative of the movie, along with the exposition for most of the characters, are strengths for the movie. Not everything in the film necessarily ages well, in looking back on the film with contemporary lenses. That the ending felt abrupt to me perhaps was a matter of budget in the making of the film more than a shortcoming of the larger vision of the film. All told, I rate Sisters at 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, January 16, 2021

Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave in the Alfred Hitchcock film ‘The Lady Vanishes’

The notion that Alfred Hitchcock could be a profitable filmmaker wasn’t always a given. According to the book The Art of Alfred Hitchcock: Fifty Years of His Motion Pictures by Donald Spoto, it was with the success of The Lady Vanishes (1938) that enabled Hitchcock relocated to Hollywood in California from London, England in the United Kingdom to begin making movies in the United States due to the influence of film producer David O. Selznick.

(From left, Michael Redgrave as Gilbert Redman, Margaret Lockwood as Iris Matilda Henderson and Paul Lukas as Dr. Egon Hartz in the film The Lady Vanishes).

The movie The Lady Vanishes is a mystery thriller based on the 1936 book The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White. The film begins with English tourist Iris Matilda Henderson, as portrayed by Margaret Lockwood, traveling with friends Blanche and Julie. An avalanche temporarily blocks passage for Henderson, who is stranded in a hotel with other travelers. Among those travelers are cricket enthusiasts Charters and Caldicott plus governess and music teacher Miss Froy. A noise complaint introduces the relationship that becomes relevant in The Lady Vanishes for Iris Matilda Henderson and Gilbert Redman.

(From left, Naunton Wayne as Caldicott, Basil Radford as Charters, May Whitty as Miss Froy and another woman in the film The Lady Vanishes).

Googie Withers and Sally Stewart are portrayed Blanche and Julie, respectively. Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford portrayed Caldicott and Charters. May Whitty portrayed Miss Froy. Introductions are made in time at the hotel and then on the train shared by Henderson, Caldicott, Charters, and Froy. Gilbert Redmon is portrayed by Michael Redgrave. An accident occurs at the hotel witnessed by lawyer Mr. Eric Todhunter and his mistress, who are portrayed by Cecil Parker and Linden Travers.

(From left, Cecil Parker as Mr. Eric Todhunter, Linden Travers as mistress ‘Mrs.’ Todhunter, Naunton Wayne as Caldicott and Basil Radford as Charters in the film The Lady Vanishes).

It is this accident combined with the mystery on the train that connects Iris to the mystery of what happened to the suddenly missing Miss Froy. The accident at the hotel is invoked by brain surgeon Dr. Egon Hartz, as portrayed by Paul Lukas, in setting the mystery and thriller of The Lady Vanishes into motion. Learning where things go from here, besides the curiosity of watching the movie that made Alfred Hitchcock, is your argument for digging into this film.

(From left, film director Alfred Hitchcock and actress Margaret Lockwood in support of the film The Lady Vanishes).

The Lady Vanishes gains resolution in a manner that this reviewer appreciates. The movie is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with high audience marks and higher marks among critics. My rating for The Lady Vanishes as directed by Alfred Hitchcock is 4.00-stars on a scale of 1-to-5 stars.

Matt – Wednesday, December 2, 2020