Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine new CDs

I'm a CD addict, between them and shoes I can easily spend a considerable portion of my disposable income each month and so far this month I'm on track for my monthly usual 15 or so new discs....

Anyway, the preamble aside I thought I'd share my views on my latest batch -

Janes Addiction - Strays ... haven been terribly let down with reunions in the past I put off buying this for quite a while, and I wish I hadn't - it ROCKS!! They are still, IMO, the best indie rock band to come out of the States in a long while .... 81/2 out of 10!

Blur - Think Tank ... Blur are one of these bizarre bands that always have a great single and a load of crap on their albums so I wouldn't rush out normally and buy their stuff, this though is their best album to date, I think it may be my album of the month, 9 out of 10!!!

Talvin Singh - Ha ... I love Indian music, Bollywood rocks! Well this certainly aint Bollywood but the boy did good, this is a solid album with 4 or 5 really excellent tracks, the mix of looped drums and sitar is inspired! 7 1/2 of 10!

Lisa Stansfield - Biography ... no, I don't know either as apart from All Woman it really sucks the big one, and pretty badly at that too. 2 from 10.... boo, poor show!

Badly Drawn Boy - have you fed the fish? ... not sure if it's as wonderfully eclectic as his earlier work but it's still a sound album, 7 out of 10...

Her Space Holiday - The young machines ... surprisingly good! A lot of very original compositions, heart felt lyrics and a good production finish, 7 1/2 out of 10...

Lamb - What Sound... not sure, don't know if it's great or trash, I'l either play it to death in the weeks to come or never listen to it again... I'll say 5 out of 10 but that's likely to drastically change...

The Stone Roses - the Remixes ... what a load of crap! A real disappointment. I love the Stone Roses, they succesfully mixed screaming guitars with dance grooves at a time when the music industry was really fractured. This is obviously just a money making trip for some greedy exec, it's on par with the Lisa Stansfield CD, 2 out of 10...

more later....

So what do you suggest I try next?

A few things I've been listening to lately:

The Moles - Instinct. Basically one guy from Australia who writes scrappy pop songs with bizarre lyrics. Odd but affecting.

Pernice Brothers - The World Won't End. Great, great, great '60s/'70s influenced pop record. Nice use of strings, and the singer has a fine, breathy voice. It's a gem.

The Creation - Makin' Time:The Complete Collection Vol. 1. Unheralded '60s Mod outfit. You may have heard "Makin' Time" in the film Rushmore.

Trance Mission - A Day Out Of Time. Kinda arty world-music fusion stuff going on here. I likes it. The didgeridoo is a nice touch.

The Buzzcocks - Singles Going Steady. Brilliant singles comp from the guys who helped invent pop-punk.

I just bought a new stereo with both a phonograph and a CD player, so I have no excuse for not listening to anything. My tastes continue to look backward, though:

Duran Duran, "Greatest" -- It's easy to dismiss the Durans as the original boy band -- which they probably were -- but they also had an incredible number of good songs. I'm listening to "Girls On Film" right now.

Craig Chaquico, "Shadow And Light" -- the former Jefferson Starship guitarist now makes accoustic instrumental music. A great record to relax to.

Vangelis, "Odyssey" -- another compilation that includes the main theme from "Chariots of Fire," as well as other cosmically overpowering instrumentals (and two vocals with Jon Anderson).

The Guess Who, "The Greatest of ..." -- one of my favorite CDs. Another band that had an incredible number of classic songs, a combination of hard rock and skillfully crafted pop that seems a lost art today.

Styx, "Cyclorama" -- their latest CD, which I reviewed in this forum months ago. Mainstays James (JY) Young and Tommy Shaw are in fine songwriting form, though you have to get past a few mean-spirited slams at ex-leader Dennis DeYoung.

Fairport Convention, "Rising For the Moon" -- this 1975 LP, which I picked up in curio shop for five bucks, was my first exposure to the band and to Sandy Denny. She is hands-down my favorite singer now. The album is too long on ballads for my tastes, but there are several classic songs that deserved more attention than they got.

Fairport Convention, "Gottle O' Geer" -- the followup to "Moon" does not feature Denny (or half the previous lineup), but it does contain some witty, tongue-in-cheek songs and two outstanding instrumentals.

hey !!

you're a big fan of Jefferson Starship, aren't you ??

there's a BIG dance record out here in the UK which is a cover of their "Somebody To Love" track !!! the video is really funny, it features a barely dressed model, rolling around on the ground with tiny "babies" falling out of the sky in parachutes, and then landing on her bust !!!???

did you know about it ???

Matthew.

Yes, I am a big JA/JS fan, and no, I didn't know about the cover, Matt. Who's the artist?

Say you don't know me
Or recognize my face.
Say you don't care
Who goes in that kind of place.

Knee deep in the hoopla,
Sinking in your fight.
Too many runaways
Eating up the night.

Marconi plays the mamba.
Listen to your radio.
Don't you remember?
We built this city,
We built this city on rock 'n' roll.

Now a Legion World version:

Say you don't know me
Or recognize my alt. ID.
Say you don't care who goes
Into Cramer's or Shakes!

Sucking up the brandy,
Karaoke-ing 'til it's light.
Too many posting whores
flirting through the night.

Outdoor Miner posts some trivia,
Listen to your Quislet, Esq.
Don't you remember?
We built this forum,
We built this forum on Legion World!

Like Greg, my tastes lately have been going backward instead of forward. Very few new artists grab my attention, except for the big exception of Evanescence.

Pink World - Planet P Project

Planet P Project - Planet P Project. Finally tracked these two albums down on CD and they are just a great as I remember them being.

Metropolis Part 2: Scenes from a Memory - Dream Theater. I love concept albums and this one ranks up there as one of the best.

War of the Worlds - Jeff Wayne. This is the remastered recording, imported, with two new mixes of Forever Autumn and Eve of the War. I have the album already but a copy I made from MP3. I love the remixes. This is an album I can listen to 3 or 4 times a week and not grow bored of it.

Audioslave - Audioslave. Amy Lee (of Evanescence) is my favorite female vocalist. Chris Cornell is the other side of the coin, the male vocalist I like the most. On his own, with Soundgarden or with Audioslave, he just rocks!

Lightning Lad says:
Like Greg, my tastes lately have been going backward instead of forward.

Ha! I'm so backwards that I'm looking for a stylus for my 78.

He Who Wanders sounds interesting. I like Fairport Convention quite a bit and I've been listening to Jon and Vangelis The Friends of Mr. Cairo a lot lately. I even used the second half of that song as the end credits for my 1983 remake of a Babe in Boyland.

My musical tastes are decidedly unhip. My latest CDs are Nine, Hairspray, A Scottish Christmas, When Pigs Fly, and Eddie Ruhier's Star of the Isles. The Scottish Christmas CD is great. I got to see Bonnie Rideout and her friends perform in Redwood City last month. A very good friend of mine dances with the troupe and does costumes. Eddie Ruhier is another very good friend of mine and if I ever make it to Manchester I'm going to ... well never mind. It's none of your business.

Nine is interesting because 81/2 is my favorite movie. I even named my cat Fellini. Hairspray is kind of fun. I think my favorite song is Miss Baltimore Crabs. When Pigs Fly is a riot. My favorite line is:
Strom
Go ask your Mom
If I can take you to the senior, senior, senior prom...

Okay, besides show tunes I'm a big fan of Roxy Music, Eno, Floyd, Hawkwind, TRex, Steeleye Span, English Beat, Who, Sparks, ELO, Move, Soft Machine, The Bobs, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Richard Wagner, Ralph Vaughn Williams, The Chieftains, the Clancy Brothers, Steeleye Span and the Sons of the Pioneers.

Indulge me. Here are the end credits to A Babe in Boyland. Lyrics by Jon and Vangelis.


One on one to talk to you
Like film stars they get close to you
You've mirrored his appeal
He wants you so,
He wants to be beside you
Then you pass by
Giving him the other side of you
Like the mystics do
So that every time he moves,
He moves for you

Soul and light can always see
The meeting of true love and she
This silent night and I,
I guess a lonely mind might see

I've seen love on the screen
I've seen a screen goddesss and me –
Oh -
How often this, how often, this the power of you
And so,
I must confess
Whatever I see
I'm meant to be there with you
With you

[musical interlude: scroll credits]

Cast and crew, in order of their age:

Charlie Sheen........the Pieman........18
Brandon Lee........Jack B. Nimble........18
Rob Lowe........Wee Willie Winkie........19
Matt Dillon........the Muffin Man........19
Mauricio Morales........Underwear Model #1........20
Brad Pitt........Beau Peep........20
Juan Joe Bob Galen........Roderigo........20
Guillermo Gering........Gonzorgo........20
James Hyde........Underwear Model #2........21
Tom Cruise........Tom-Tom Piper........21
Emilio Estevez........Simple Simon........21
Matthew Broderick........Little Boy Blue........21
Wesley Snipes........the Butcher........21
Laurence Fishburne........the Baker........22
Jean Claude Van Damme........Grumio........23
Val Kilmer........the Chauffeur........24
Kyle MacLachlan........Peter Piper........24
Dale Midkiff........Jack Horner........24
Andie MacDowell........Miss Muffett........25
Michelle Pfeiffer........Mary-Mary Peep........25
Julie Brown........Jill Hill........25
Dolph Lundgren........Woody........26
Christopher Lambert........Peter Peter........26
Mel Gibson........Tom Tucker........27
John Wesley Shipp........Jack Hill........27
Geena Davis........Mrs. Pumpkin-Eater........27
Ken Johnson........Security........28
Bruce Willis........Officer Bruce Willis........28
Michael Dudikoff........the Knave of Hearts........29
Denzel Washington........the Candlestick Maker........29
Miles O'Keefe........Georgie Porgie........29
Patrick Swazye........Prego, the Gypsy King........31
Jessica Lange........the Queen of Hearts........34
Marc Singer........Special Effects........35
Arnold Swartzenegger........Sgt. Arnold Strong........36
Glenn Close........the Old Woman in Shoe........36
Scott Casey........Barnaby........37
Sylvestor Stallone........Chief Stallone........37
Susan Sarandon........Old Mother Hubbard........37
Cher........Magda, the Gypsy Queen........37
Divine........Mrs. Spratt........38
Harrison Ford........the King of Hearts........41
Shirley Jones........Mother Goose........49
Piper Laurie........Widow Peep........51
Tab Hunter........Jack Spratt........52
Steve Reeves........Himself........57
Louis Edmonds........the Toymaker........60

Music by Victor Herbert

Additional Music by:
The Doors
Duran Duran
Talking Heads
Hill and Allen
Irving Berlin
Jon and Vangelis.

[end musical interlude]

Silent golden movies, talkies, technicolour, long ago
My younger ways stand clearer, clearer than my footprints
Stardom greats I've followed closely
Closer than the nearest heartbeat
Longer than expected - they were great –

Oh love oh love
Just to see them
Acting on the silver screen, oh my
Clark Gable, Fairbanks, Maureen O'Sullivan

Fantasy would fill my life and I
Love fantasy so much

Did you see, in the morning light?
I really talked, yes I did! To God's early dawning light!
And I was privileged to be, as I am to this day,
To be with you.

To be with you, to be with you...
To be with you, to be with you…

[music fades]

No sheep, pigs, or geese were harmed in the filming of this movie.

[sound of film running out of the projector]

Except of course, for the ones the caterers served for lunch.

the act are called the Boogie Pimps and their version of "Somebody to Love" entered the chart at #5 this week !!!

if you go to www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/top40/ you can take a listen to it .....

if you like it ?? i can get you a copy of it and post it to you !! [ let me know ]

Matthew.

Sometime this weekend, I'm going to have to hook the speakers back up to my computer. Haven't used them since my CD-Rom drive went bust.

I'll listen to it and let you know, Matt. I'm very curious to hear what the Boogie Pimps have done with Grace and the boys' song!

Thanks.