Disco
75
(2021/Cherry Red Records U.K./Robinsongs CD Set)/Dolly:
The Ultimate Collection (1987
- 2020/lite blue set/Time Life DVD)/Horrorpops:
Live At The Wiltern
(2020/MVD/Cleopatra Blu-ray w/DVD & CD)/In
The Good Old Summertime
(1949/MGM/Warner Archive Blu-ray DVD)/In
The Heights
(2021/Warner Blu-ray)/Supergrass:
In It For The Money
(1997/2021 BMG CD Set)
Picture:
X/C+/B+ & B-/B/B/X Sound: B-/C+/B+ & B-/B-/B+/B
Extras: C/C/D/C/C+/B Main Programs: B-/B-/B/C+/C+/B-
PLEASE
NOTE:
The In
The Good Old Summertime
Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner
Archive series and can be ordered from the link below,
Here's
a new set of music releases, including some rarities worth knowing
about...
Disco
music has been stereotyped, trashed and become one of music's guilty
pleasures, but in real life, few actually know what it it save the
later big hits before the genre imploded by 1980 (pushed along by
right-wingers attacking it, but that's an essay for another time.)
The
idea of the discotheque was around since the 1960s, but the music
genre as we know it came out of three places, Florida (the Latino
influence), Europe (especially Germany, where electronic music was on
the rise in its own special way) and New York City, which was also
giving early birth to Punk and what we now know as Rap and Hip Hop.
Disco's story is a bit more complex and a new CD compilation set
called Disco
75
(2021) helps set the record straight and to prove my point, look at
the contents of the 3 CDs below.
Of
the 55 songs below from the first full tear of the genre in action,
only 6 were huge pop hits (a few did better on the Soul chart and the
Jackson Five song was a minor hit pop, but 4 weeks #1 on the dance
chart) so you can start to see it was a trend coming from all over
the place. Also, since some slang was specific to that seen, as well
as some hits with similar titles, you may easily mistake some of the
songs below for others you actually have likely never heard. See as
follows...
DISC
ONE:
SHIRLEY
(AND COMPANY) - SHAME, SHAME, SHAME
MOSES
DILLARD & The Lovejoy Orchestra - THEME FROM LOVEJOY
HERBIE
MANN - HI-JACK
DORIS
DUKE - A LITTLE BIT OF LOVIN'
BLACK
STASH - MIGHTY LOVE MAN PT. 1
GENYA
RAVAN - FEEL THE NEED IN ME
THE
KAY-GEES - GET DOWN
ARMADA
ORCHESTRA - COCHISE
AVERAGE
WHITE BAND - PICK UP THE PIECES
HAROLD
MELVIN & BLUENOTES - BAD LUCK
GENE
PAGE - SATIN SOUL
JESUS
ALVAREZ - QUEEN BEE
SELDON
POWELL AND CO - MOR SHAME PT. 1
MAJOR
LANCE - DON'T YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU
FRANKIE
VALLI - SWEARIN' TO GOD (extended version, Patti Austin on backup)
DIONNE
WARWICKE - TAKE IT FROM ME
RHYTHM
MAKERS - ZONE
DISC
TWO:
SEEDS
OF THE EARTH - PLANTING SEEDS
DE-LITE-FUL
- FORGET THAT GIRL
CHUCK
JACKSON - LOVE LIGHTS
CALENDAR
- HYPERTENSION
RETTA
YOUNG - (SENDING OUT AN) S.O.S.
BATAAN
- THE BOTTLE (LA BOTELLA)
DEREK
MARTIN - BEAUTIFUL WOMAN
SYLVIA
- PUSSY CAT
THE
JACKSON FIVE - FOREVER CAME TODAY (remake of Supremes hit)
CROWN
HEIGHTS AFFAIR - DREAMING A DREAM
BROTHER
TO BROTHER - LET YOUR MIND BE FREE (VOCAL)
BROTHER
TO BROTHER - LET YOUR MIND BE FREE (INST)
THE
REFLECTIONS - THREE STEPS FROM TRUE LOVE
THE
RIMSHOTS -7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (BLOW YOUR WHISTLE)
MOMENTS
AND WHATNAUTS - GIRLS (FRENCH VERSION)
PAT
LUNDI - PARTY MUSIC
MFSB
– SEXY
PEOPLES
CHOICE - DO IT ANY WAY YOU WANNA
ESTHER
PHILLIPS - WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES
BANZAI
- CHINESE KUNG FU
THE
GLITTER BAND - MAKES YOU BLIND
DISC
THREE:
AL
MATTHEWS - FOOL
UNIVERSAL
MIND - REACH OUT FOR ME (the Bacharach/David classic)
ULTRAFUNK
- STING YOUR JAWS - PART 1
KC
& THE SUNSHINE BAND - THAT'S THE WAY I LIKE IT
ARMADA
ORCHESTRA - FEEL THE NEED IN ME
JOHNNY
OTIS - JAWS
DISCO
TEX & THE SEXOLETTES - GET DANCIN'
OSCAR
TONEY JaR - CHICKEN HEADS
THE
O'JAYS - I LOVE MUSIC
THE
SOUL TRAIN GANG - SOUL TRAIN ''75''
JIMMY
JAMES & THE VAGABONDS - I AM SOMEBODY
THE
WHISPERS - IN LOVE FOREVER
BENNY
TROY - I WANNA GIVE YOU TOMORROW
THE
SALSOUL ORCHESTRA - CHICAGO BUS STOP
JUGGY
MURRAY JONES - INSIDE AMERICA
ARCHIE
BELL & THE DRELLS - LET'S GROOVE
DOOLEY
SILVERSPOON - LET ME BE THE NUMBER 1 (LOVE OF YOUR LIFE)
Many
of these songs never charted, but were big crowd-pleasers at the
actual discos that were starting to pick up in popularity, so it is a
rare chance to hear these key track indeed.
Sylvia,
Dionne Warwick (she was spelling her name with an 'e' at the end at
this time, so that is no typo), The Whispers, Benny Troy, Chuck
Jackson, The Salsoul Orchestra and MFSB are among the acts here that
were certainly NOT one hit wonders and the notion of the novelty
record was alive at the time and common, so you can see that
reflected in the songs as well. What struck me most were that some
of the hits sounded older than later disco because they were still
being recorded like late 1960s/early 1970s R&B records, but with
more of a beat that increasing became the signature of the genre.
That debunks this myth of sudden phony, overly clean-sounding Euro
production with pseudo-sophistication.
However
historically significant and this set is (a few more sets for the
next few years are planned, so I cannot wait to see the song picks
for them) we get a time capsule very much worth a listen to, no
matter your final reaction. History was being made and I bet many of
the artists here did not even know what we were soon in for.
Definitely worth a good hear and the informative booklet is a plus.
Now
that the full set of Dolly:
The Ultimate Collection
has been issued, one of the four inner DVD sets (the
one for 1987 - 2020 with a lite blue background) is being issued
separately to promote the larger set we reviewed here:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15806/Dolly:+The+Ultimate+Collection+(1967+-+2019/D
It
is a good starter for those more interested in the later part of her
still-in going career and the videos are a plus for all fans, but I
would just say put out the extra bucks and get the whole set. Still,
now you can sample part of it just the same.
If
you are a fan of music that fuses several different genres including
horror, rockabilly, punk, ska, surf, and stage theatrics then you
will enjoy the Danish punk based band, Horrorpops,
and this special live album that features their full concert, Live
at the Wiltern
(2020), on Blu-ray, DVD, and CD in this exclusive set from Cleopatra
Entertainment.
Led
by Patricia Day and Kim Neckroman, Horrorpops
also features Henrik Stendahl and Geoff Kresge. This wild band is
pretty interesting and definitely worth checking out if you're
unfamiliar. This is their first full length album in over twelve
years.
Track
List:
1
Intro
2
Julia
3
Thelma & Louise
4
Kool Flattop
5
It's Been So Long
6
Hit N' Run
7
Dotted With Hearts
8
Baby Lou Tattoo
9
Freaks In Uniforms
10
S.O.B.
11
Undefeated
12
MissFit
13
Everything's Everything
14
Psychobitches Outta Hell
15
Girl In A Cage
16
Ghouls
17
Walk Like A Zombie
18
Miss Take
19
Where They Wander
It
is worth your time for something different, unless this is your kind
of music in the first place.
Robert
Z, Leonard's In
The Good Old Summertime
(1949) is a Technicolor, musical remake of the Jimmy Stewart
drama/comedy The
Shop Around The Corner
(reviewed on a great Warner Archive Blu-ray elsewhere on this site)
and was later remade as the odd Tom Hanks film You've
Got Mail
(proving the early dangers of the Internet being annoying) but this
version has Van Heflin in Stewart's role and Judy Garland as the love
interest, exchanging letters to each other without knowing it.
They
also land up working in the same shop that sells novelties, et al,
but do not get along. Heflin is not bad here, but even if I could
recast him with an actor from the time I think might work better, it
would not matter because it is not as good a telling of the story as
the Stewart version. Though having Buster Keaton in the film is a
real coup, the best part are the musical numbers with Garland in top
form. It is ultimately the best reason to see the film and tolerate
its down and obvious points, whether you have seen the other version
or not. Nice to have it restored as well as it is here too.
Jon
M. Chu's In
The Heights
(2021) is the feature film version of Lin-Manuel Miranda's first
stage musical hit before Hamilton,
a boy meets, loses, gets gal story that takes place in Washington
Heights (though if it were Jackson Heights, many would not notice the
difference) and is a mixed bag of some great musical sequences, nice
acting moments and other acting moments that are more plain. None of
the songs stuck with me, but some were better than others.
Anthony
Ramos is the convenience store owner looking to have a happier life
when a beautiful gal (Leslie Grace, a stunning new talent just picked
to be the new Batgirl!) might help him find his way. There are some
good jokes and good in jokes here and there, but the film has this
problem of not totally making the transition from the stage to the
freedom of the big screen, which happens to many such films. The
rest of the cast is also decent and filled with potential new stars
(made me think of Spike Lee's School
Daze
(1988, reviewed elsewhere on this site) in high energy musical
sequences with persons we do not see enough of on any
screen.
However,
the one thing that also keeps this film from being better is the
framing of some of the musical numbers. The film is shot in a
widescreen scope frame, versus the square block style of older
musicals, music videos and live TV. The choreography here is often
impressive and even fun, but the director and cinematographer make a
common mistake of not pulling the camera out far enough for us to see
all the action as you would in the likes of Grease
(1978, now out in a stunning 4K disc we highly recommend) and that
hurts the performances and films momentum.
Mind
you, widescreen musicals did not arrive until Oklahoma!
(1955) was the first major 70mm film and the studios started making
them in CinemaScope and with 4-track magnetic stereo (the 1954 A
Star Is Born
with Judy Garland one fo the best early examples) an d this is a
mistake some scope musicals make. On his audio commentary for
Finian's
Rainbow
(1968, reviewe4d on Warner Archive Blu-ray elsewhere on this site) no
less than Director Francis Coppola admits he did not pull the camera
out enough when filming an early sequence with no less than the
ultimate star of the film musical and his lead for that film, Fred
Astaire.
The
result is the impact of the overall film is hurt and holds it back
from being a better film. The makers were thinking big screen, but
not big enough in this way, but maybe next time. You'll; note the
sequences that have the wider, longer shots (like the early beauty
salon sequence) work better as a result. Otherwise, not bad.
Jimmy
Smits and Marc Anthony also star.
Finally,
we have an album by an underrated band. Supergrass:
In It For The Money
(1997) has been reissued as a 3-CD set with the original album
remastered and the two extra discs have a ton of extra tracks. Only
the band's second album, they had a huge hit off of their debut album
with the pop ''Alright''
that is still getting played and licensed all over the world.
Ironically, it was the last single from the album. They could have
continued in that direction (Spielberg saw the music video and wanted
to give them a TV show in the Monkees mode off of it) and that could
have worked. However, though it was not necessarily a big-hit (or
one-hit wonder) that could kill their career before it started, they
tried for a more serious direction.
Here's
are the tracks in the set...
CD1:
In It For The Money - 2021 Remaster
In
It For The Money (2021 Remaster)
Richard
III (2021 Remaster)
Tonight
(2021 Remaster)
Late
In The Day (2021 Remaster)
G-Song
(2021 Remaster)
Sun
Hits The Sky (2021 Remaster)
Going
Out (2021 Remaster)
It's
Not Me (2021 Remaster)
Cheapskate
(2021 Remaster)
You
Can See Me (2021 Remaster)
Hollow
Little Reign (2021 Remaster)
Sometimes
I Make You Sad (2021Remaster)
CD2:
Research & Development - Studio Extras & B-Sides
Susan
(AKA Going Out)*
Melanie
Davis
Can't
Dig It (AKA G-Song)*
Late
In The Day (Demo)*
Get
Away (AKA Richard III)*
Charles
II *
Sun
Hits the Sky (Monitor Mix)*
It's
Not Me (Original)*
Silver
Lining*
Cheapskate
(Monitor Mix)*
In
It for the Money (Monitor Mix)*
Hollow
Little Reign (Guiro Mix)*
Tonight
(Monitor Mix)*
You
Can See Me (Demo)*
Sometime
We're Really Sad (Edit)*
Sometimes
I Make You Sad (Guide Vox)*
Nothing
More's Gonna Get in My Way
We
Still Need More (Than Anyone Can Give)
Don't
Be Cruel
20ft
Half
The
Animal
CD3:
Product Placement - Live Recordings
Going
Out (Opera House, Toronto, Sep 11, 95)*
Melanie
Davis (Lowlands Festival, Netherlands, Aug 25, 96)*
G-Song
(Rehearsal cassette recording, Jun 18, 95)*
Hollow
Little Reign (O2 Academy Islington, London, Jun 01, 2004)*
In
It for the Money (Rock City, Nottingham, Jan 18, 98)*
Cheapskate
(Rock City, Nottingham, Jan 18, 98)*
Mansize
Rooster (Rock City, Nottingham, Jan 18, 98)*
Richard
III (Rock City, Nottingham, Jan 18, 98)*
You
Can See Me (Rock City, Nottingham, Jan 18, 98)*
Late
in the Day (Rock City, Nottingham, Jan 18, 98)*
Alright
(Rock City, Nottingham, Jan 18, 98)*
Just
Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) (Rock City,
Nottingham, Jan 18, 98)*
Lose
It (Rock City, Nottingham, Jan 18, 98)*
Sun
Hits the Sky (Rock City, Nottingham, Jan 18, 98)*
Going
Out (aborted) (Rock City, Nottingham, Jan 18, 98)*
Caught
By the Fuzz (Rock City, Nottingham, Jan 18, 98)*
Going
Out (Rock City, Nottingham, Jan 18, 98)*
Strange
Ones (Rock City, Nottingham, Jan 18, 98)*
Lenny
(Rock City, Nottingham, Jan 18, 98)*
Sometimes
I Make You Sad (Paradiso, Amsterdam, Oct 08, 97)*
*
unreleased
The
Supergrass trio line-up as of this album was Gaz Coombes, Mick Quinn
and Danny Goffey, sporting some chemistry and proving that though
they were not Blur or Radiohead, they were more formidable than their
megahit might allow and certainly far more authentic than the
extremely overrated Oasis. No song particularly stands out for me
here (I have heard all the hits before) and they can play as well as
they can sing, which is good. However, they still do not totally
establish themselves as a stronger entity, something that did develop
in the follow-up albums.
Sure,
they could have got away with an album of songs trying to recreate
the success of ''Alright''
and other hits from that first solid album, but the spirit and
attitude that made them great in their debut actually survives here
in tact, so they did not sell out to do what they did here. (Even
the music videos for the singles on this album are as good as the
last, which you can see on line or in a long out of print DVD, videos
so good they deserve a Blu-ray or even 4K disc release!) Thus, this
album deserves to be celebrated as much of it works, still works and
holds up, give or take some small spots I never bought. Hope all
their albums get this treatment eventually.
Now
for
playback performance. The
Horrorpops
concert is presented in 1080p high definition with a widescreen
aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and a fine sounding, lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital
surround mix. The program is professionally filmed and edited and
captures the program well. There's also an anamorphically enhanced,
standard definition DVD included of the same program in a more
compressed video and lossy audio presentation. The CD has PCM 2.0
16/44.1 Stereo that fares a little better than the Dolby.
The
Dolly
DVDs repeat the mostly 1.33 X 1 presentations, though newer works are
in 1.78 X 1 and all in lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono and later,
Stereo, which can be in anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 framing.
Color is as good as it can be for old analog or low-def digital video
and for the DVD format.
The
1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Summer
rarely really shows its age, and the film was shot in three-strip
Technicolor, so it looks good and often reflects what a 35mm
dye-transfer print of the film should
look like,. Director of Photography Harry Stradling, Sr. (My
Fair Lady,
The
Pirate,
Easter
Parade,
Hello
Dolly,
A
Streetcar Named Desire,
several Hitchcock films)
more than delivers a great look for the film. Framing is impressive,
especially for the musical numbers. Unfortunately, the DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix is not always in prime shape,
with a few more age and slight harmonic distortion problems than
expected, but it has been restored as well as possible.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Heights can
look good, but some shots look better than others, though they may
resolve better on the 4K edition we expect to see later. It does
have the full, lossless Dolby
Atmos 11.1 (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) sound mix the
4K has and the best theatrical presentations offered. This mix is
much more like it and the best sound on this list of any release.
The
PCM 2.0 16/44.1 Stereo sound on the CDs are not bad, but Disco
has some copies that have distortion, slight warping and background
hiss on certain tracks, meaning those songs need more restoration
ASAP. Every track on Supergrass
sounds fine and has been nicely remastered, so much so that I wish a
Blu-ray with 5.1 or 11.1 mixes were included.
Extras
on Horrorpops
are completely absent unless you count the DVD and CD, while the CD
sets include nicely illustrated booklets and Dolly
a paper pullout of the contents, including listing a few interview
extras and music videos on the discs, whether you count the latter as
extras or not is again, up to you. Summertime
adds a vintage video introduction to the film by Garland scholar John
Fricke, two Technicolor live-action Traveltalks
shorts on Chicago and a few Original Theatrical Trailers.
Heights
adds Digital Copy, while the disc adds a Sing-A-Long piece and a
Making Of featurette.
To
order the Warner Archive Blu-ray In
The Good Old Summertime,
go to this link for them and many more great web-exclusive
releases at:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0&visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55&tag=blurayforum-20
-
Nicholas Sheffo and James Lockhart (Horrorpops)
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/