1)One Love Bob Marley
Yah, man! One Love is the Real Deal!
Directed By: | Reinaldo Marcus Green |
Cast: | Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton, Tosin Cole, Anthony Welsh, Michael Gandolfini, Umi Meyers, Nadine Marshall |
Running Time: | 107 mins |
Rating: | PG-13 |
Opening Date: | Wednesday, February 14, 2024 Wide |
One Love is going to spur record sales for the late icon, that is the first thing that came to mind as the 177 seat theater was filled to capacity for the Boston screening. Yah, man! Elegantly filmed by director Reinaldo Marcus Green, the story unfolds with little character development, something that could have benefited had a little bit more documentary-style been added to the story. For example, James Gandolfini's son, Michael Gandolfini, comes off as a rather goofy version of mega-promoter Howie Bloom, and James Norton's "Chris," as in Blackwell, head and founder of Island Records, well, the screen version is not as my interpretation from the Chris Blackwell book - The Islander: My Life in Music and Beyond. But, to paraphrase Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, if you want the facts, do a documentary.
Boston - AMC Theater, the city was a madhouse on the night of the Bob Marley screening.
6) Ian Nelson Disposable Moments
8) Talitha Jae - Meet Me At The Window
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Pousette-Dart Band 3 Review by Joe Viglione
Out of the four albums released by the Pousette-Dart Band on Capitol, Pousette-Dart Band 3 may be the most satisfying. The only song that received as much attention as "Amnesia," the title track and minor hit off of their second album, or "For Love," the David Finnerty of the Road Apples tune from their fourth disc, was the cover of the Lieber/Stoller/Ben E. King 1961 hit "Stand by Me." It is a good version, and the songs on side one are the usual fare from Jon Pousette-Dart's group: top-notch country-rock. But it is side two that really is extraordinary. "Louisiana," "Too Blue to Be True," and "Mr. Saturday Night" work almost as a trilogy. They are deep, dark, and not as bouncy as Don Covay's "I Stayed Away Too Long" on side one. The beautiful, acoustic "Where Are You Going," which ends this half of the program, sets up the second side nicely, and lends for a seamless flow if listening on compact disc. Pousette-Dart's voice is flawless, as is his playing on "Where Are You Going," which ends suspended in mid-air. As with that tune, all the songs on the second side are written by Jon Pousette-Dart, and along with the sterling performance, this is his best songwriting of these releases on Capitol. "Louisiana" has tension, eerie production, immaculate instrumentation, and just a great vocal walking next to the guitars. While the Eagles and Hall & Oates were enjoying success at this point in time, along with the resurgence of Crosby, Stills & Nash, Pousette-Dart Band's mellow Buffalo Springfield style on this album really should have garnered a huge audience. "Too Blue to Be True" brings it up a bit, the band cooking with excitement and power. That power continues in the semi-funk of "Mr. Saturday Night," three powerful statements by this important artist that somehow got lost in the shuffle of the music industry. Jon Pousette-Dart's appearance at the Paradise Theater in Boston at the end of 2000 with Jon Hall of Orleans and Jonathan Edwards of Orphan was their first live appearance together as a trio, having previously only recorded "Why Can't We Be Friends," the War tune for Rounder. That performance magnified what one of those performers put in these grooves. "Lord's Song" starts to conclude the album in the same fashion as side one, Pousette-Dart's voice and acoustic guitar are combined with his plaintive expression, and this time the band in the background is solidified by co-producer Dave Appell's strings swelling, rising up before the group kicks in with precision. An album that truly deserves a better fate than obscurity.
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Dream with Dean Review by Joe Viglione
A profile of a rugged Dean Martin by the fireplace with a cigarette adorns the jacket of this very interesting concept album. As Stan Cornyn's liner notes explain, "his longtime accompanist" on piano, Ken Lane, with "three of Hollywood's most thoughtful rhythm men" -- those being drummer Irv Cottler, bassist Red Mitchell, and guitarist Barney Kessel -- do create a mood, Dean Martin performing as if he were a lounge singer at 1:15 a.m. as the Saturday night crowd is dwindling. His signature tune, "Everybody Loves Somebody," is here in a laid-back style, produced by Jimmy Bowen, who would go on to produce Reba McEntire, Kenny Rogers & the First Edition, and so many others, also the same man who was behind the 1964 number one smash. This album with the original Martin recording was released after the hit single version and on the same day as the Everybody Loves Somebody LP, but how many times does the audience get a different studio reading of a seminal hit record? Not only that, but the version that preceded the hit. The backing is so sparse it is almost a cappella, with Kessel's guitar noodlings and Ken Lane's piano. The bass is mostly invisible, coming in only when needed. It's a slow and sultry version that caps off side one. There is a rendition of Rodgers & Hart's "Blue Moon" that strips away the doo wop of the Marcels' number one 1961 remake, and a run-through of the Bloom/Mercer hit for Glen Miller, "Fools Rush In," which Rick Nelson had launched into the Top 15 in 1963. Martin is just crooning away, and if the album has one drawback, it is that the 12 songs are incessant in their providing the same atmosphere. The backing quartet does not deviate from their job, nor does producer Jimmy Bowen add any technique, other than putting Martin's voice way out in the mix. But Dream With Dean was no doubt excellent research and development as Bowen landed 11 Top 40 hits with the singer from 1964's "Everybody Loves Somebody," which evolved out of this original idea to 1967's "Little Old Wine Drinker, Me." It sounds as if they tracked the album in one afternoon, and it is not only a very pleasant listening experience, it shows what a tremendous vocalist Dean Martin truly was.
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https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-frank-sinatra-show-with-bing-crosby-and-dean-martin-mw0001895949
The Frank Sinatra Show: With Bing Crosby and Dean Martin Review by Joe Viglione
This black-and-white Frank Sinatra TV special, Frank Sinatra Show: With Bing Crosby and Dean Martin, was taped on October 19, 1958 and magnificently captures the show biz high standards held by all involved. You'll hear references to sponsor Timex inside some of these classic songs -- which only adds to the charm. The "Timex Promotional Segments" are also included -- an era when commercials were entertaining and only borderline obnoxious. But the true treasures are watching and hearing flawless performances by Mitzi Gaynor, Jimmy Durante, Dean Martin, and Bing Crosby. Once again, the musical direction is by Nelson Riddle, here lovingly brought into the world of 5.1 Surround Sound by the DVD executive producers Kim Lyon and Gary Peet. This particular program is dubbed High Hopes and features that classic song as its opening number, performed by Dean Martin, Mitzi Gaynor, and Bing Crosby, all looking for Sinatra, who saunters in when he's good and ready (as scripted). There's a quaint version of "High Hopes" with Sinatra surrounded by children, all singing the tune in chorus fashion. These time capsules are amazing artifacts that remain highly entertaining half a century after they first aired. They also provide more than a bit of insight as to how mega stars pioneered this new medium with the same elegance and personality they brought to their film and stage performances. Dean Martin gets to solo on "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" while Gaynor is given the opportunity to shine on "Hurricane." Sinatra gets an additional four songs -- "Day in and Day Out,," "It Was Just One of Those Things," "Angel Eyes," and "The Lady Is a Tramp," with all sorts of mixing and matching of talents rounding out this wonderful hour.
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