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 | Ted Williams : The Biography of an American Hero |
 | "A Well Written Biography" | 2009-07-17 |
I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Montville's book. It's a flawlessly written biography of a flawed but uniquely talented baseball icon. If The Splendid Splinter wanted the title of "the greatest hitter who ever lived" he certainly accomplished that mission. A great read and highly recommended regardless of your team affiliation.
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 | Dave Brubeck - Time Out |
| "A Brilliant Piece Of Music" | 2007-09-15 |
I remember liking this Dave Brubeck Quartet album when I was 7 years old back in 1959 when my father bought it (on vinyl). But it wasn't so much for the music as it was for the album cover art which I thought was great (and still do). Several years later, I purchased a poster of the Time Out album cover and put it up on a wall in my room until mom made me take it down. I guess it might have ruined the wallpaper. As time went on, this musical masterpiece began to grow on me despite my non-stop playing of Beatle records and Rock 'N' Roll records in general.
Anyway, almost 50 years later, I rediscovered Time Out again on Amazon.com and bought it, but on SACD. When I loaded the CD into the player, I could not believe my ears. The music was better than ever. Time Out is one of those albums that will never grow old. It's as alive and fresh today as it was in 1959. It continues to stand the test of time and will forever remain an American classic. If you're looking to expand your musical palate, look no further than to Time Out. It is a brillant piece of music.
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 | A Hard Day's Night |
 | "Great Movie, Bad DVD" | 2004-07-08 |
First and foremost, A Hard Day's Night is a great film starring the greatest band in the history of music. The Miramax DVD of this classic film is one of the worst DVDs of alltime. The 5.1 soundtrack mix is awful and the attempted letterboxing is equally as bad since the film was not shot in widescreen. If you can get your hands on the first AHDN DVD, issued in 1997 by MPI, grab it at any cost. The MPI DVD was produced after the film was restored and had its premiere on the American Movie Classics (AMC)cable channel. It is not in 5.1 digital sound, but it's a heck-of-a-lot better than the mix Miramax came up with. Don't let my rating of 1 star fool you, however. The Miramax AHDN DVD gets 1 star, A Hard Day's Night, THE MOVIE, gets a 5 star (or better) rating in my opinion. ST
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 | Paul McCartney - Back in the U.S. Live 2002 |
| "McCartney At His Absolute Best !!" | 2002-12-05 |
I was extremely fortunate to see three of Paul's performances in 2002. In April @ Madison Square Garden, September @ The Hartford Civic Center, and in Boston @ The Fleet Center. I also saw Macca during his tours in 1989-90 and 1993. At age 60, he blew me away with this recent 2002 tour. Incredibly, I found him to be better during this tour than those in the past. His voice was strong and clear (as evidenced on the Back In The U.S. CD) and his selection of songs were just great. Much of the credit for the success of the Driving USA and Back In The U.S. tours should go to the powerhouse band who breathed new life into these ageless classics. Abe, Brian, Rusty, and Old Reliable Paul "Wix" Wickens where outstanding in taking Macca's music to even high level. This magnificent CD will bring back the memory of this tour for those who were privledged to see it. For those who did not get this opportunity, the Back In The U.S. CD is the next best thing. If I can find just one fault: Some of Macca's comments and song introductions could have been included. It would not have been necessary to include every one of them, but a few would have been nice. Paul's introduction to songs such as "Getting Better", "Here Today", and "Something" would have been just enough. Still, this is one terrific collection of songs performed by the Beethoven of our time. I'm sure most people have gotten tired of the many cliches` that come from a tour loaded with nostalgia. However, if I may, Paul McCartney's music IS the soundtrack of our lives. This talent-laden Beatle (he'll never be an ex-Beatle in my book) continues to be a major force in pop music despite his 60 years. I would also like to mention that the three Driving Rain songs were not just throwaways here. Two DR songs especially, "Lonely Road" and "Your Loving Flame", add present day flavor to the already generous portion of Beatles, Wings, and solo material on the CD. I highly recommend your purchase of "Back In The U.S." Hopefully this is not the last we'll hear of Paul Mccartney Live. I can't wait for his next tour. Could the "When I'm Sixty-Four Tour" be a reality?
ROCK ON MACCA !!!
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 | Paul McCartney - Wingspan (Hits & History) |
 | "THIS COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER" | 2001-05-08 |
Most of these songs have been rehashed on at least two other albums/CDs: Wings Greatest Hits and All My Best. I really can't argue about the song selections on Wingspan and they really sound fantastic. But with compilation sets such as this, you're always going to get your fill of unsatisfied customers who feel certain songs were left out. In my case, I have but two objections. First, why not give us the extended version of "With A Little Luck" instead of the so-called radio version? And second, where is "Give Ireland Back To The Irish?" Now, I can live with the radio version of "With A Little Luck" but had they included a clean, remastered version of "Give Ireland Back To The Irish" on this retrospective CD, I would have given Wingspan a 5 star rating. Very disappointing this great McCartney song/classic was omitted.
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