In an interview cited in my book Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon, he comments that Ringo “wasn’t known for writing his own material, and there was a bit of a worry [among the other Beatles when the group broke up]…how is his recording career gonna be? And in general, it’s probably better than...
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July 18, 2017July 18, 2017Music
Album Reviews: The Beach Boys – 1967: Sunshine Tomorrow, and More New Releases
The Grateful Dead or perhaps Bob Dylan may hold the record for most releases from the vaults, but the Beach Boys aren’t far behind. Over the years, we’ve seen the group’s studio albums reissued as twofers, with a wealth of bonus tracks. Greatly expanded versions of Beach Boys Party and the Beach Boys’ Christmas Album...
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April 18, 2017April 18, 2017Music
Album Reviews: Bob Dylan – Triplicate, and More
Triplicate—a three-CD, 30-song set—represents Bob Dylan’s third exploration of the Great American Songbook, following 2014’s Shadows in the Night and 2016’s Fallen Angels. Like those albums, it was produced by Jack Frost (aka Robert Zimmerman, Blind Boy Grunt, and you know who). Like its predecessors, also, it focuses on songs that have been recorded by...
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February 16, 2017February 16, 2017Video
DVD Review: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – The Complete Series
Deep Space Nine, the first Star Trek spin-off series to emerge in the post-Gene Roddenberry era, originally arrived on DVD back in 2003. Star Trek: The Next Generation had rolled out on the then-cutting edge format the year before. In the years since, TNG has been beautifully restored from the original 35mm negatives (and in...
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February 13, 2017February 13, 2017Music
Album Reviews: The Grateful Dead – 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, and More
The rap on the Grateful Dead’s eponymous 1967 debut album—which the group mostly recorded in just four days—is that they didn’t yet understand the studio and failed to accurately represent what they could accomplish in concert. There’s some truth in that. Then again, as a bonus disc included with this 50th anniversary reissue makes clear,...
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February 8, 2017February 8, 2017Video
Blu-ray Review: The Take (2016) – aka Bastille Day
First off, The Take is a firecracker action-thriller starring Idris Elba as CIA operative Sean Briar and Richard Madden (Robb Stark in Game of Thrones) as expert pickpocket Michael Mason. Directed with economical verve by James Watkins, The Take mixes elements of Taken, Mission: Impossible, Die Hard, and TV’s 24 to very positive effect. It...
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January 12, 2017January 12, 2017Video
Blu-ray Review: The Whole Truth (2016)
The Whole Truth arrives on Blu-ray January 17, 2017 (via Lionsgate Films) and will likely draw attention from fans of its stars Keanu Reeves and Renée Zellweger. First, a word of respect for Truth‘s writer-director Courtney Hunt. Her 2008 crime drama (and directorial debut) Frozen River received heaps of praise and awards, including an Oscar...
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January 9, 2017January 9, 2017Music
Bentley’s Bandstand: January 2017
Dennis Coffey, Hot Coffey in the D. In 1968 Detroit was still on fire for musicians. Motown Records’ success had lit the city up, and its glow spread far and wide. Guitarist Dennis Coffey had been on a batch of successful records, and he soon found himself a Funk Brother in the hallowed rooms of...
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December 23, 2016December 23, 2016Music
Bentley’s Bandstand: The Best of 2016 (Second-Half)
2016 was rough. Losing friends and artists all through the year just would not stop, and the Presidential election turned the country into a hatful of hate. As always, music provided a way through it all. Favorite albums of the first-half of the year provided solace and inspiration and included Eric Clapton, I Still Do;...
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December 22, 2016December 22, 2016Music
Music Review: Bob Dylan – The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert
Is there any major artist doing as much for their fans as Bob Dylan? Maybe so, but it’s hard to imagine anyone is surpassing Dylan’s output of quality archival releases. Ever since the 1991 inception of The Bootleg Series (which reached Vol. 12 in 2015), there has been a wealth of previously unavailable studio and...