Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Music Review: Led Zeppelin Live at the Royal Albert Music Hall 1970

This concert is available on You Tube, and as I enjoy the song Stairway to Heaven I thought I would give it a listen.  However this was not in this set as not written until a year after this concert.  If you are into long guitar riffs and long drum solos then this is your style of music.  I think it got a bit long for me.  Jimmy Page is a master of the guitar, and there are few with his skill.  Vocals are provided by Robert Plant.  Plant appears to be a baritone, meaning he often sings lower than most singers.  However the vocals are not what carries this band.  Lyrics are often not very creative.  They also have John Bonham on drums and John Paul Jones on keyboard.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Music Review: Finians’s Rainbow The Original Broadway Cast Recording

Finians’s Rainbow The Original Broadway Cast Recording, music Burton Lane, lyrics E.Y. Harburg

I was a little disappointed with this music.  The original case played in 1947 and the show ran for 725 performance (Wikipedia)  This version is not near as fascinating as the movie with Petula Clark and Fred Astair my Dad took me to see as a youngster.  There was too much emphasis on the Irish accent that makes it hard to understand, and in the end it is just a jumble.  However, “Look to the Rainbow” is one of my favorite songs ever.  As for my other favorite song from the musical “How Are Things in Glocco Morra?”  I did not like the version in this original cast recording.  Ella Logan is the actress who sings these songs in this version.

Monday, March 9, 2015

Movie Review: ****^Big Hero 6

This movie comes to us from Disney and won the Oscar for best animated feature of 2014.  This Disney feature does not have singing, but has action.  A cast of misfits from what is affectionally known has nerd school end up as super heroes based on their using what ever technology they had been developing for superpowers.  They go up against an evil nemesis who has stolen the nano bots developed by Hiro.  The nano bots work together and are controlled by a central mask or control.
This movie has several plot shifts and unexpected surprises.  We watched it while we had family here this weekend, and even the little babies were fascinated with the Big white hero.  Oh, 5 people heroes and one big robot hero who turns out more human than us all, based on his programming to do everything in his power to help others heal.
This movie was a pleasant surprise for me, but it had already grossed $600 million before I watched it.