Scockwave by The Blossoms (1972)

Incredibly strong (and for some reason completely unknown and obscure) recording by girl-group "The Blossoms" led by superwoman Darlene Love who was one of the best voices in the business. Who knows why this album didn't work out - maybe because on its cover it didn't have three supermodels like Supremes or three weirdos in space outfits (LaBelle) but three middle aged ladies who look a little bit tired and sing like a dream. Today it would have been a bit difficult to market them but once you hear them,you know this is real thing.

Of course "The Blossoms" were around forever and recorded together as far back as 1958. but this is not old-fashioned cutesy sound,this is something very contemporary (for 1972. standards) and not so far removed from what LaBelle did around the same time. Be it upbeat numbers or gospel ballads ("Fire and Rain" got gospel makeover) ladies sang their hearts out and are in top form,it must have been exciting to hear them live!

All lead vocals are done by Darlene Love,except last song "Just remember". I don't have LP near at this moment but I would swear this is not Love,it's sung in much gentler manner and my guess is,it was one of the other ladies from the cover picture.

If you like LaBelle,Flirtations or Sweet Inspirations,this is something for you.

So much love: Darlene Love Anthology 1958-1998

A wonderful (and welcome) homage to one of all-time great vocalists,this CD combined with previously released "The Very Best of Darlene Love" (her classic 1960s work) gives more or the less clear story of Darlene Love music and career.

Gifted with a strong,booming and soulful voice that clearly shows gospel influence in everything she did,Love graced many of Phil Spector hit singles way back and she was one of the stars of his famous Christmas album recorded in 1964. That work has been compiled already so now we have "The Rest of Darlene Love" that shows singer working away from mad genius and it's interesting that best cuts here are ones that nod towards Spector sound.

Clearly,Love is in her element when music gears to girl group sound ("Gospel truth") or Christmas pop ("All Alone on Christmas") - her beautiful 1958. recording of "So much love" is earthshaking in gospel power,as opposite to Dusty Springfield later delicate and vulnerable version. Because this compilation is cherry-picked selection of rarities and because Love on her own did not have anything close to success of Spector hits,it will be mostly of interest to collectors and fans of 1960s pop. That is not to say music is not good,it has stunning vocals and period charm but it has great talent working away from the man who made her known. Lots of curiosities here,some demos and even TV ads,not to mention several cuts from excellent album "Shockwave" (1972). where she was lead vocalist of "The Blossoms"

To get real complete picture,it would have been nice to have some of her gospel recordings or perhaps her own take on "River Deep,Mountain High" (the only song she ever really wanted to sing and begged Spector to do it,but he had somebody else in mind) until than,this is the best presentation of her later discography.

Dream a little dream of me (Eddi Figel)

Oh well,how can we forget celebrity biographies - once I actually went back to my list of books that I've read in the past (real Virgo,always writing everything down) and to my biggest embarrassment I found out that apparently I read zillions of books about Hollywood movie stars,singers and such - no matter how I tried to explain this,basically its always the same answer - voyeurism and curiosity about other people lives.

So if you see me passing by bookshop,you can bet I will check out everything but at the end just have a peek at celebrity biographies,to check am I missing anything.Sure,now I know this is my weak spot so it's easy to control myself,however it's my guilty pleasure and sometimes I just indulge myself,like with this book - I was on vacation and just loved the fact that I was free from work and can do whatever I want,including reading book about Mama Cass. I even have photo taken of me relaxing and purring like a kitten in centre of Amsterdam, while reading this book.

Ah yes,the book.

More than just giving the story about Cass herself - who was more or less what we all knew and expected - the book describes San Francisco scene in late 1960s and what it meant to be there at that particular time. How everything changed overnight after Sharon Tate murders and uninvited visitors were not permitted anymore. How it was to have Jack Nicholson, Joni Mitchell or Cher around the house. Numerous stories about folk clubs where performers sang basically for peanuts (this is where Cass came from,though her real love were Broadway musicals) and of course some great backstage stories about "Mamas and Papas" and how it all really went. Tons of infos about music.

And by the way,there was never any sandwich,it was a heart attack although basically it shouldn't matter because the end is the same. But her daughter is very unhappy with the whole ham sandwich thing and I understand her,at that time doctor wanted to hide any suspicion about drugs so he went for something innocent and accidentally turned late Mama Cass into a joke.

God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

I forgot to mention this book which turned out to be far better than I expected.

Bought it on the international airpot in Frankfurt or some similar place and I remember thinking "God will punish me and crash the plane down" but it didn't happen. Than it took few months before I actually put my hands on the book and the beginning was not particularly impressive because Dawkins concentrates too much on his favorite subject - science and how everything developed naturally in some kind of progress (one way or another,to describe this in nutshell) instead of silly stories of divine presence creating the world. But second part of the book somehow really caught up with me and I ended up really enjoying it,specially when Dawkins goes into describing that religion is completely pointless (people can be good even without fear of God,you know something is bad without anybody throwing rules at you) and could - and was already - be used in very dangerous,controlling way.

Sure,it goes against majority of people but I never consider myself "ordinary person from the street" and always have eyes & ears open for any new,interesting discussion so this was really a welcome book and refreshing air to hear there are other people around who share my opinion.

Syreta (1972)

Debut album by Wonder than-wife who actually had very pleasant voice and was decent talent with or without him. Sure,without him there would not be so many doors opening for her but if you check composers behind these songs,you will find out that with all those heavy-weights (Stevie Wonder,John Lennon,Smokey Robinson) the best song is "Happiness" written completely by lady herself.

Sounds very much like Stevie Wonder's work of early 1970s and the second half of closing "To know you is to love you" turns into fiery instrumental that would not be out of the place on any of Wonder's own classic albums. The only thing this album lacks is some big hit - kind of meanders around without really going anywhere - but that would come soon.

Of great interests for Stevie Wonder fans.

Shadow of the Vampire (2001)

"Nosferatu" has always been one of my all-time favorites so I was very curious to see this movie where the story goes behind the making of "Nosferatu".

What (for example,theoretically) if Max Schreck was real vampire and not acting at all?

Some decent talents here - John Malkovich is playing legendary german director Murnau,while Willem Dafoe is vampire Max Schreck and he is actually brilliant. I am not talking only about mask,but about the demonic way he possesses the character,his way of clicking with fingernails and all those little details,damn excellent. Of supportive actors I need to mention british TV comedian Eddie Izzard who has very ungrateful role of "bad actor" - it is actually a difficult trick to play "bad actor" (in this case someone who is terrified of vampire's presence). But as interesting as this is,it is not a classic movie (it has a feel of TV drama) and it's just interesting variation of theme,makes you run back to real "Nosferatu".

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Sometimes the old movie is just old movie.

For some strange reason,I thought I might enjoy this, movie adaptation of stage comedy classic - if I remember correctly,this even played in croatian theatre and my guess is,it was probably far better that way,where it belongs - on the stage.

Frank Capra directed this,really ridiculously over-acted and wrongly paced story where everybody runs around screaming and pretending - I did not laughed,or chuckled or even found it amusing - simply a case of old,silly movie.

Carry Grant is the main character here - he makes faces,runs up and down the stairs and basically fools around very loud & annoyingly. His fiancee (Priscila Lane) is completely unnecessary because Grant pushes her around and throws her out of house all the time,when he don't know what to do with her,he shuts her up with kisses. Two sweet aunties are very likable - and they have to be,because the whole story depends on this - and everything is fine as long as they are on the screen.But we have nutty relative who thinks he is Roosevelt,murderous brother with a face of Boris Karloff and (believe it or not) Peter Lorre somewhere in there. Add several other characters like silly policemen,doctors,cab drivers and so on... pure madness and not very entertaining either,just a lot of people yelling and screaming all the time.

The only good things were two sweet aunties - played by Josephine Hull and Jean Adair and I must say they did excellent job by creating such unforgettable characters,because the point is - the old ladies are actually mass murderers but somehow they pull it off with charm and cuteness so viewer actually don't mind. We don't want police to find them or anything bad to happen to them,so luckily the script has a perfect solution for them and it is a sort of happy ending.

"Diesel" T-shirts with Tito face!

There is a new collection of "Diesel" T-shirts that has man's profile re-designed in different variations (same face with punk hairstyle and so on).

One look and I thought "Hm,this looks very familiar" - and of course I knew immediately where this comes from,after all I was child of Tito's Yugoslavia and grew up with his pictures,I know this profile in my sleep. But it seemed little strange that fashion company would take Tito as a model for design so I wanted to check it out myself and did some internet research and sure I found the photo that was used for this,it was a famous WW2 photo of Tito from the profile (he had really heroic face and was very photogenic,truth must be told).

Well,now "Diesel" had re-designed Tito for fashion T-shirts and if you see them,check them out,it is Tito with different hairstyles (punk,rock and so on) I think its very bizzare.

Grace Jones: Fame (1978)

Where cellophane cautiously tries to hide the fact that Jones is not a singer and she valiantly struggles with long lines that need bigger voice projection - yes,she has charisma and personality and will eventually become very interesting in her own off-beat way (but not here and not yet) - anybody could name at least five singers who would have no problems whatsoever with singing this but Jones always sound a little bit out of breath and like running behind the song instead of being at the helm of it.

Than modern-trick of songs sailing into each other without a break is today a cute reminder of disco-era,I remember this from my childhood. There is even a moment between the songs when it sounds like music will turn into "Turn the Beat around" but no,it is Jones own "Fame". "Autumn Leaves" was obvious follow up to "La Vie En Rose" and has Jones again singing in french with identical rhythm section and same percussion like on previous work.

"Am I Ever Gonna Fall In Love In New York City" has mildly interesting story line about a newcomer into big city,lost in the rush and excitement of new surroundings. Jones recites here for the first time,her voice so young but full of attitude. Almost like hearing baby Grace Jones.

As for other songs,they sound never-ending and probably were. The problem with this kind of production is that songs sound very much alike and as divided into A and B sides,you could play side A without even noticing it is actually different song.

Very soon Jones will re-invent herself and change approach to music,leaving disco behind completely. It is interesting to hear this but only to appreciate her later work even better. She did went a long way from this.

The 5th Dimension: Stoned Soul Picnic (1968)

Black version of "Mamas and Papas" with (gasp) far better voices and not one but two stunning beauties smiling from the album cover - and if that is not enough,you have songs by Laura Nyro,Jimmy Webb and Ashford & Simpson spread generously through very strong album with some seriously spectacular 1960s orchestration,strings swirling around singer's strong voices like Hurricanes and there are some clever touches everywhere that get listener's attention from the start (like unexpected happy Banjo in the opening song).

"Stoned Soul Picnic" is of course excellent song,pure delight here - it is actually lifted note by note from Nyro original and I can't say why lady herself did not top the charts because her recording is exactly the same - just give it a listen and you will hear basically no difference between them,maybe it is a power of voices united that gives a song a different glow,who knows? In any case they do glow and sound like a dream,there is a particular magic in these wonderful voices combined and everything about vocal arrangements and production is first-rate.

The cream of 1960s vocal harmonies,seriously.

Supremes: Right On (1970)

Considering that Supremes classic 1960s discography never went out of print,I always assumed their post-Ross was not interesting but this comes as shock.

Not only that I actually like Jean Terrell better (she has voice uncannily similar to Ross but with more bite and less cutesy),vocal arrangements and music here are far better than what Ross offered on her solo work at the same time. This actually sounds very much like best work of "The Flirtations" and that is a high compliment.

Terrell is out and front,girls (whoever they were) right behind her and music seriously grooves and moves in a new direction,still bouncing but cleverly staying in well-known Supremes comfort zone,if you need to describe it the best way would be to say it is current and modern but playing on Supremes well-known sound.

Never expected that I would like this so much - in comparison,their 1960s work sound like simple ditties compared to sophistication displayed here - true,it has different singers,producers and composers but whoever stays behind this can be proud,really great album. There is a CD box with 1970s Supremes out there and I am really curious to check it out now.

Highlght:

"Bill, When Are You Coming Back"

River God by Wilbur Smith

One of the small pleasures of traveling around so much is to find local writers/books/movies that I wouldn't know otherwise.

Wilbur Smith is the name I never noticed before,although I am life-long bookshop browser. Perhaps I was looking in the wrong direction or simply didn't know him,I clearly remember last year in South Africa checking out his novels in bookshops and thinking "hm,this sounds interesting" but this time I decided to give him a try. Boy,was it worth it.

"The River God" is his famous first (of many) books set in ancient Egypt and its a beautiful never-ending saga in full MGM splendor,with lots of chariot races,wild beast hunting, royal palace intrigues,travels on the Nile and so on - the main character is eunuch called Taita who is all-knowing force behind the throne and he gradually becomes more and more indispensable to royals with his wisdom and knowledge. The period is very well researched and it gives the reader almost the smell of the places,also noticeable is the author attempt to present the story from ancient Egyptian point of view,for example locals initial mistrust to arrival of new,unknown animals (horses) for whom they believe they are man-eaters. The novel was much better than I expected and it was a perfect escapism,I could hardly wait to finish my work and dive into world of old Egypt.

Luckily this novel was just beginning of several ancient Egypt novels with the same characters so now I know where to follow.

Fluffy pleasures

Some of the books I read recently - "Racist guide to South Africa" is a very funny little book by Simon Kilpatrick that goes about different people who live here.

Its absolutely hilarious and completely politically incorrect collection of essays on blacks,indians,whites and so on - blacks for example eat chicken beaks & legs which they call "walkie talkie". Indian girls are very beautiful until they get married and explode overnight (and they have incredibly long and pronounced sideburns). Local white "afrikaans" walk barefoot and have thick soles on their feet. Greek women all have moustaches and so on.It might be offensive to some but its all good-natured and obviously a joke book.

"Froth on the cappuccino - How small pleasures can save your life" by Maeve Haran is another fluffy little book that somehow appealed to me and I loved it,in fact read it in one sitting.Its a reminder on little pleasures in life and all those little moments that we treasure. I always believed that happiness is not something big and thunderous but in fact collection of small things and this book is something I could relate to.

Places: Durban

Contrary to name of this blog,I rarely ever mention places I travel through.

Maybe it's psychologically - my work is traveling and after years of living nomadic life I don't find it so new or interesting anymore,now I prefer to put down some inner travels,like what books I read or what music I listened,what moved me one way or another.

Than again,I said to myself "it's not fair towards the places I visit,I should not just take for granted all these travels that other people have only in dreams".

So here is Durban - my current place of work - it is a huge city on a Indian coast of South Africa,very very far from anything remotely close to Europe and I always find myself here in the middle of what is summer for locals but its winter elsewhere. Sure,there is excitement about walking around in summer heat when my friends back home have snow,and locals & buildings are colorful. There is excellent "marine center" called "uShaka" with aquarium,restaurants,shops and a famous beach,also lots of nice shopping malls like "Gateway" where you can spend the whole day browsing around and getting lost between floors and floors of offers (actually I prefer much smaller and more compact "Musgrave road" shopping mall because its simply more manageable for me,I dislike getting lost in these big places.

Everywhere I go,I always find bookshops & music CD shops - unfortunately they always push big names best-sellers I can get elsewhere but its thrilling to check out local music (I am still stuck with wonderful Miriam Makeba who is probably internationally best known South African artist) and as for the books my recent discovery is Wilbur Smith who is very well known South African author and he is VERY good.

Most of my colleagues right now don't care much about going out in Durban which is a pity because place is interesting if you know what to do and where to look: last year I even rented little plane and flew above the city,had a excellent view from above on suburbs and the centre. This year,contrary to what I expected,I was actually glad to be back and happy to see familiar places again.Sure,Durban does not match beauty of Cape town but it has its good points as well.

(Note to myself: I have to drag my colleagues out and show them some of my favorite corners of Durban)