by bill biss –
Stay safe. Wear a mask when out in public. Practice social distancing. This the new “now.” Oh, and your live entertainment has been canceled for the foreseeable future…For real? Personally, The Go-Go’s aren’t going. Oh, boy. Have you organized your book or record and CD collection? I have. Back in March of 2020, these reviews were raring to go to print but that damn COVID-19 virus hit the United States of America and the rest of the world and The Rage Monthly stopped its print run. What can you do but pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep going with content online? That’s just what our publishers are trying to do. It’s “shake and bake” and I helped! So here is what is still going on and believe me you can’t stop the music.
Why even Lady Gaga pushed her latest release to May 29 sensing that things might be a little brighter then. So much for that but none the less, its music to the ears with her new release Chromatica. And if there is ever a time to go, Gaga, go and blow off musical steam in the summertime, this is it. The chameleon of song, Lady Gaga dives into a color palette of pop once more. After all the love angst of A Star is Born, she goes back to the groove of her first album The Fame. On the futuristic lead single “Stupid Love” she beams in ala Britney Spears to save the world and just dance… Oops, she did it again. Pretty in pink indeed in the video. With unmistakable dance beats and her powerful vocals, she is truly on Lady Gaga time. By the way, Ariana Grande and Sir Elton John join her on this musical escapade.
Are you ready for High Times in the Dark? Hmmm… The Claudettes band is definitely a summer breeze of vibrancy. The band buzzes in pollinating the sounds. There is a honky-tonk saloon sound, New Orleans jazz vibe, blaring guitars and slam-dunk drummer. Added to the honey is a remarkable piano player Johnny Iguana who is excellent in any setting. The emotional core is the thoughtful lyrics and vocals of the sadder but wiser lead singer Berit Ulseth. Truly three “rah-rah-rah” cheers go out for The Claudettes.
New York tough, smart, strong and loving. The new CD by Willie Nile titled New York At Night begins with a triumphant nod to the city with “New York Is Rockin’.” Nile’s sounds are part J. Geils Band, Tom Petty and part Bob Dylan. Willie Nile’s voice captures the electricity and heart of the “Big Apple.” Let’s just say his new music is extremely timely and poignant to hear and reflect upon and it is rocking out in the finest way. Take a bite of it and enjoy his unique talent and a skilled band of musicians. As Willie sings in another track and it rings true, it’s “A Little Bit of Love.”
There is nothing better than an emotional and vibrant film score to accentuate the mood and the actors portrayed. Quite simply and at times complicated, the film music draws the person into the feelings and situations played out on a motion-picture screen. Known as the father of film music, Max Steiner created scores from the 1930s to the 1960s; from RKO Studio to his long realm at Warner Brothers and his remarkable association with producer David O. Selznick.
There was a man behind the musical ingenuity of his talents and Steven C. Smith has done a “Max”nificent job in great detail of writing the life story of Max Steiner. But back to the film music as his achievements in this regard are too phenomenal to not elaborate on as the author of Music by Max Steiner: The Epic Life of Hollywood’s Most Influential Composer does so well. From the tribal terror and tender, but monumentally tough score of the original King Kong to the triumphant transformation of Bette Davis in Now Voyager or the supreme musical themes and characterizations of the principal actors in perhaps the greatest film created that is Gone With The Wind… Steiner, as he had done countless times over his career, created a heartbeat of sensory memories through his film scores. If you ask me, I could write a book on Steiner’s magnificence as a composer and it’s a great joy to know that Steven C. Smith has.
That man behind the scoreboard of musical accomplishments was as complicated in real life in some regards as a Warner Brothers melodrama. As Mammy in Gone With The Wind says, “It’s not fittin’, it just ain’t fittin’” to spill the beans on the extensive life details of Max Steiner as my esteem for Steven C. Smith and the biography he did is well worth discovering for yourself and yes… there is laughter, love, intrigue and tears to be found in Steiner’s life as a person and his achievements personally and professionally.
Steiner’s longest collaborative partnership was with a studio star (Bette Davis) when he worked for Warner Brothers and it heralded an amazing body of work. It was a true-pal relationship between the star and the scorer. This is evident in Smith’s book. Davis said and don’t quote me… “Are they going to be paying attention to Max’s music or watch me when I walk down the stairs?” On that note, Steiner created some of the best musical moments for Davis in such classics as The Letter, Dark Victory and a personal favorite film called All This and Heaven Too. “Don’t ask for the moon, when we have Steiner’s film scores.”
Another book that sparked a Hollywood at-home atmosphere. Photographer Sid Avery had such a casual and professional approach. He refined his profession after serving in World War II as a photographer and soldier. After the war, Avery was able to capture through his eye quite simply the most impressive and memorable stars of motion pictures in the 20th Century.
Let’s drop some names of the people he photographed in the entertainment business featured in Sid Avery: The Art of the Hollywood Snapshot. There was Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Dean Martin, Marlon Brando, Rock Hudson and Frank Sinatra. Plus Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, James Dean, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward and many more; these are the people Sid Avery photographed for Saturday Evening Post and other publications!
Another important aspect is that with the help of his son Roy Avery, Sid shared his personal memories of taking his telescope i.e. camera to the stars. The memories and antidotes he shares are a true measure of the man behind the camera. Tony Nourmand provides a more informative history of Avery’s legacy. For anyone who loves the classic Hollywood period of the 1950s and early 1960s, it’s a treat to read and take in the imagery. Brando playing the bongos or taking out the trash or cracking a big laugh. Dean, Elizabeth and Rock on the set of the phenomenal epic “Giant” or Frank Sinatra (who Avery worked with a lot singing his heart out in the Capitol Records recording studio. As Dean Martin sang, “Memories (Are Made of This.”), this book is filled with stardust in the first degree.
Roy Avery wrote the introduction to this book on his father and it’s a true-blue glimpse into Sid Avery’s fine character, work ethic and how he created such a skill at putting many motion picture stars at ease when they were being photographed. Learning initially about Sid Avery in his 1990 photography book Hollywood At Home… fast forward to 2012 when Sid Avery: The Art of the Hollywood Snapshot was originally released. Now in 2020 Reel/Art/Press has re-released the book. With all the stay-at-home business because of COVID-19, take a glimpse into a time when motion pictures were at odds with the power of the little box called TV, take a glimpse into the major league stars doing a pretty darn good job doing what came naturally and look back from a master’s perspective that is the job of Sid Avery in capturing them at home and work.
That’s a bit for June which I wanted to clue you into, so enjoy the long, hot and “staying safe” summer. I’ll do my best to and hope all of you do too! Your Rage Recommends guy, Bill Biss