Friday 28 October 2011
BATTLEFIELD 3: THE RUSSIAN - BOOK REVIEW
Based on the computer game this is more of a side story than a straight novelisation of the game (so I have heard), which actually works to the advantage. This is mainly because pretty much every novelisation of a computer game I’ve ever read is pretty much an entertaining piece of rubbish. This breaks that mould somewhat by actually being a pretty decent thriller, even more so, despite being ‘co-authored’ this very much reads like an Andy McNab book so as a fan you are well catered for. The lead character of the novel is an ex-Spetsnaz soldier Dima Mayakovsky who ends up hunting down a suitcase WMD in the middle east, encountering a US marine Sergeant Henry Blackburn, the central character in the computer game, along his travels. Like all of McNab’s other novels this blast along with breakneck speed as bad situation is compounded by worse situations and just plain terrible ones. Being a fan of McNab’s Nick Stone thrillers I found this equally entertaining and it was nice to find the author writing about a Russian central character than the usual English or American, as we normally see in these sorts of books. Despite having the potential stigmata of being based on a game I think this book would stand up pretty well without the Battlefield 3 links as a good military thriller. There’s plenty of big action scenes and some great dialogue as well as a brilliant lead character in Mayakovsky and I would rate this alongside any of his Stone books. I have a slight niggle with part of the climax, which I can’t really go into as that would be a bit of a spoiler, but this didn’t annoy me enough to sully my enjoyment of the book. I would love to read more books about this character although I would expect this would be unlikely to happen. Not being a massive gamer I find myself actually wanting to give the game a go after reading this. I sincerely hope that the gamers’ out there will want to give the book a go after playing the game.
Tuesday 18 October 2011
13 ASSASSINS - film review
It’s not that often anymore when a film totally captures me and draws me in to the point where I can not stop thinking about it. 13 Assassins is one of those movies. Recently rented and now bought and watched again I still think it’s pretty darn terrific. There might be the odd spoiler in here, just so you’ve been warned.
The story is nice and straight forward; Set in 1844 when the Shogun’s younger brother, a sadist called Naritsugu, kills, rapes, tortures any who he desires to leaving ‘the people’ unable to seek justice due to Naritsugu’s untouchable position. Terrified what this evil man will do once he gains political power a senior government official hires a samurai named Shinzaemon to assassinate Naritsugu who is travelling back from Edo to the Akashi lands. Shinzaemon gets together a group of 12 samurai (later bolstered to 13) to help him kill Naritsugu and his 70 strong retinue by ambushing him in the town of Chigani, which is on the way. Buying the town outright from the people they turn it into one giant booby trap and wait for their enemy. While this has been happening Naritsugu’s lead samurai Hanbei, a former sparring partner of Shinzaemon, has suspicions that an ambush awaits them and when they arrive at Chigani their force is no longer 70 but 200. One hell of a battle is about to begin.
Within the opening fifteen minutes of the movie we are made to hate Naritsugu after witnessing some awful atrocities and are fully behind the samurai tasked with his assassination. The rest of the first hour and fifteen minutes is all the build up and planning. A lot of the warriors in this movie are given short shrift which is a shame as all of the actors appear to be very good but given the running time of the movie (2 hours) it would be impossible to satisfactorily flesh out these characters, so sadly some of them are introduced to us and promptly disappear until the climax. That said the ones who are given some screen time are pretty superb. The whole of the build up in this film is done so expertly that although there is very little ‘action’ in the early stages, it doesn’t matter as the whole situation and the planning is absolutely riveting, held together by the lead samurai played by Kōji Yakusho.
That’s not to say that the film is flawless. One of the characters has suffered from edits made to the version of the film released outside of Japan. The original Japanese release is some 15 minutes longer than the version brought out over here. The majority of the cuts are minor and have no real bearing on the movie, unfortunately the cuts to do with the character of Koyata Kiga are damaging. In the original version there are a few scenes which purport that the Kiga character may be an immortal, or a ‘friendly demon’. By all accounts these scenes were removed as it was felt western audiences would have found them confusing in what is otherwise a very ‘realistic’ sort of movie. Only a couple of subtle hints remain, which I think probably are more confusing than if they kept the original scenes in. This is a fairly minor niggle as it certainly doesn’t detract from your enjoyment of the rest of the movie, easily controversial, maybe even notorious, director Takashi Miike’s most commercial movie to date.
All of the above brings us rather neatly to the climax of the movie. The Battle. The 35 minute Battle. Yep you read that right, the battle at the climax of this movie lasts for 35 minutes, from first death to last and it is absolutely breathtaking. If this scene hadn’t been great it would have meant the tremendous build up early on was never built upon. You would have liked the film but not loved it. Thankfully that does not happen and we are treated to one of the best sustained action sequences I’ve seen for a long time. As soon as the assassins draw their swords you are in for an absolute treat, to say much more, and believe me I want to tell you all blow for blow what happens, would spoil it too much for you. I’m jealous now of anyone who is about to embark on their first viewing of this film. I remember how much I enjoyed it, so much so that within a week I’d gone to HMV and bought myself a copy and fear not, the film is still just a wicked the second time around and I fully expect it to be pretty bloody good the third time around too. A terrific movie which I thoroughly recommend to anyone.
The story is nice and straight forward; Set in 1844 when the Shogun’s younger brother, a sadist called Naritsugu, kills, rapes, tortures any who he desires to leaving ‘the people’ unable to seek justice due to Naritsugu’s untouchable position. Terrified what this evil man will do once he gains political power a senior government official hires a samurai named Shinzaemon to assassinate Naritsugu who is travelling back from Edo to the Akashi lands. Shinzaemon gets together a group of 12 samurai (later bolstered to 13) to help him kill Naritsugu and his 70 strong retinue by ambushing him in the town of Chigani, which is on the way. Buying the town outright from the people they turn it into one giant booby trap and wait for their enemy. While this has been happening Naritsugu’s lead samurai Hanbei, a former sparring partner of Shinzaemon, has suspicions that an ambush awaits them and when they arrive at Chigani their force is no longer 70 but 200. One hell of a battle is about to begin.
Within the opening fifteen minutes of the movie we are made to hate Naritsugu after witnessing some awful atrocities and are fully behind the samurai tasked with his assassination. The rest of the first hour and fifteen minutes is all the build up and planning. A lot of the warriors in this movie are given short shrift which is a shame as all of the actors appear to be very good but given the running time of the movie (2 hours) it would be impossible to satisfactorily flesh out these characters, so sadly some of them are introduced to us and promptly disappear until the climax. That said the ones who are given some screen time are pretty superb. The whole of the build up in this film is done so expertly that although there is very little ‘action’ in the early stages, it doesn’t matter as the whole situation and the planning is absolutely riveting, held together by the lead samurai played by Kōji Yakusho.
That’s not to say that the film is flawless. One of the characters has suffered from edits made to the version of the film released outside of Japan. The original Japanese release is some 15 minutes longer than the version brought out over here. The majority of the cuts are minor and have no real bearing on the movie, unfortunately the cuts to do with the character of Koyata Kiga are damaging. In the original version there are a few scenes which purport that the Kiga character may be an immortal, or a ‘friendly demon’. By all accounts these scenes were removed as it was felt western audiences would have found them confusing in what is otherwise a very ‘realistic’ sort of movie. Only a couple of subtle hints remain, which I think probably are more confusing than if they kept the original scenes in. This is a fairly minor niggle as it certainly doesn’t detract from your enjoyment of the rest of the movie, easily controversial, maybe even notorious, director Takashi Miike’s most commercial movie to date.
All of the above brings us rather neatly to the climax of the movie. The Battle. The 35 minute Battle. Yep you read that right, the battle at the climax of this movie lasts for 35 minutes, from first death to last and it is absolutely breathtaking. If this scene hadn’t been great it would have meant the tremendous build up early on was never built upon. You would have liked the film but not loved it. Thankfully that does not happen and we are treated to one of the best sustained action sequences I’ve seen for a long time. As soon as the assassins draw their swords you are in for an absolute treat, to say much more, and believe me I want to tell you all blow for blow what happens, would spoil it too much for you. I’m jealous now of anyone who is about to embark on their first viewing of this film. I remember how much I enjoyed it, so much so that within a week I’d gone to HMV and bought myself a copy and fear not, the film is still just a wicked the second time around and I fully expect it to be pretty bloody good the third time around too. A terrific movie which I thoroughly recommend to anyone.
Friday 19 August 2011
THE IRON JACKAL - A Tale of the Ketty Jay - book review
You know you’re gonna have a real good time with a book when it opens with a chase, then has a robbery and then spends the rest of the story trying to ‘correct’ the aforementioned robbery. This is the third adventure featuring the rag tag crew from the Ketty Jay and this is by far the most enjoyable. So enjoyable that I literally didn’t want to put it down and really thought about pulling a ‘sickie’ just so I could keep reading it.
The second novel, The Black Lung Captain, was a more serious book I found and although terrific it’s wonderful having a much more ‘caper’ like adventure for the crew this time around. Having some darker more serious elements work well within this series but when it gets a bit too serious it never feels right to me. There are some fantastic action scenes littered throughout the novel, all bursting with excitement and plenty of bickering between the crew members, which is just what we’re after from a Ketty Jay novel afterall. Chris Wooding has been very careful throughout the novels in slowly revealing previous unknown elements of the characters pasts so over the serious we are gradually building more and more of a rounded picture of our favourites. Outside of all the action and adventure I must confess that this is one of my favourite elements in this series as it’s much more entertaining to slowly get to know a character over a period of stories then get to know everything about them in a paragraph, that would just be lazy and Wooding is in no way a lazy writer. In this novel it’s the character of Silo, the Murthian, who reveals more of his history than ever before, although small snippets were hinted at in the previous books, and he’s gone from being a strong silent type to someone much deeper.
Wooding is also really, really good at endings. Each of the Ketty Jay novels has ended perfectly and this is no exception. We get closure to this adventure but enough loose ends are there to be expanded on in further adventures with a few things possibly foreshadowing the next book yet at the same time being a perfect place to end the series if he so chose. Thankfully book four is due out in a couple of years, phew. Can’t imagine a world without the ‘Boyz (and girlz) from the Jay’ but bloody hell it’s gonna be a long f-ing wait.
But I do know one thing, it will be worth the wait.
The second novel, The Black Lung Captain, was a more serious book I found and although terrific it’s wonderful having a much more ‘caper’ like adventure for the crew this time around. Having some darker more serious elements work well within this series but when it gets a bit too serious it never feels right to me. There are some fantastic action scenes littered throughout the novel, all bursting with excitement and plenty of bickering between the crew members, which is just what we’re after from a Ketty Jay novel afterall. Chris Wooding has been very careful throughout the novels in slowly revealing previous unknown elements of the characters pasts so over the serious we are gradually building more and more of a rounded picture of our favourites. Outside of all the action and adventure I must confess that this is one of my favourite elements in this series as it’s much more entertaining to slowly get to know a character over a period of stories then get to know everything about them in a paragraph, that would just be lazy and Wooding is in no way a lazy writer. In this novel it’s the character of Silo, the Murthian, who reveals more of his history than ever before, although small snippets were hinted at in the previous books, and he’s gone from being a strong silent type to someone much deeper.
Wooding is also really, really good at endings. Each of the Ketty Jay novels has ended perfectly and this is no exception. We get closure to this adventure but enough loose ends are there to be expanded on in further adventures with a few things possibly foreshadowing the next book yet at the same time being a perfect place to end the series if he so chose. Thankfully book four is due out in a couple of years, phew. Can’t imagine a world without the ‘Boyz (and girlz) from the Jay’ but bloody hell it’s gonna be a long f-ing wait.
But I do know one thing, it will be worth the wait.
Thursday 11 August 2011
IT'S OFFICIAL, I WATCH TOO MANY FILMS - A Plethora of Film Reviews
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve watched quite a few movies on DVD and seeing as how I enjoyed them quite a bit I thought I’d write a brief review of all of them. Brace yourselves
We’ll start with THE LINCOLN LAWYER. Adapted brilliantly from Michael Connelly’s huge bestseller this was a far better translation to screen than Blood Work. Although the fairly hefty story has been condensed down to 110 minutes they’ve done it very well so everything is all there and it makes perfect sense, as long as you pay attention. Matthew McConaughey, an actor I’ve never been that fond of is pitch perfect as Mick Haller (he’s called Mickey by most people in the book) who manages to make the character charming despite the fact he’s a defence attorney who makes his living getting guilty clients off charges. There’s able support by Marisa Tomei as his ex-wife and Ryan Phillippe as his current client and it’s all actually very exciting. The best advice, read the book, then watch the movie. Fingers crossed that this leads to future adaptations of Connelly novels.
Next up is a Korean revenge thriller called I SAW THE DEVIL which I heard about a while back on the Empire website. They popped up a red band trailer for this movie starring the actor Choi Min-Sik who I’d last seen in the immense film ‘Oldboy’. This time around he’s a serial killer who murders a young pregnant woman who turns out to be the daughter of a retired Police Chief. She was also engaged to a Secret Service operative who’s really rather unhappy at the love of his life being brutally killed. Once the ‘hero’ has tracked the killer down there then starts a brutal punishment game as the killer is repeatedly beaten and maimed and then released all for the ‘hero’ to do it again. Until things go wrong. This is a very dark and grim movie which does loose it for a little bit in the middle with a side story featuring a cannibal killer and you can certain say that the film is too long. That said it is pretty intense and some of the violence is wince inducing, especially a truly horribly graphic scene involving an Achilles tendon and a scalpel (I’m soooooo not joking about that) which is still giving me the willies even now. Despite being overlong this is still a very worthwhile watch, as long as you have a strong stomach, although I must confess it is not something I would want to watch again.
Changing the mood somewhat, ZOOLANDER is next. Yeah I know it came out 10 years ago and I only watched it on tv but I f**king love this movie. It’s totally silly and not really all that funny but it makes me chuckle everytime I watch it. Something about Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson as male models just has me laughing everytime. And speaking of decades old movies, Tim Burton’s PLANET OF THE APES deserves a retrospective look. Seeing as we’ve got the new movie ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ out this week which is a reboot I thought it was worth watching the last attempt, Burton’s much maligned ‘reimagining’. To be fair it’s not actually that bad. Yeah the plots no great shakes but having read the synopsis of ‘Rise’ on the net, that one doesn’t have a particularly awesome plot either yet that one is getting 4 star reviews. Still at least with that one it’s kind of a prequel rather than a remake of ‘reimagining’. Burton’s Planet is a fair straight forward action adventure chase movie that happens to have some of the best make up effects known to man. The film may be a bit ordinary but the look of the actors as the apes is anything but. Michael Clarke Duncan as a gorilla is amazing and to be totally honest how the hell did Tim Roth not win an Oscar for his evil warmongering chimp, Thade. Everything about him oozes menace and death, a triumph of actor and make up in perfect unison. The only one comparable for me is Ron Perlman as Hellboy. It’s a shame then that Mark Wahlberg is a bit of a wet blanket and don’t even get me started on the ‘twist’ ending. If only Burton had done some foreshadowing of this, perhaps we’d seen Thade finding a way out of his impregnable prison, maybe seen him going back to the site of Marky Mark’s crashing space ship, it would have all made a little more sense rather than just the ‘WTF’ moment in the finished film. Alternatively if Mr Wet Blanket had decided to stay on the planet and help forge a new Ape/Human society it would’ve worked and maybe we’d have had a sequel to that film instead of a 10 year wait for a total reboot/prequel to the original 60s/70s series. I don’t think it’s a bad film, it’s just a pretty ordinary film with a sh*t ending.
Onto a couple of classics now, the late, great Akira Kurosawa’s YOJIMBO and SANJURO both made in the 60s and both in black and white. They also both star the same main character, a seemingly nameless ronin played by the equally late, great Toshiro Mifune. I’m lumping these films together as they both compliment one another although they have very different feels. Yojimbo is in essence a bit of an action movie, featuring a ronin who comes to a town ruled by two warring gangs and decides, seemingly for fun, to destroy both sets by getting them to wipe each other out. Sound familiar? Well that’s because this is the film that A Fistful of Dollars and Last Man Standing are based on. It’s also a bit of an unofficial adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s brilliant novel Red Harvest. Full of fast and brief sword play and some black comedy this is a slow paced but wonderfully made movie that despite the Japanese setting feels every bit as much a Western as a John Wayne movie. Sanjuro is a far lighter affair. Much more obviously a comedy than it’s predecessor it’s a far more talky affair too, with Mifune’s character teaming up with 9 samurai who are fighting corruption in their town. That’s not to say there isn’t some sword play, there is but that’s not really the main focus of this film. These might be considered lesser films in Kurosawa’s resume compared to the likes of Seven Samurai or Ran but they are light years ahead of most other films of that time and I thoroughly recommend them.
Next up we have SUCKER PUNCH, Zack Snyder’s fantasy that he described as ‘Alice in Wonderland with guns’ or you could say it the first movie computer game. The shame with this film is that the fantasy action scenes are truly quite amazing. The first fantasy scene in feudal Japan with the lead character battling three giant Samurai demons is stunning and they get better from there. The highlight for me being a scene in a fantasy World War I with the heroine’s battling German Zombie’s powered by Steam and clockwork is just brilliant with gouts of escaping steam as substitutes for blood. The sad thing about this film is the framing plot is totally illogical and nonsense. A girl gets sent to a mental asylum by her abusive step father who is paying the head orderly to have her lobotomized in 5 days. The girl escapes into a fantasyland where she’s been dumped in a bordello and is going to have a man known as ‘The High Roller’ deflower her in 5 days. She plots escaping and then goes off into another fantasyland when she hunts down items she needs to escape. Are you still with me? It’s all just a bit confusing and not really that interesting. Why couldn’t she have been in a car accident and as she’s fighting for her life why didn’t she go off into a fantasyland where she has to do battle with creatures etc to come back to the real world? Maybe that’s my plot line for a Sucker Punch 2, better copyright that fast. It is a pity that the framework is so ‘meh’ and ‘huh?’ as there was potential here to make a really good fantasy film. It should also be mentioned that the film is a total ‘boys’ movie as the girls are all very pretty and wear skimpy outfits, in both fantasy worlds, as well as having totally objectifying names, Babydoll, Sweet Pea, Blondie, it’s all a little dirty old man trenchcoat fantasy really. Obviously I love this film.
Right we’re back off to Korean, well a Korean film that is with THE MAN FROM NOWHERE which bills itself as ‘Taken meets Oldboy’ when a better way of describing it would be ‘Taken with more plot’. I really enjoyed this film which is not as violent as you’re expecting and actually has some decent characters and a story. Following the same rough plot of Taken this has a little girl being taken by nasty men and her neighbour (a bit similar to Leon really) going out to save her. It’s during this that we discover that the neighbour who runs a pawnshop is actually ex-military intelligence and a dab hand at ‘goingtokickthef**kingsh*toutofyou-fu’. The action does take quite a while to arrive, mixed in with a plot involving the police running in conjunction with the main bit as well as flashbacks fleshing out the pawnshop man, but it’s well worth the wait. The final denouement is a blood soaked battle which climaxes in probably the best knife fight I’ve ever seen on film, eclipsing previous title holders ‘Under Siege’ and ‘The Hunted’. This will definitely be going on my ‘must buy list’
I told you I watch too many films.
Still with me though? Nearly finished, I promise. Just three more to go. Actually that’s a lie, there’s four, but I’m gonna deal with JONAH HEX really quickly. It’s not as sh*t as everyone says. It may only be 70 minutes long before the 8 minute end credits kick in but it’s a perfect beer and pizza movie. It moves fast, has plenty of explosions and Megan Fox doesn’t wear very much and looks stunning. There done.
Moving swiftly on, and I’m getting a bit bored now, plus there’s this thing called work and I’m meant to be doing it, I’ll deal with the next three very fast. MACHETE was really good fun. An expansion of the fake trailer from ‘Grindhouse’ and ‘Planet terror’ this is a gory exploitation kill fest with an A list cast who look like they’re having a ball. Danny Trejo is awesome as Machete and I do hope he gets to do more. The film would benefit from being a little shorter and perhaps a little less preachy/political but it’s still worth a watch. TRON LEGACY was a visual feast that makes the first one look decidedly prehistoric. The story is essentially the same and the second half isn’t quite as exciting as the first but it’s still a very entertaining action picture. Lastly and by no means least we have TRUE GRIT, the Coen Brothers version that is. This is an absolute work of art. Jeff Bridges is stunning as Rooster Cogburn, Matt Damon is wonderfully understated as LaBeouf and Hailee Steinfeld is terrific as the central character of Mattie. Wonderfully paced and a near perfect translation of the novel this is arguably the best western since Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven.
Right I’m done. Work time.
Not sure which movie I’ll watch tonight though, hhhhhhmmmmmmmm will have to think about that.
We’ll start with THE LINCOLN LAWYER. Adapted brilliantly from Michael Connelly’s huge bestseller this was a far better translation to screen than Blood Work. Although the fairly hefty story has been condensed down to 110 minutes they’ve done it very well so everything is all there and it makes perfect sense, as long as you pay attention. Matthew McConaughey, an actor I’ve never been that fond of is pitch perfect as Mick Haller (he’s called Mickey by most people in the book) who manages to make the character charming despite the fact he’s a defence attorney who makes his living getting guilty clients off charges. There’s able support by Marisa Tomei as his ex-wife and Ryan Phillippe as his current client and it’s all actually very exciting. The best advice, read the book, then watch the movie. Fingers crossed that this leads to future adaptations of Connelly novels.
Next up is a Korean revenge thriller called I SAW THE DEVIL which I heard about a while back on the Empire website. They popped up a red band trailer for this movie starring the actor Choi Min-Sik who I’d last seen in the immense film ‘Oldboy’. This time around he’s a serial killer who murders a young pregnant woman who turns out to be the daughter of a retired Police Chief. She was also engaged to a Secret Service operative who’s really rather unhappy at the love of his life being brutally killed. Once the ‘hero’ has tracked the killer down there then starts a brutal punishment game as the killer is repeatedly beaten and maimed and then released all for the ‘hero’ to do it again. Until things go wrong. This is a very dark and grim movie which does loose it for a little bit in the middle with a side story featuring a cannibal killer and you can certain say that the film is too long. That said it is pretty intense and some of the violence is wince inducing, especially a truly horribly graphic scene involving an Achilles tendon and a scalpel (I’m soooooo not joking about that) which is still giving me the willies even now. Despite being overlong this is still a very worthwhile watch, as long as you have a strong stomach, although I must confess it is not something I would want to watch again.
Changing the mood somewhat, ZOOLANDER is next. Yeah I know it came out 10 years ago and I only watched it on tv but I f**king love this movie. It’s totally silly and not really all that funny but it makes me chuckle everytime I watch it. Something about Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson as male models just has me laughing everytime. And speaking of decades old movies, Tim Burton’s PLANET OF THE APES deserves a retrospective look. Seeing as we’ve got the new movie ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ out this week which is a reboot I thought it was worth watching the last attempt, Burton’s much maligned ‘reimagining’. To be fair it’s not actually that bad. Yeah the plots no great shakes but having read the synopsis of ‘Rise’ on the net, that one doesn’t have a particularly awesome plot either yet that one is getting 4 star reviews. Still at least with that one it’s kind of a prequel rather than a remake of ‘reimagining’. Burton’s Planet is a fair straight forward action adventure chase movie that happens to have some of the best make up effects known to man. The film may be a bit ordinary but the look of the actors as the apes is anything but. Michael Clarke Duncan as a gorilla is amazing and to be totally honest how the hell did Tim Roth not win an Oscar for his evil warmongering chimp, Thade. Everything about him oozes menace and death, a triumph of actor and make up in perfect unison. The only one comparable for me is Ron Perlman as Hellboy. It’s a shame then that Mark Wahlberg is a bit of a wet blanket and don’t even get me started on the ‘twist’ ending. If only Burton had done some foreshadowing of this, perhaps we’d seen Thade finding a way out of his impregnable prison, maybe seen him going back to the site of Marky Mark’s crashing space ship, it would have all made a little more sense rather than just the ‘WTF’ moment in the finished film. Alternatively if Mr Wet Blanket had decided to stay on the planet and help forge a new Ape/Human society it would’ve worked and maybe we’d have had a sequel to that film instead of a 10 year wait for a total reboot/prequel to the original 60s/70s series. I don’t think it’s a bad film, it’s just a pretty ordinary film with a sh*t ending.
Onto a couple of classics now, the late, great Akira Kurosawa’s YOJIMBO and SANJURO both made in the 60s and both in black and white. They also both star the same main character, a seemingly nameless ronin played by the equally late, great Toshiro Mifune. I’m lumping these films together as they both compliment one another although they have very different feels. Yojimbo is in essence a bit of an action movie, featuring a ronin who comes to a town ruled by two warring gangs and decides, seemingly for fun, to destroy both sets by getting them to wipe each other out. Sound familiar? Well that’s because this is the film that A Fistful of Dollars and Last Man Standing are based on. It’s also a bit of an unofficial adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s brilliant novel Red Harvest. Full of fast and brief sword play and some black comedy this is a slow paced but wonderfully made movie that despite the Japanese setting feels every bit as much a Western as a John Wayne movie. Sanjuro is a far lighter affair. Much more obviously a comedy than it’s predecessor it’s a far more talky affair too, with Mifune’s character teaming up with 9 samurai who are fighting corruption in their town. That’s not to say there isn’t some sword play, there is but that’s not really the main focus of this film. These might be considered lesser films in Kurosawa’s resume compared to the likes of Seven Samurai or Ran but they are light years ahead of most other films of that time and I thoroughly recommend them.
Next up we have SUCKER PUNCH, Zack Snyder’s fantasy that he described as ‘Alice in Wonderland with guns’ or you could say it the first movie computer game. The shame with this film is that the fantasy action scenes are truly quite amazing. The first fantasy scene in feudal Japan with the lead character battling three giant Samurai demons is stunning and they get better from there. The highlight for me being a scene in a fantasy World War I with the heroine’s battling German Zombie’s powered by Steam and clockwork is just brilliant with gouts of escaping steam as substitutes for blood. The sad thing about this film is the framing plot is totally illogical and nonsense. A girl gets sent to a mental asylum by her abusive step father who is paying the head orderly to have her lobotomized in 5 days. The girl escapes into a fantasyland where she’s been dumped in a bordello and is going to have a man known as ‘The High Roller’ deflower her in 5 days. She plots escaping and then goes off into another fantasyland when she hunts down items she needs to escape. Are you still with me? It’s all just a bit confusing and not really that interesting. Why couldn’t she have been in a car accident and as she’s fighting for her life why didn’t she go off into a fantasyland where she has to do battle with creatures etc to come back to the real world? Maybe that’s my plot line for a Sucker Punch 2, better copyright that fast. It is a pity that the framework is so ‘meh’ and ‘huh?’ as there was potential here to make a really good fantasy film. It should also be mentioned that the film is a total ‘boys’ movie as the girls are all very pretty and wear skimpy outfits, in both fantasy worlds, as well as having totally objectifying names, Babydoll, Sweet Pea, Blondie, it’s all a little dirty old man trenchcoat fantasy really. Obviously I love this film.
Right we’re back off to Korean, well a Korean film that is with THE MAN FROM NOWHERE which bills itself as ‘Taken meets Oldboy’ when a better way of describing it would be ‘Taken with more plot’. I really enjoyed this film which is not as violent as you’re expecting and actually has some decent characters and a story. Following the same rough plot of Taken this has a little girl being taken by nasty men and her neighbour (a bit similar to Leon really) going out to save her. It’s during this that we discover that the neighbour who runs a pawnshop is actually ex-military intelligence and a dab hand at ‘goingtokickthef**kingsh*toutofyou-fu’. The action does take quite a while to arrive, mixed in with a plot involving the police running in conjunction with the main bit as well as flashbacks fleshing out the pawnshop man, but it’s well worth the wait. The final denouement is a blood soaked battle which climaxes in probably the best knife fight I’ve ever seen on film, eclipsing previous title holders ‘Under Siege’ and ‘The Hunted’. This will definitely be going on my ‘must buy list’
I told you I watch too many films.
Still with me though? Nearly finished, I promise. Just three more to go. Actually that’s a lie, there’s four, but I’m gonna deal with JONAH HEX really quickly. It’s not as sh*t as everyone says. It may only be 70 minutes long before the 8 minute end credits kick in but it’s a perfect beer and pizza movie. It moves fast, has plenty of explosions and Megan Fox doesn’t wear very much and looks stunning. There done.
Moving swiftly on, and I’m getting a bit bored now, plus there’s this thing called work and I’m meant to be doing it, I’ll deal with the next three very fast. MACHETE was really good fun. An expansion of the fake trailer from ‘Grindhouse’ and ‘Planet terror’ this is a gory exploitation kill fest with an A list cast who look like they’re having a ball. Danny Trejo is awesome as Machete and I do hope he gets to do more. The film would benefit from being a little shorter and perhaps a little less preachy/political but it’s still worth a watch. TRON LEGACY was a visual feast that makes the first one look decidedly prehistoric. The story is essentially the same and the second half isn’t quite as exciting as the first but it’s still a very entertaining action picture. Lastly and by no means least we have TRUE GRIT, the Coen Brothers version that is. This is an absolute work of art. Jeff Bridges is stunning as Rooster Cogburn, Matt Damon is wonderfully understated as LaBeouf and Hailee Steinfeld is terrific as the central character of Mattie. Wonderfully paced and a near perfect translation of the novel this is arguably the best western since Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven.
Right I’m done. Work time.
Not sure which movie I’ll watch tonight though, hhhhhhmmmmmmmm will have to think about that.
Wednesday 13 July 2011
UNDISPUTED III: REDEMPTION - Film Review
There’re gonna be a few minor spoilers so you have been warned.
I imagine no one really remembers the first Undisputed movie. Despite having a terrific cast headed by Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames ably supported by the late Peter Falk, this film (released straight to video in the UK) told the story of the undefeated World Heavyweight Boxing Champion George ‘Iceman’ Chambers (Rhames) being sent to prison on a rape charge and finding that the Prison have their own undefeated champ in the form of Monroe Hutchen (Snipes) and the ground is laid for a boxing match between the two men. It’s been shown on tv late at night a couple of times and is actually a pretty decent sporting/prison drama and is well worth a watch.
Coming a few years later and featuring none of the original cast was Undisputed II: Last Man Standing, which reinvented the story with martial arts. Still featuring the Chambers character now played by Michael Jai White, this had the boxer being sent to a Russian prison on trumped up drug charges and finding himself on another showdown with the prison’s MMA fighter Yuri Boyka, played by Scott Adkins. This film shifted the focus of the original from the drama to the fight scenes and produced an entertaining action picture but still retained some decent dramatic scenes to raise this above the usual straight to video fare.
Continuing the trend from the second film whereby the ‘villain’ of the previous film becomes the ‘hero’ of the next Undisputed III: Redemption follows Boyka in the aftermath of the previous film where Chambers broke his leg, he is now a more humble man, having moved to the bottom of the food chain in the prison, he is reduced to mopping the floors. When he hears of an international tournament to find the Ultimate Prison Fighter he trains himself with a vengeance to win.
Not quite as dramatically entertaining as the second film, Undisputed III is still a superior piece of martial arts entertainment featuring some pretty fantastic fight scenes with Scott Adkins showing off his considerable prowess and laying down a marker for his status as a terrific martial arts actor. The final fight against Marko Zaror is pretty intense as is a terrific bout with the superb Lateef Crowder. The choreography by Larnell Stovall and direction by Isaac Florentine is fantastic and really shows off the actors in the best light. It’s not surprising that this film won the best director and best fight choreography awards at ActionFest 2010. Stovall has recently choreographed the fight scenes for Universal Soldier 4 which has a certain Mr Adkins as the lead along with Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme so on the evidence here we can expect very good things from that film.
There’s not much more to say about this film really. If you liked the second film you’ll pretty much love this. Although the story is not quite as engaging the fight scenes more than make up for it, these are some of the best I’ve seen in American made martial arts films for ages. If you don’t like fighty films then give it a wide berth. The only niggle I’ve got with this film is it is not currently released in the UK. Seeing as the lead actor is English and you can buy this on DVD in most of Europe (I got mine from Germany) it is an absolute disgrace that UK fans can’t go down to their local HMV (gotta support the High Street) and pick up a copy. Hopefully as interest in Adkins’ films increases, probably even more so with Assassination Games and the forthcoming Universal Soldier 4 this situation may well change. It better bloomin’ well had is all I can say. That being said the German edition is very nice, there’s quite a few extra features as long as you go for the FSK 18 uncut edition you’ll be very happy.
Undisputed IV anyone?
I imagine no one really remembers the first Undisputed movie. Despite having a terrific cast headed by Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames ably supported by the late Peter Falk, this film (released straight to video in the UK) told the story of the undefeated World Heavyweight Boxing Champion George ‘Iceman’ Chambers (Rhames) being sent to prison on a rape charge and finding that the Prison have their own undefeated champ in the form of Monroe Hutchen (Snipes) and the ground is laid for a boxing match between the two men. It’s been shown on tv late at night a couple of times and is actually a pretty decent sporting/prison drama and is well worth a watch.
Coming a few years later and featuring none of the original cast was Undisputed II: Last Man Standing, which reinvented the story with martial arts. Still featuring the Chambers character now played by Michael Jai White, this had the boxer being sent to a Russian prison on trumped up drug charges and finding himself on another showdown with the prison’s MMA fighter Yuri Boyka, played by Scott Adkins. This film shifted the focus of the original from the drama to the fight scenes and produced an entertaining action picture but still retained some decent dramatic scenes to raise this above the usual straight to video fare.
Continuing the trend from the second film whereby the ‘villain’ of the previous film becomes the ‘hero’ of the next Undisputed III: Redemption follows Boyka in the aftermath of the previous film where Chambers broke his leg, he is now a more humble man, having moved to the bottom of the food chain in the prison, he is reduced to mopping the floors. When he hears of an international tournament to find the Ultimate Prison Fighter he trains himself with a vengeance to win.
Not quite as dramatically entertaining as the second film, Undisputed III is still a superior piece of martial arts entertainment featuring some pretty fantastic fight scenes with Scott Adkins showing off his considerable prowess and laying down a marker for his status as a terrific martial arts actor. The final fight against Marko Zaror is pretty intense as is a terrific bout with the superb Lateef Crowder. The choreography by Larnell Stovall and direction by Isaac Florentine is fantastic and really shows off the actors in the best light. It’s not surprising that this film won the best director and best fight choreography awards at ActionFest 2010. Stovall has recently choreographed the fight scenes for Universal Soldier 4 which has a certain Mr Adkins as the lead along with Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme so on the evidence here we can expect very good things from that film.
There’s not much more to say about this film really. If you liked the second film you’ll pretty much love this. Although the story is not quite as engaging the fight scenes more than make up for it, these are some of the best I’ve seen in American made martial arts films for ages. If you don’t like fighty films then give it a wide berth. The only niggle I’ve got with this film is it is not currently released in the UK. Seeing as the lead actor is English and you can buy this on DVD in most of Europe (I got mine from Germany) it is an absolute disgrace that UK fans can’t go down to their local HMV (gotta support the High Street) and pick up a copy. Hopefully as interest in Adkins’ films increases, probably even more so with Assassination Games and the forthcoming Universal Soldier 4 this situation may well change. It better bloomin’ well had is all I can say. That being said the German edition is very nice, there’s quite a few extra features as long as you go for the FSK 18 uncut edition you’ll be very happy.
Undisputed IV anyone?
Monday 4 July 2011
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON - film review
It’s hard to imagine that when the first film in this series came out I’d just got married. Where have those 4 years gone? Anyway enough of that, on with the review. The second film in this franchise got some terrible reviews and rightly so in some cases. Having re-read my original review after watching this film on dvd last week I have to say my opinion has changed somewhat. My original review was pretty positive, I liked a lot of things that now I find quite dull. The story and human characters are still pretty ropey but the big action scenes are still amazing and knock spot off what was in the first film in pretty much every instance. A lot of people were hoping that any flaws that were in that movie would have been addressed and ironed out of this film. Sadly that hasn’t really happened.
This film is way too long, nearly 2 hours forty minutes long which is just ridiculous, there’s also far too much lame comedy with John Malkovitch who is embarrassing and that Chinese fellow from The Hangover who is the most unfunny person since Tom Green. Shia LaBeouf’s character has gone from likeable geek to annoying twat, his parents are still here and just as annoying as before (I liked them originally) although thankfully they are not in the film much, as blessing. The military characters are still here although still relegated to just turning up for the action scenes.
One of the worst things is the totally lazy way of writing out Megan Fox’s character since she was fired after likening working with Michael Bay to Hitler, not the best thing to do when the executive producer is Spielberg. Her character, who played such a large part of the first two movies, is written out “She dumped me”. That’s it. Lazy. Surely they could have written that her character was killed by a decepticon couldn’t they? That would have been nice and dark and also given Shia’s character more of a story arc, coming to terms with her death and finding love again in the arms of Mrs The Stath. Yes, Megan’s replacement, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is Jason Statham’s missus. She’s pretty but not in The Fox’s league but sadly her acting talent makes The Fox look like Judi Dench. She’s a total block of wood and has all the charisma to boot. As you can probably tell, I’m not a fan.
There are however two welcome additions for this film. One is Patrick Dempsey playing a nice slimy millionaire and the other is Leonard Nimoy. Yes Spock is on hand to add some extra awesomeness as Sentinel Prime, the leader of the Autobots prior to Optimus. His majestic vocals raise any scene he’s in, and the scenes with him and Peter Cullen’s Optimus are brilliant.
The storyline although still the weak point is far more engaging than in the second film. The opening scenes of the 1969 moon landing are wonderfully atmospheric and intrigue the viewer and although later parts do get slightly confused there’s still some fun to be had as we discover that there are plans behind what at first seems a straightforward plot.
It’s still way too long though and sadly there is a big lack of action in the early parts of the film, which doesn’t help matters.
That said however the action, when it comes, is stunning, especially in the extended 45 minute plus climax when everything gets thrown at the screen for a huge ending to the franchise. As ever this is where these films are made and this doesn’t disappoint. I saw a 2D screening of this but I can imagine a 3D screening, come the climax, must be pretty jaw dropping. For all of Michael Bay’s faults as a director you have to give him his due, the guy knows how to direct big f**k off enormous action scenes. This is easily the best in the franchise and thus renders any other faults in the movie null and void.
Bay has said this is the final film for him, as has LaBeouf, but I am sure this will not be the final Transformers movie. In fact it would be welcome for someone else to take up the reigns and produce a TF movie that doesn’t have as much slow mo, that doesn’t have a real boner for military vehicles and weaponry. Now that would make a nice change.
This film is way too long, nearly 2 hours forty minutes long which is just ridiculous, there’s also far too much lame comedy with John Malkovitch who is embarrassing and that Chinese fellow from The Hangover who is the most unfunny person since Tom Green. Shia LaBeouf’s character has gone from likeable geek to annoying twat, his parents are still here and just as annoying as before (I liked them originally) although thankfully they are not in the film much, as blessing. The military characters are still here although still relegated to just turning up for the action scenes.
One of the worst things is the totally lazy way of writing out Megan Fox’s character since she was fired after likening working with Michael Bay to Hitler, not the best thing to do when the executive producer is Spielberg. Her character, who played such a large part of the first two movies, is written out “She dumped me”. That’s it. Lazy. Surely they could have written that her character was killed by a decepticon couldn’t they? That would have been nice and dark and also given Shia’s character more of a story arc, coming to terms with her death and finding love again in the arms of Mrs The Stath. Yes, Megan’s replacement, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is Jason Statham’s missus. She’s pretty but not in The Fox’s league but sadly her acting talent makes The Fox look like Judi Dench. She’s a total block of wood and has all the charisma to boot. As you can probably tell, I’m not a fan.
There are however two welcome additions for this film. One is Patrick Dempsey playing a nice slimy millionaire and the other is Leonard Nimoy. Yes Spock is on hand to add some extra awesomeness as Sentinel Prime, the leader of the Autobots prior to Optimus. His majestic vocals raise any scene he’s in, and the scenes with him and Peter Cullen’s Optimus are brilliant.
The storyline although still the weak point is far more engaging than in the second film. The opening scenes of the 1969 moon landing are wonderfully atmospheric and intrigue the viewer and although later parts do get slightly confused there’s still some fun to be had as we discover that there are plans behind what at first seems a straightforward plot.
It’s still way too long though and sadly there is a big lack of action in the early parts of the film, which doesn’t help matters.
That said however the action, when it comes, is stunning, especially in the extended 45 minute plus climax when everything gets thrown at the screen for a huge ending to the franchise. As ever this is where these films are made and this doesn’t disappoint. I saw a 2D screening of this but I can imagine a 3D screening, come the climax, must be pretty jaw dropping. For all of Michael Bay’s faults as a director you have to give him his due, the guy knows how to direct big f**k off enormous action scenes. This is easily the best in the franchise and thus renders any other faults in the movie null and void.
Bay has said this is the final film for him, as has LaBeouf, but I am sure this will not be the final Transformers movie. In fact it would be welcome for someone else to take up the reigns and produce a TF movie that doesn’t have as much slow mo, that doesn’t have a real boner for military vehicles and weaponry. Now that would make a nice change.
Thursday 2 June 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Final Album – No Sleep ‘til Hammersmith (1981)
1. Ace of Spades
2. Stay Clean
3. Metropolis
4. The Hammer
5. Iron Horse/Born to Lose
6. No Class
7. Overkill
8. (We are) The Road Crew
9. Capricorn
10. Bomber
11. Motörhead
Well here we are, at the final album of my little project. This was Motorhead’s first live album and also it should be pointed out it’s the album that got to number one on the charts. Yes, a Motörhead album got to number one. Amazing huh? There’s a real rough and ready feel to the live recording on this, permeated with sounds of the crowd roaring their approval as the band, in the ‘classic’ line-up of Lemmy, Fast Eddie and Philthy, bolt through some great tunes starting off with the iconic ‘Ace of Spades’ and it just gets better from there with ‘No Class’, ‘(We are) The Road Crew’, ‘Bomber’ and ‘Motörhead’ being the songs that really come out well from being played live, more so than the others. The lasting image of this great album (although not the greatest live album they have done) is once the final song is over we are left with the crowds cheering over and over “Motörhead, Motörhead, Motörhead…”
2. Stay Clean
3. Metropolis
4. The Hammer
5. Iron Horse/Born to Lose
6. No Class
7. Overkill
8. (We are) The Road Crew
9. Capricorn
10. Bomber
11. Motörhead
Well here we are, at the final album of my little project. This was Motorhead’s first live album and also it should be pointed out it’s the album that got to number one on the charts. Yes, a Motörhead album got to number one. Amazing huh? There’s a real rough and ready feel to the live recording on this, permeated with sounds of the crowd roaring their approval as the band, in the ‘classic’ line-up of Lemmy, Fast Eddie and Philthy, bolt through some great tunes starting off with the iconic ‘Ace of Spades’ and it just gets better from there with ‘No Class’, ‘(We are) The Road Crew’, ‘Bomber’ and ‘Motörhead’ being the songs that really come out well from being played live, more so than the others. The lasting image of this great album (although not the greatest live album they have done) is once the final song is over we are left with the crowds cheering over and over “Motörhead, Motörhead, Motörhead…”
Tuesday 24 May 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 20 – The Wörld is Yours (2011)
1. Born To Lose
2. I Know How To Die
3. Get Back In Line
4. Devils In My Head
5. Rock ‘N’ Roll Music
6. Waiting For The Snake
7. Brotherhood Of Man
8. Outlaw
9. I Know What You Need
10. Bye Bye Bitch Bye Bye
This is their best album since ‘Inferno’ and another one where I think there is no bad song on it. ‘Born to Lose’ is a great pounding opener and this is followed up by the fast and furious ‘I know how to Die’ along with the heavy rock’n’roll number ‘get Back in Line’. The seventh track, ‘Brotherhood of Man’ is a spiritual sequel to ‘Orgasmatron’ and has a similar feel without just sounding like a copy. The final two songs on the album, ‘I know what you Need’ and ‘Bye Bye Bitch Bye Bye’ are superb and leave me, as ever, wanting more. A great, great album. Roll on 2013 for the next studio album.
Next: NO SLEEP ‘TIL HAMMERSMITH (1981)
2. I Know How To Die
3. Get Back In Line
4. Devils In My Head
5. Rock ‘N’ Roll Music
6. Waiting For The Snake
7. Brotherhood Of Man
8. Outlaw
9. I Know What You Need
10. Bye Bye Bitch Bye Bye
This is their best album since ‘Inferno’ and another one where I think there is no bad song on it. ‘Born to Lose’ is a great pounding opener and this is followed up by the fast and furious ‘I know how to Die’ along with the heavy rock’n’roll number ‘get Back in Line’. The seventh track, ‘Brotherhood of Man’ is a spiritual sequel to ‘Orgasmatron’ and has a similar feel without just sounding like a copy. The final two songs on the album, ‘I know what you Need’ and ‘Bye Bye Bitch Bye Bye’ are superb and leave me, as ever, wanting more. A great, great album. Roll on 2013 for the next studio album.
Next: NO SLEEP ‘TIL HAMMERSMITH (1981)
Wednesday 11 May 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 19 – Motörizer (2008)
1. Runaround Man
2. Teach You How To Sing The Blues
3. When The Eagle Screams
4. Rock Out
5. One Short Life
6. Buried Alive
7. English Rose
8. Back in the Chain
9. Heroes
10. Time Is Right
11. The Thousand Names Of God
This is another pretty strong album which does have a few not particularly great songs (‘One Short Life’ for instance) but this is more than made up by the handful of terrific numbers which include ‘Runaround Man’, the really catchy ‘English Rose’ and the album highlight ‘Rock Out’ which has a real fun vibe about it. A much less heavier sounding album than usual this is still very easy to listen to and a worthy addition to their discography.
Next Album: THE WÖRLD IS YOURS
2. Teach You How To Sing The Blues
3. When The Eagle Screams
4. Rock Out
5. One Short Life
6. Buried Alive
7. English Rose
8. Back in the Chain
9. Heroes
10. Time Is Right
11. The Thousand Names Of God
This is another pretty strong album which does have a few not particularly great songs (‘One Short Life’ for instance) but this is more than made up by the handful of terrific numbers which include ‘Runaround Man’, the really catchy ‘English Rose’ and the album highlight ‘Rock Out’ which has a real fun vibe about it. A much less heavier sounding album than usual this is still very easy to listen to and a worthy addition to their discography.
Next Album: THE WÖRLD IS YOURS
Friday 6 May 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 18 – Kiss of Death (2006)
1. Sucker
2. One Night Stand
3. Devil I Know
4. Trigger
5. Under The Gun
6. God Was never On Your Side
7. Living In The Past
8. Christine
9. Sword Of Glory
10. Be My Baby
11. Kingdom Of The Worm
12. Going Down
Another pretty decent album which has only one song I’m not a big fan of (‘Kingdom of the Worm’) but otherwise this is a strong collection of songs. The first three kick things off nicely and everything moves along very well including the fun ‘Be My Baby’ and the album closer ‘Going down’ is terrific. A much better album than I remember it.
Next Album: MOTÖRIZER
2. One Night Stand
3. Devil I Know
4. Trigger
5. Under The Gun
6. God Was never On Your Side
7. Living In The Past
8. Christine
9. Sword Of Glory
10. Be My Baby
11. Kingdom Of The Worm
12. Going Down
Another pretty decent album which has only one song I’m not a big fan of (‘Kingdom of the Worm’) but otherwise this is a strong collection of songs. The first three kick things off nicely and everything moves along very well including the fun ‘Be My Baby’ and the album closer ‘Going down’ is terrific. A much better album than I remember it.
Next Album: MOTÖRIZER
Wednesday 27 April 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 17 – Inferno (2004)
1. Terminal Show
2. Killers
3. In The Name Of Tragedy
4. Suicide
5. Life’s A Bitch
6. Down On Me
7. In The Black
8. Fight
9. In The Year Of The Wolf
10. Keys To The Kingdom
11. Smiling Like A Killer
12. Whorehouse Blues
This is one of the best Motörhead released as far as I am concerned. Every song is fantastic and I don’t think it puts a foot wrong at all. The first three tunes are particularly awesome, ‘Killers’ being one of my favourite Motörhead songs and it ends with an acoustic blues number which is marvellous. An absolute classic album that I could listen to over and over.
Next Album: KISS OF DEATH
2. Killers
3. In The Name Of Tragedy
4. Suicide
5. Life’s A Bitch
6. Down On Me
7. In The Black
8. Fight
9. In The Year Of The Wolf
10. Keys To The Kingdom
11. Smiling Like A Killer
12. Whorehouse Blues
This is one of the best Motörhead released as far as I am concerned. Every song is fantastic and I don’t think it puts a foot wrong at all. The first three tunes are particularly awesome, ‘Killers’ being one of my favourite Motörhead songs and it ends with an acoustic blues number which is marvellous. An absolute classic album that I could listen to over and over.
Next Album: KISS OF DEATH
Thursday 14 April 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 16 – Hammered (2002)
1. Walk A Crooked Mile
2. Down The Line
3. Brave New World
4. Voices From The War
5. Mine All Mine
6. Shut Your Mouth
7. Kill The World
8. Dr. Love
9. No Remorse
10. Red Raw
11. Serial Killer
This is another mixed bag of an album, with some very good songs, such as ‘Brave New World’ and ‘Shut Your Mouth’, some okay ones, such as ‘Walk A Crooked Mile’, ‘Down the Line’ and ‘Dr Love’ and then some stuff that is just a bit ‘meh’. In case you’re wondering, that means you ‘No Remorse’ and ‘Serial Killer’, which is only noteworthy because pro-wrestler Triple H from the WWE provides back up vocals on the latter. There feels to be a more political edge to this album, or at least a rage against the politics of the government (whoever they may be) which is something a bit new but it just doesn’t sit right. Not one of the better albums in their discography although it will always have a special place in my heart as this was the first Motörhead album I ever bought.
Next Album: INFERNO
2. Down The Line
3. Brave New World
4. Voices From The War
5. Mine All Mine
6. Shut Your Mouth
7. Kill The World
8. Dr. Love
9. No Remorse
10. Red Raw
11. Serial Killer
This is another mixed bag of an album, with some very good songs, such as ‘Brave New World’ and ‘Shut Your Mouth’, some okay ones, such as ‘Walk A Crooked Mile’, ‘Down the Line’ and ‘Dr Love’ and then some stuff that is just a bit ‘meh’. In case you’re wondering, that means you ‘No Remorse’ and ‘Serial Killer’, which is only noteworthy because pro-wrestler Triple H from the WWE provides back up vocals on the latter. There feels to be a more political edge to this album, or at least a rage against the politics of the government (whoever they may be) which is something a bit new but it just doesn’t sit right. Not one of the better albums in their discography although it will always have a special place in my heart as this was the first Motörhead album I ever bought.
Next Album: INFERNO
Friday 1 April 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 15 – We Are Motörhead (2000)
1. See Me Burning
2. Slow Dance
3. Stay Out Of Jail
4. God Save The Queen
5. Out To Lunch
6. Wake The Dead
7. One More F*cking Time
8. Stagefright/Crash & Burn
9. (Wearing Your) Heart On Your Sleeve
10. We Are Motorhead
Another top album with some cracking songs on it. In fact I think there is only one song on this entire album that is only ‘OK’ and that is ‘(Wearing Your) Heart On Your Sleeve’. All of the other tracks including the great cover of The Sex Pistol’s ‘God Save The Queen’ and two of my favourites ‘Stay Out Of Jail’ and the awesome ‘We Are Motorhead’ are brilliant to listen to. Even the slower ballad ‘One More F*cking Time’ is terrific. This is now five consecutive albums that have been really good and it’s wonderful to hear.
Next Album: HAMMERED
2. Slow Dance
3. Stay Out Of Jail
4. God Save The Queen
5. Out To Lunch
6. Wake The Dead
7. One More F*cking Time
8. Stagefright/Crash & Burn
9. (Wearing Your) Heart On Your Sleeve
10. We Are Motorhead
Another top album with some cracking songs on it. In fact I think there is only one song on this entire album that is only ‘OK’ and that is ‘(Wearing Your) Heart On Your Sleeve’. All of the other tracks including the great cover of The Sex Pistol’s ‘God Save The Queen’ and two of my favourites ‘Stay Out Of Jail’ and the awesome ‘We Are Motorhead’ are brilliant to listen to. Even the slower ballad ‘One More F*cking Time’ is terrific. This is now five consecutive albums that have been really good and it’s wonderful to hear.
Next Album: HAMMERED
Wednesday 30 March 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 14 – Snake Bite Love (1998)
1. Love For Sale
2. Dogs Of War
3. Snake Bite Love
4. Assassin
5. Take The Blame
6. Dead and Gone
7. Night Side
8. Don’t Lie To Me
9. Joy Of Labour
10. Desperate For You
11. Better Off Dead
This is a much stronger album than Overnight Sensation. Even the slower numbers feel just a bit more special than the majority of the tracks on its predecessor. The triumvirate of ‘Love For Sale’, ‘Dogs Of War’ and ‘Snake Bite Love’ kick things off with aplomb and it’s only the song ‘Assassin’ which brings the album down as I just don’t like it. In fact I’d probably say it’s terrible. Wow, never thought I’d ever describe a Motörhead song as terrible but there you go. ‘Dead and Gone’ is a bit of a highlight, starting off quite slow but getting louder and heavier as it goes on, as are the very rock’n’roll influenced ‘Don’t Lie To Me’ and ‘Better off Dead’. All in all a very good album that perhaps I haven’t listened to as much as I should.
Next Album: WE ARE MOTÖRHEAD
2. Dogs Of War
3. Snake Bite Love
4. Assassin
5. Take The Blame
6. Dead and Gone
7. Night Side
8. Don’t Lie To Me
9. Joy Of Labour
10. Desperate For You
11. Better Off Dead
This is a much stronger album than Overnight Sensation. Even the slower numbers feel just a bit more special than the majority of the tracks on its predecessor. The triumvirate of ‘Love For Sale’, ‘Dogs Of War’ and ‘Snake Bite Love’ kick things off with aplomb and it’s only the song ‘Assassin’ which brings the album down as I just don’t like it. In fact I’d probably say it’s terrible. Wow, never thought I’d ever describe a Motörhead song as terrible but there you go. ‘Dead and Gone’ is a bit of a highlight, starting off quite slow but getting louder and heavier as it goes on, as are the very rock’n’roll influenced ‘Don’t Lie To Me’ and ‘Better off Dead’. All in all a very good album that perhaps I haven’t listened to as much as I should.
Next Album: WE ARE MOTÖRHEAD
Monday 28 March 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 13 – Overnight Sensation (1996)
1. Civil War
2. Crazy Like A Fox
3. I Don’t Believe A Word
4. Eat The Gun
5. Overnight Sensation
6. Love Can’t Buy You Money
7. Broken
8. Them Not Me
9. Murder Show
10. Shake The World
11. Listen To Your Heart
The first full album with Motörhead back as a three piece after Wurzel’s leaving is a reasonable affair. Not bad in anyway but also not massively memorable. ‘Civil War’ is a good loud and heavy opener and would sit on my favourites list. The title track ‘Overnight Sensation’ is also pretty good stuff too. Even the slower songs ‘I don’t believe A Word’ and ‘Listen To Your Heart’ are pretty good but they are not what I would call great. A decent album but I want something better.
Next Album: SNAKE BITE LOVE
2. Crazy Like A Fox
3. I Don’t Believe A Word
4. Eat The Gun
5. Overnight Sensation
6. Love Can’t Buy You Money
7. Broken
8. Them Not Me
9. Murder Show
10. Shake The World
11. Listen To Your Heart
The first full album with Motörhead back as a three piece after Wurzel’s leaving is a reasonable affair. Not bad in anyway but also not massively memorable. ‘Civil War’ is a good loud and heavy opener and would sit on my favourites list. The title track ‘Overnight Sensation’ is also pretty good stuff too. Even the slower songs ‘I don’t believe A Word’ and ‘Listen To Your Heart’ are pretty good but they are not what I would call great. A decent album but I want something better.
Next Album: SNAKE BITE LOVE
Friday 25 March 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 12 – Sacrifice (1995)
1. Sacrifice
2. Sex And Death
3. Over Your Shoulder
4. War For War
5. Order/Fade To Black
6. Dog Face Boy
7. All Gone To Hell
8. Make ‘Em Blind
9. Don’t Waste Your Time
10. In Another Time
11. Out Of The Sun
Well, well, well, Motörhead seem to have broken from their pattern of following up wicked albums with duff ones as this is a really good listen. The final album of their time as a four piece is a pretty strong affair. ‘Sacrifice’ is a bona fide classic, ‘Sex And Death’ is two minutes of fast and funness and ‘Over Your Shoulder’ is a real heavy classic. ‘Don’t Waste Your Time’ is a really good rock’n’roll number with some piano (?) in the mix and the album closer also has a real rock’n’roll feel about it. All in all a very good album and one that’s good for multiple listens.
Next Album: OVERNIGHT SENSATION
2. Sex And Death
3. Over Your Shoulder
4. War For War
5. Order/Fade To Black
6. Dog Face Boy
7. All Gone To Hell
8. Make ‘Em Blind
9. Don’t Waste Your Time
10. In Another Time
11. Out Of The Sun
Well, well, well, Motörhead seem to have broken from their pattern of following up wicked albums with duff ones as this is a really good listen. The final album of their time as a four piece is a pretty strong affair. ‘Sacrifice’ is a bona fide classic, ‘Sex And Death’ is two minutes of fast and funness and ‘Over Your Shoulder’ is a real heavy classic. ‘Don’t Waste Your Time’ is a really good rock’n’roll number with some piano (?) in the mix and the album closer also has a real rock’n’roll feel about it. All in all a very good album and one that’s good for multiple listens.
Next Album: OVERNIGHT SENSATION
Thursday 24 March 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 11 – Bastards (1993)
1. On Your Feet Or On Your Knees
2. Burner
3. Death Or Glory
4. I Am The Sword
5. Born To Raise Hell
6. Don’t Let Daddy Kiss Me
7. Bad Woman
8. Liar
9. Lost In The Ozone
10. I’m The Man
11. We Bring The Shake
12. Devils
The trend definitely continues with this album, the first full one with the new line up including Mikkey Dee on drums, which is absolutely terrific. It’s another album where pretty much every song is really good and is a much heavier affair than the last couple of albums. ‘On Your Feet Or On You Knees’ is a loud and heavy opener that sets the pace for what follows. Other highlights include one of my all time favourite Motörhead numbers ‘Born To Raise Hell’ that I can listen to on a continuous loop, yes it is that f*cking good (live it is AWESOME). ‘Bad Woman’ is also pretty good fun. ‘Don’t Let Daddy Kiss Me’ is a very slow, almost acoustic song about child abuse and again highlights the bands versatility and is a very good gentle song amidst all the heaviness that surrounds it. I’d probably rate this up there with the albums ‘Ace Of Spades’ and ‘Orgasmatron’. Great stuff.
On a side note I have to mention the bonus track, which I know was something I said I wouldn’t do (sue me lol) but as it’s a cover of ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ by the Rolling Stones and is actually pretty bloody cool I thought it was worth a mention.
Next Album: SACRIFICE
2. Burner
3. Death Or Glory
4. I Am The Sword
5. Born To Raise Hell
6. Don’t Let Daddy Kiss Me
7. Bad Woman
8. Liar
9. Lost In The Ozone
10. I’m The Man
11. We Bring The Shake
12. Devils
The trend definitely continues with this album, the first full one with the new line up including Mikkey Dee on drums, which is absolutely terrific. It’s another album where pretty much every song is really good and is a much heavier affair than the last couple of albums. ‘On Your Feet Or On You Knees’ is a loud and heavy opener that sets the pace for what follows. Other highlights include one of my all time favourite Motörhead numbers ‘Born To Raise Hell’ that I can listen to on a continuous loop, yes it is that f*cking good (live it is AWESOME). ‘Bad Woman’ is also pretty good fun. ‘Don’t Let Daddy Kiss Me’ is a very slow, almost acoustic song about child abuse and again highlights the bands versatility and is a very good gentle song amidst all the heaviness that surrounds it. I’d probably rate this up there with the albums ‘Ace Of Spades’ and ‘Orgasmatron’. Great stuff.
On a side note I have to mention the bonus track, which I know was something I said I wouldn’t do (sue me lol) but as it’s a cover of ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ by the Rolling Stones and is actually pretty bloody cool I thought it was worth a mention.
Next Album: SACRIFICE
Wednesday 23 March 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 10 – March Or Die (1992)
1. Stand
2. Cat Scratch Fever
3. Bad Religion
4. Jack The Ripper
5. I Ain’t No Nice Guy
6. Hellraiser
7. Asylum Choir
8. Too Good To Be True
9. You Better Run
10. Name In Vain
11. March Or Die
It’s starting to get to be a habit with Motörhead, that everytime they do a good album they follow it up with, not necessarily a bad one, a fairly unmemorable one and sadly that is definitely the case with this one. Phil Taylor was only on one track, ‘I Ain’t No Nice Guy’ before he was sacked and Tommy Aldridge came on as the drummer in a session artist capacity except on the song ‘Hellraiser’ which features the new and still current drummer Mikkey Dee. In fact ‘Hellraiser’ is pretty much the highlight for me of this album. Even ‘I Ain’t No Nice Guy’ with guest vocals from Ozzy Osbourne and a guitar solo by Slash fail to make it a particularly good or memorable song. A very ho-hum album. Still if the trend continues the next one should be a good un.
Next Album: BASTARDS
2. Cat Scratch Fever
3. Bad Religion
4. Jack The Ripper
5. I Ain’t No Nice Guy
6. Hellraiser
7. Asylum Choir
8. Too Good To Be True
9. You Better Run
10. Name In Vain
11. March Or Die
It’s starting to get to be a habit with Motörhead, that everytime they do a good album they follow it up with, not necessarily a bad one, a fairly unmemorable one and sadly that is definitely the case with this one. Phil Taylor was only on one track, ‘I Ain’t No Nice Guy’ before he was sacked and Tommy Aldridge came on as the drummer in a session artist capacity except on the song ‘Hellraiser’ which features the new and still current drummer Mikkey Dee. In fact ‘Hellraiser’ is pretty much the highlight for me of this album. Even ‘I Ain’t No Nice Guy’ with guest vocals from Ozzy Osbourne and a guitar solo by Slash fail to make it a particularly good or memorable song. A very ho-hum album. Still if the trend continues the next one should be a good un.
Next Album: BASTARDS
Tuesday 22 March 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 9 – 1916 (1991)
1. The One To Sing The Blues
2. I’m So Bad (Baby I Don’t Care)
3. No Voices In The Sky
4. Going to Brazil
5. Nightmare/The Dreamtime
6. Love Me Forever
7. Angel City
8. Make My Day
9. R.A.M.O.N.E.S.
10. Shut You Down
11. 1916
A stronger album than Rock’N’Roll this is still a bit of a strange mix. We have a great opening song, followed up with the terrific ‘f*ck you’ number ‘I’m So Bad (Baby I Don’t Care)’, then we have the fun ‘Going To Brazil’ which then goes into a very odd, almost psychedelic tune ‘Nightmare/The Dreamtime’ which is a pretty big departure for Motörhead. What follows next is a ballad which is even more different, but in a good way. There are a couple of good but forgettable tracks and then we finish with the triumvirate of ‘R.A.M.O.N.E.S.’ which is a minute and a half of tribute to the punk band The Ramones and is great (it’s even better live), the terrific ‘Shut You Down’ and then the quite gobsmacking ‘1916’ which is probably the slowest most un-Motörhead song they have ever recorded. There’s very basic light musical accompaniment and Lemmy’s lyrics about soldiers fighting and dying in The Battle of The Some in the First World War are very moving. A very strange mix but it seems to work and this is definitely one of the better Motörhead albums.
Next Album: MARCH OR DIE
2. I’m So Bad (Baby I Don’t Care)
3. No Voices In The Sky
4. Going to Brazil
5. Nightmare/The Dreamtime
6. Love Me Forever
7. Angel City
8. Make My Day
9. R.A.M.O.N.E.S.
10. Shut You Down
11. 1916
A stronger album than Rock’N’Roll this is still a bit of a strange mix. We have a great opening song, followed up with the terrific ‘f*ck you’ number ‘I’m So Bad (Baby I Don’t Care)’, then we have the fun ‘Going To Brazil’ which then goes into a very odd, almost psychedelic tune ‘Nightmare/The Dreamtime’ which is a pretty big departure for Motörhead. What follows next is a ballad which is even more different, but in a good way. There are a couple of good but forgettable tracks and then we finish with the triumvirate of ‘R.A.M.O.N.E.S.’ which is a minute and a half of tribute to the punk band The Ramones and is great (it’s even better live), the terrific ‘Shut You Down’ and then the quite gobsmacking ‘1916’ which is probably the slowest most un-Motörhead song they have ever recorded. There’s very basic light musical accompaniment and Lemmy’s lyrics about soldiers fighting and dying in The Battle of The Some in the First World War are very moving. A very strange mix but it seems to work and this is definitely one of the better Motörhead albums.
Next Album: MARCH OR DIE
Friday 18 March 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 8 – Rock ‘N’ Roll (1987)
1. Rock ‘N’ Roll
2. Eat The Rich
3. Blackheart
4. Stone Deaf In The USA
5. The Wolf
6. Traitor
7. Dogs
8. All For You
9. Boogeyman
Drummer Pete Gill didn’t last long in the band and it wasn’t too long before Phil Taylor came back to resume his place for this rather unassuming record. There are some good songs on it, mainly ‘Rock’N’Roll’ which has plenty of great guitar work on it and ‘Eat The Rich’ but other than an appearance of Michael Palin on the intro to ‘The Wolf’ the rest of the songs are pretty amiable but not particularly memorable. Disappointing that Motörhead followed up such a great previous album with this rather lacklustre attempt.
Next Album: 1916
2. Eat The Rich
3. Blackheart
4. Stone Deaf In The USA
5. The Wolf
6. Traitor
7. Dogs
8. All For You
9. Boogeyman
Drummer Pete Gill didn’t last long in the band and it wasn’t too long before Phil Taylor came back to resume his place for this rather unassuming record. There are some good songs on it, mainly ‘Rock’N’Roll’ which has plenty of great guitar work on it and ‘Eat The Rich’ but other than an appearance of Michael Palin on the intro to ‘The Wolf’ the rest of the songs are pretty amiable but not particularly memorable. Disappointing that Motörhead followed up such a great previous album with this rather lacklustre attempt.
Next Album: 1916
Thursday 17 March 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 7 – Orgasmatron (1986)
1. Deaf Forever
2. Nothing Up My Sleeve
3. Ain’t My Crime
4. Claw
5. Mean Machine
6. Built For Speed
7. Ridin’ With The Driver
8. Doctor Rock
9. Orgasmatron
After the last album both Brian Robertson and Phil Taylor left the band. Lemmy recruited a new drummer in the form of Pete Gill and got two guitarists in the shape of Phil Campbell and Wurzel and so this is the first album where Motörhead were a four piece. After the disappointing last couple of albums this feels and sounds like a band revitalised. It’s great, all the songs are terrific and it’s just a real buzz listening to it. ‘Deaf Forever’ is a great song, would go on my favourites list anytime as does ‘Doctor Rock’ which is still to date the set opener when Motörhead play live, a real “f*ck you we’re having fun” number. The ‘Claw’ is rather amusing too with Lemmy’s near hysterical lyrics in the chorus making this one guaranteed to put a smile on your face. The final and title track is an odd one. This is a song that for years I didn’t like, in fact I much preferred the Brazilian thrash metal band Sepultura’s cover version, but I guess I have grown to love it. The music is thunderous and the lyrics are big and epic and fantastical and now probably my favourite tune from the album. Great to hear this band sounding so fresh and full of GGGGGRRRRRRR.
Next Album: ROCK ‘N’ ROLL
2. Nothing Up My Sleeve
3. Ain’t My Crime
4. Claw
5. Mean Machine
6. Built For Speed
7. Ridin’ With The Driver
8. Doctor Rock
9. Orgasmatron
After the last album both Brian Robertson and Phil Taylor left the band. Lemmy recruited a new drummer in the form of Pete Gill and got two guitarists in the shape of Phil Campbell and Wurzel and so this is the first album where Motörhead were a four piece. After the disappointing last couple of albums this feels and sounds like a band revitalised. It’s great, all the songs are terrific and it’s just a real buzz listening to it. ‘Deaf Forever’ is a great song, would go on my favourites list anytime as does ‘Doctor Rock’ which is still to date the set opener when Motörhead play live, a real “f*ck you we’re having fun” number. The ‘Claw’ is rather amusing too with Lemmy’s near hysterical lyrics in the chorus making this one guaranteed to put a smile on your face. The final and title track is an odd one. This is a song that for years I didn’t like, in fact I much preferred the Brazilian thrash metal band Sepultura’s cover version, but I guess I have grown to love it. The music is thunderous and the lyrics are big and epic and fantastical and now probably my favourite tune from the album. Great to hear this band sounding so fresh and full of GGGGGRRRRRRR.
Next Album: ROCK ‘N’ ROLL
Wednesday 16 March 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 6 – Another Perfect Day (1983)
1. Back At The Funny Farm
2. Shine
3. Dancing On Your Grave
4. Rock It
5. One Track Mind
6. Another Perfect Day
7. Marching Off To War
8. I Got Mine
9. Tales Of Glory
10. Die You Bastard!
After Eddie Clarke left Lemmy and Phil Taylor recruited Brian ‘Robbo’ Robertson to that band and this album, one that really divided people for years, was the result of that collaboration. It’s a really odd album to talk about as it just doesn’t really sound like a Motörhead album. It’s no where near as ‘heavy’ as the earlier albums and is a lot more melodic than you are used to with this band. Which certainly can be seen as a good thing, they’re trying something different, they are not just trying to churn out that same old stuff over and over again which a lot of bands fall into that terrible trap. There are some good numbers in here too. Despite starting with a really sound like ‘Ace of Spades’ the opener ‘Back At The Funny Farm’ is a good song. Also ‘Dancing On Your Grave’ and ‘Rock It’. One thing that is very noticeable about this album is the sound of the guitars, they are much stronger and more prominent that ever heard on the previous records. Brian Robertson is a terrific guitarist, better than Eddie Clarke and it shows but I still don’t rate this album that highly. It was a very good thing to do, to try something new but I don’t think it quite pulls off what it wanted to do. Still I’d argue it’s a better album than ‘Bomber’ and ‘Iron Fist’.
Next Album: ORGASMATRON
2. Shine
3. Dancing On Your Grave
4. Rock It
5. One Track Mind
6. Another Perfect Day
7. Marching Off To War
8. I Got Mine
9. Tales Of Glory
10. Die You Bastard!
After Eddie Clarke left Lemmy and Phil Taylor recruited Brian ‘Robbo’ Robertson to that band and this album, one that really divided people for years, was the result of that collaboration. It’s a really odd album to talk about as it just doesn’t really sound like a Motörhead album. It’s no where near as ‘heavy’ as the earlier albums and is a lot more melodic than you are used to with this band. Which certainly can be seen as a good thing, they’re trying something different, they are not just trying to churn out that same old stuff over and over again which a lot of bands fall into that terrible trap. There are some good numbers in here too. Despite starting with a really sound like ‘Ace of Spades’ the opener ‘Back At The Funny Farm’ is a good song. Also ‘Dancing On Your Grave’ and ‘Rock It’. One thing that is very noticeable about this album is the sound of the guitars, they are much stronger and more prominent that ever heard on the previous records. Brian Robertson is a terrific guitarist, better than Eddie Clarke and it shows but I still don’t rate this album that highly. It was a very good thing to do, to try something new but I don’t think it quite pulls off what it wanted to do. Still I’d argue it’s a better album than ‘Bomber’ and ‘Iron Fist’.
Next Album: ORGASMATRON
Tuesday 15 March 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 5 – Iron Fist (1982)
1. Iron Fist
2. Heart of Stone
3. I’m The Doctor
4. Go To Hell
5. Loser
6. Sex & Outrage
7. America
8. Shut It Down
9. Speedfreak
10. (Don’t Let ‘Em) Grind Ya Down
11. (Don’t Need) Religion
12. Bang To Rights
Well after the immense ‘Ace of Spades’ album you would have thought the follow up would have been as good if not better but sadly, this, the final album featuring the original line up of Lemmy, ‘Fast’ Eddie and ‘Philthy Animal’ is a big disappointment. Maybe it was due to the falling out between Lemmy and Eddie but whatever the problem was you can hear it in the music. It’s a shame as the album starts off pretty well. The first three tracks are really good. ‘Iron Fist’ is a nice and fast number, ‘heart of Stone’ has that unrelenting rhythm that has become synonymous with Motörhead and ‘I’m The Doctor’ is a typically fun tune. After that it gets a bit wishy-washy with only ‘Sex & Outrage’ and the album closer ‘Bang To Rights’ being in anyway memorable. The other songs are all pretty forgettable. A big shame after the previous album.
Next Album: ANOTHER PERFECT DAY
2. Heart of Stone
3. I’m The Doctor
4. Go To Hell
5. Loser
6. Sex & Outrage
7. America
8. Shut It Down
9. Speedfreak
10. (Don’t Let ‘Em) Grind Ya Down
11. (Don’t Need) Religion
12. Bang To Rights
Well after the immense ‘Ace of Spades’ album you would have thought the follow up would have been as good if not better but sadly, this, the final album featuring the original line up of Lemmy, ‘Fast’ Eddie and ‘Philthy Animal’ is a big disappointment. Maybe it was due to the falling out between Lemmy and Eddie but whatever the problem was you can hear it in the music. It’s a shame as the album starts off pretty well. The first three tracks are really good. ‘Iron Fist’ is a nice and fast number, ‘heart of Stone’ has that unrelenting rhythm that has become synonymous with Motörhead and ‘I’m The Doctor’ is a typically fun tune. After that it gets a bit wishy-washy with only ‘Sex & Outrage’ and the album closer ‘Bang To Rights’ being in anyway memorable. The other songs are all pretty forgettable. A big shame after the previous album.
Next Album: ANOTHER PERFECT DAY
Thursday 10 March 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 4 – Ace of Spades (1980)
1. Ace of Spades
2. Love Me Like A Reptile
3. Shoot You In The Back
4. Live To Win
5. Fast And Loose
6. (We Are) The Road Crew
7. Fire Fire
8. Jailbait
9. Dance
10. Bite The Bullet
11. The Chase Is Better Than The Catch
12. The Hammer
Within the first two tracks of this, the fourth album, you know you’re in for a treat. The absolute classic ‘Ace of Spades’, a song that for most people IS Motörhead, kicks things off with aplomb. It still is a great song, has a great sound, is lightning fast and will get even the most tone-deaf person (i.e. me) foot tapping along to it. ‘Love Me Like A Reptile’ is also a cracking number with a great guitar solo in the middle. Absolutely none of the songs on this album are bad; in fact they are all bloody terrific. ‘Fast And Loose’ has a really nice Bluesy feel. ‘(We Are) The Road Crew’ is a great homage to the unsung heroes of touring bands and is well known for making roadies cry as it pretty much sums up everything they do when on the road, having a far less glamourous life than the rock stars. ‘The Chase Is Better Than The Catch’ is a slightly slower number but is also rather good fun. The album closes out on the fast ‘The Hammer’. All in all this is probably the first GREAT Motörhead album where pretty much every song is superb and you just can’t really see how the album could be any better. I think I’m gonna listen to this one again, right now in fact.
Next Album: IRON FIST
2. Love Me Like A Reptile
3. Shoot You In The Back
4. Live To Win
5. Fast And Loose
6. (We Are) The Road Crew
7. Fire Fire
8. Jailbait
9. Dance
10. Bite The Bullet
11. The Chase Is Better Than The Catch
12. The Hammer
Within the first two tracks of this, the fourth album, you know you’re in for a treat. The absolute classic ‘Ace of Spades’, a song that for most people IS Motörhead, kicks things off with aplomb. It still is a great song, has a great sound, is lightning fast and will get even the most tone-deaf person (i.e. me) foot tapping along to it. ‘Love Me Like A Reptile’ is also a cracking number with a great guitar solo in the middle. Absolutely none of the songs on this album are bad; in fact they are all bloody terrific. ‘Fast And Loose’ has a really nice Bluesy feel. ‘(We Are) The Road Crew’ is a great homage to the unsung heroes of touring bands and is well known for making roadies cry as it pretty much sums up everything they do when on the road, having a far less glamourous life than the rock stars. ‘The Chase Is Better Than The Catch’ is a slightly slower number but is also rather good fun. The album closes out on the fast ‘The Hammer’. All in all this is probably the first GREAT Motörhead album where pretty much every song is superb and you just can’t really see how the album could be any better. I think I’m gonna listen to this one again, right now in fact.
Next Album: IRON FIST
Wednesday 9 March 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 3 – Bomber (1979)
1. Dead Men Tell No Tales
2. Lawman
3. Sweet Revenge
4. Sharpshooter
5. Poison
6. Stone Dead Forever
7. All The Aces
8. Step Down
9. Talking Head
10. Bomber
Motörhead’s third album starts off with the catchy ‘Dead Men Tell No Tales’, which is a much more polished sounding track than the ones on the previous two albums. After that, sadly the album for me goes rapidly downhill from there. None of the songs are particularly memorable with the exception of ‘Stone Dead Forever’ which is pretty good. ‘Step Down’ is worth a mention because it is the only track with Eddie Clarke on lead vocals which gives us a very different sounding song. ‘Talking Head’ I can’t even remember and I only just listened to it. The only real saving grace for this album is the final song, the title song, ‘Bomber’. This is a great song with a fantastic rhytmn that places it alongside Overkill and another tune I will be talking about in the next entry (bet you can’t guess what that is) as pure classic Motörhead tracks. Overall this is a very disappointing album with only a couple of good tunes on it. The rest are better best forgotten in my opinion.
Next Album: ACE OF SPADES
2. Lawman
3. Sweet Revenge
4. Sharpshooter
5. Poison
6. Stone Dead Forever
7. All The Aces
8. Step Down
9. Talking Head
10. Bomber
Motörhead’s third album starts off with the catchy ‘Dead Men Tell No Tales’, which is a much more polished sounding track than the ones on the previous two albums. After that, sadly the album for me goes rapidly downhill from there. None of the songs are particularly memorable with the exception of ‘Stone Dead Forever’ which is pretty good. ‘Step Down’ is worth a mention because it is the only track with Eddie Clarke on lead vocals which gives us a very different sounding song. ‘Talking Head’ I can’t even remember and I only just listened to it. The only real saving grace for this album is the final song, the title song, ‘Bomber’. This is a great song with a fantastic rhytmn that places it alongside Overkill and another tune I will be talking about in the next entry (bet you can’t guess what that is) as pure classic Motörhead tracks. Overall this is a very disappointing album with only a couple of good tunes on it. The rest are better best forgotten in my opinion.
Next Album: ACE OF SPADES
Tuesday 8 March 2011
Parker first paragraph - A bit of fluff for the day
Just as a bit of fun for the day I decided, as I am reading one of Richard Stark's Parker novels to experiment with writing an opening paragraph to a Parker novel in the style of Stark. So I did.
I wrote a paragraph which I thought was pretty good. Then read it and decided that it wasn't quite right. Richard Stark's prose is, like his name, Stark. Striped of all the fat. He doesn't do much in the way of purple prose descriptions that go on and on and on and on for pages at a time. He doesn't waste words at all. It's like John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13, everything striped back to the bare essentials. It's what makes his books such terrific reads, it's also why most, if not all of the books, are under 300 pages.
Anyway, here is my bit of fluff for the day. The opening paragraph to a Parker novel never to be written, in the four different attempts to strip the words back to get it closer to something Stark may have even approved of if he were still with us. Hope you enjoy.
1st attempt
When Parker heard the knock on the door he picked up his gun and buffaloed the man mid-knock. As the man tried to grab his face that was now a bloody mess Parker grabbed him by the hair and pulled him into the room, shutting the door behind him. Parker then turned and moved quickly to the man who was on his hands and knees trying to pick his teeth up off the floor and clubbed him twice more around the face. He kicked him in the stomach, knocking him onto his back, then pointed the gun straight at his face and pulled back the hammer. “Who are you?” he asked.
2nd attempt
When Parker heard the knock he picked up his gun and buffaloed the man mid-knock as he opened the door. Parker grabbed him by the hair and pulled him into the room, shutting the door behind him. He turned and moved to the man who was on his hands and knees trying to pick his teeth up off the floor and clubbed him twice more. He kicked him in the stomach, knocking him onto his back, then pointed the gun straight at his face, “Who are you?”
3rd attempt
When Parker heard the knock he picked up his gun and buffaloed the man mid-knock as he opened the door. He grabbed him by the hair and pulled him into the room, shutting the door behind. He turned and moved to the man now on his hands and knees trying to pick his teeth up and clubbed him twice more. He kicked him in the stomach and pointed the gun at his face, “Who are you?”
4th attempt
When he heard the knock Parker picked up his gun and buffaloed the man mid-rap as he opened the door. He grabbed him by the hair and pulled him into the room. Parker turned and moved to the man, now on his hands and knees with a bloody face and clubbed him twice more, kicked him in the stomach and pointed the gun at him, “Who are you?”
I wrote a paragraph which I thought was pretty good. Then read it and decided that it wasn't quite right. Richard Stark's prose is, like his name, Stark. Striped of all the fat. He doesn't do much in the way of purple prose descriptions that go on and on and on and on for pages at a time. He doesn't waste words at all. It's like John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13, everything striped back to the bare essentials. It's what makes his books such terrific reads, it's also why most, if not all of the books, are under 300 pages.
Anyway, here is my bit of fluff for the day. The opening paragraph to a Parker novel never to be written, in the four different attempts to strip the words back to get it closer to something Stark may have even approved of if he were still with us. Hope you enjoy.
1st attempt
When Parker heard the knock on the door he picked up his gun and buffaloed the man mid-knock. As the man tried to grab his face that was now a bloody mess Parker grabbed him by the hair and pulled him into the room, shutting the door behind him. Parker then turned and moved quickly to the man who was on his hands and knees trying to pick his teeth up off the floor and clubbed him twice more around the face. He kicked him in the stomach, knocking him onto his back, then pointed the gun straight at his face and pulled back the hammer. “Who are you?” he asked.
2nd attempt
When Parker heard the knock he picked up his gun and buffaloed the man mid-knock as he opened the door. Parker grabbed him by the hair and pulled him into the room, shutting the door behind him. He turned and moved to the man who was on his hands and knees trying to pick his teeth up off the floor and clubbed him twice more. He kicked him in the stomach, knocking him onto his back, then pointed the gun straight at his face, “Who are you?”
3rd attempt
When Parker heard the knock he picked up his gun and buffaloed the man mid-knock as he opened the door. He grabbed him by the hair and pulled him into the room, shutting the door behind. He turned and moved to the man now on his hands and knees trying to pick his teeth up and clubbed him twice more. He kicked him in the stomach and pointed the gun at his face, “Who are you?”
4th attempt
When he heard the knock Parker picked up his gun and buffaloed the man mid-rap as he opened the door. He grabbed him by the hair and pulled him into the room. Parker turned and moved to the man, now on his hands and knees with a bloody face and clubbed him twice more, kicked him in the stomach and pointed the gun at him, “Who are you?”
Tuesday 18 January 2011
The ‘No Sleep Til “No Sleep Til Hammersmith” Project’ Album 2 – Overkill (1978)
1. Overkill
2. Stay Clean
3. (I won’t) Pay your Price
4. I’ll be your Sister
5. Capricorn
6. No Class
7. Damage Case
8. Tear ya Down
9. Metropolis
10. Limb from Limb
Motörhead’s second album is a very different sounding record. It’s got the same rough and ready feel to it that the first album had, probably in part due to when and where it was recorded, but you can hear in the music that this is a band that are much more confident now in both their own and collective playing abilities. There are no duff songs on this record. We kick off with some proper classic songs. ‘Overkill’ is still to this day a mainstay of the live set and although it’s not one of my favourites it’s a great foot tapper. ‘Stay Clean’ is much better in my opinion. There’s still plenty of guitar solos on show and after four fast rock’n’roll numbers we get a nice change of pace with ‘Capricorn’, which slows things down a bit. Things get taken up a notch with ‘No Class’, another favourite of mine (and another live set mainstay). ‘Tear ya Down’ has a nice guitar solo and ‘Metropolis’ is great fun, mainly because the lyrics are total nonsense but coupled with the unrelenting rhythm of the music it somehow works and the record closes out with a nice final song. Overall this is a much, much stronger album than the previous one, a lot more great songs that have since become classics.
Next Album: BOMBER
2. Stay Clean
3. (I won’t) Pay your Price
4. I’ll be your Sister
5. Capricorn
6. No Class
7. Damage Case
8. Tear ya Down
9. Metropolis
10. Limb from Limb
Motörhead’s second album is a very different sounding record. It’s got the same rough and ready feel to it that the first album had, probably in part due to when and where it was recorded, but you can hear in the music that this is a band that are much more confident now in both their own and collective playing abilities. There are no duff songs on this record. We kick off with some proper classic songs. ‘Overkill’ is still to this day a mainstay of the live set and although it’s not one of my favourites it’s a great foot tapper. ‘Stay Clean’ is much better in my opinion. There’s still plenty of guitar solos on show and after four fast rock’n’roll numbers we get a nice change of pace with ‘Capricorn’, which slows things down a bit. Things get taken up a notch with ‘No Class’, another favourite of mine (and another live set mainstay). ‘Tear ya Down’ has a nice guitar solo and ‘Metropolis’ is great fun, mainly because the lyrics are total nonsense but coupled with the unrelenting rhythm of the music it somehow works and the record closes out with a nice final song. Overall this is a much, much stronger album than the previous one, a lot more great songs that have since become classics.
Next Album: BOMBER
Monday 17 January 2011
The 'No Sleep Til "No Sleep Til Hammersmith" Project' Album 1 - Motörhead (1977)
1. Motorhead
2. Vibrator
3. Lost Johnny
4. Iron Horse/Born to Lose
5. White Line Fever
6. Keep us on the Road
7. The Watcher
8. The Train kept A-Rollin’
Motörhead’s eponymous first album is a real Blues/Rock’n’Roll hybrid. There are plenty of guitar solos but despite this overpowering the drums on a couple of tunes the three piece of Lemmy (Bass), ‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke (Guitar) and Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor complement one anothers playing. The opening riff to ‘The Watcher’ sounds very similar to ‘Motorhead’ but is a very different song once the lyrics get under way. A very rough and ready album that sounds very unpolished compared with todays recordings but there is something nice about this. Something a bit more ‘real’, maybe less contrived. A lot of the songs are quite long but they all have very good rhythms and are great ‘foot tappers’. My favourite songs on this album are ‘Motorhead’, ‘Lost Johnny’ and ‘Keep us on the Road’.
Next album: OVERKILL
2. Vibrator
3. Lost Johnny
4. Iron Horse/Born to Lose
5. White Line Fever
6. Keep us on the Road
7. The Watcher
8. The Train kept A-Rollin’
Motörhead’s eponymous first album is a real Blues/Rock’n’Roll hybrid. There are plenty of guitar solos but despite this overpowering the drums on a couple of tunes the three piece of Lemmy (Bass), ‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke (Guitar) and Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor complement one anothers playing. The opening riff to ‘The Watcher’ sounds very similar to ‘Motorhead’ but is a very different song once the lyrics get under way. A very rough and ready album that sounds very unpolished compared with todays recordings but there is something nice about this. Something a bit more ‘real’, maybe less contrived. A lot of the songs are quite long but they all have very good rhythms and are great ‘foot tappers’. My favourite songs on this album are ‘Motorhead’, ‘Lost Johnny’ and ‘Keep us on the Road’.
Next album: OVERKILL
Wednesday 12 January 2011
CENTURION - film review
I never got around to seeing this movie at the cinema but watched it last night on DVD so thought that was a perfect opportunity to scribble (I mean type but scribble sounds a bit more fun doesn’t it?) down a review.
Set in AD 117 the Picts have developed Guerrilla warfare to battle the invading Roman army, picking off outposts here and there. Centurion Quintas Dias (Michael Fassbender) is captured after one raid and taken back to the Picts king. The Ninth Legion are despatched with a Mute guide Etain (Olga Kurylenko), to destroy the Picts but before they can do so they rescue Dias who has escaped and are then massacred (after being betrayed by Etain)apart from Dias and a few others. The General of the Ninth, Titus Flavius Virilus (Dominic West) is captured and returned to the Picts for torture. The remaining Romans attempt a rescue of the General but fail and in the escape the Pict King’s son is murdered. In rage the King sends Etain and a party after the Romans with instructions to bring back their heads.
Neil Marshall’s fourth feature film has both the best cast he’s ever had and ironically this is also his weakest movie to date. His first, Dog Soldiers was a terrific low budget comedy horror with werewolves. His second, The Descent, was a scary, nasty and very gory affair and was quite brilliant. His third was the sadly much maligned (at least critically) Doomsday, which was highly derivative of Mad Max and 28 Days Later but was also bloody good fun. This film is bigger, but messier.
What I have described, briefly, above is pretty much what happens in the first thirty minutes of the movie. I’m all for a film moving fast but this is almost too fast and the film constantly feels as though someone in the editing suite has sacrificed any story or character scenes just to get to the next chase bit. This is where the film falls down for me. It’s just too messy. Also for me I thought the structure of the film could have been a little different, having the mission of the Ninth Legion forming the main crux of the plot and only kicking in with the chase/hunt element of the story for a terrific and pacey final thirty minutes or so. This way we could have built up some characters that the audience might have given a shit about rather than having the, admittedly well played by the actors, caricatures on show. For instance, Dias is the son of a Gladiator who was taught how to fight by his father (Good Grief) but chooses not to show any fighting prowess until quite late in the film. By rocketing through what plot there was in the first thirty minutes or thereabouts we suddenly find ourselves with a lot of screen time to pad out and the breakneck speed of the film comes crashing to a halt for a while, where we are subjected to numerous shots of men running and people giving chase on horseback.
This is a big shame as the film has some quite beautifully cinematography of the Scottish countryside and everything looks all nice and muddy and bloody. Dominic West has a ball as the General and is probably the most entertaining character on show. Olga Kurylenko’s role of the mute warrior woman Etain is also pretty impressive as she throws herself fully into a difficult role as a mute savage, but she is all wrath and fury and suits the role very well. Fassbender is okay but he’s pretty much playing the role as “the upper class British Officer”, or at least that’s how he sounds. He looks okay in the action but he’s been better. Noel Clarke is wasted in a role anyone could have played and Liam Cunningham and David Morrissey are very good in fairly thankless roles.
The saving grace for this film is the action. Neil Marshall has proved on his previous movies that he can do action and this does not disappoint at all. Considering this film is a 15 there is a hell of a lot of gore on show. Head are hacked off in bloody gouts of crimson, limbs sliced off, faces impaled with spears and arrows. There’s even a moment when a Roman is taking a leak and he is impaled with a wooden stake right in his genitals. All the battle scenes are full of blood and guts and it’s terrific. There were quite a few moments where I was exclaiming “Jesus” and “Fuuuuuuuuuck”. You know it’s good when I’m making comments like that when I’m watching.
To be fair this is a pretty ordinary film that’s well filmed but not very well put together in the final edit, the actors are generally all good in underwritten roles but the film is elevated from ‘waste of time’ to ‘well worth a rent’ due to buckets of gory violence. Fingers crossed that Neil Marshall’s next movie is far stronger affair.
Set in AD 117 the Picts have developed Guerrilla warfare to battle the invading Roman army, picking off outposts here and there. Centurion Quintas Dias (Michael Fassbender) is captured after one raid and taken back to the Picts king. The Ninth Legion are despatched with a Mute guide Etain (Olga Kurylenko), to destroy the Picts but before they can do so they rescue Dias who has escaped and are then massacred (after being betrayed by Etain)apart from Dias and a few others. The General of the Ninth, Titus Flavius Virilus (Dominic West) is captured and returned to the Picts for torture. The remaining Romans attempt a rescue of the General but fail and in the escape the Pict King’s son is murdered. In rage the King sends Etain and a party after the Romans with instructions to bring back their heads.
Neil Marshall’s fourth feature film has both the best cast he’s ever had and ironically this is also his weakest movie to date. His first, Dog Soldiers was a terrific low budget comedy horror with werewolves. His second, The Descent, was a scary, nasty and very gory affair and was quite brilliant. His third was the sadly much maligned (at least critically) Doomsday, which was highly derivative of Mad Max and 28 Days Later but was also bloody good fun. This film is bigger, but messier.
What I have described, briefly, above is pretty much what happens in the first thirty minutes of the movie. I’m all for a film moving fast but this is almost too fast and the film constantly feels as though someone in the editing suite has sacrificed any story or character scenes just to get to the next chase bit. This is where the film falls down for me. It’s just too messy. Also for me I thought the structure of the film could have been a little different, having the mission of the Ninth Legion forming the main crux of the plot and only kicking in with the chase/hunt element of the story for a terrific and pacey final thirty minutes or so. This way we could have built up some characters that the audience might have given a shit about rather than having the, admittedly well played by the actors, caricatures on show. For instance, Dias is the son of a Gladiator who was taught how to fight by his father (Good Grief) but chooses not to show any fighting prowess until quite late in the film. By rocketing through what plot there was in the first thirty minutes or thereabouts we suddenly find ourselves with a lot of screen time to pad out and the breakneck speed of the film comes crashing to a halt for a while, where we are subjected to numerous shots of men running and people giving chase on horseback.
This is a big shame as the film has some quite beautifully cinematography of the Scottish countryside and everything looks all nice and muddy and bloody. Dominic West has a ball as the General and is probably the most entertaining character on show. Olga Kurylenko’s role of the mute warrior woman Etain is also pretty impressive as she throws herself fully into a difficult role as a mute savage, but she is all wrath and fury and suits the role very well. Fassbender is okay but he’s pretty much playing the role as “the upper class British Officer”, or at least that’s how he sounds. He looks okay in the action but he’s been better. Noel Clarke is wasted in a role anyone could have played and Liam Cunningham and David Morrissey are very good in fairly thankless roles.
The saving grace for this film is the action. Neil Marshall has proved on his previous movies that he can do action and this does not disappoint at all. Considering this film is a 15 there is a hell of a lot of gore on show. Head are hacked off in bloody gouts of crimson, limbs sliced off, faces impaled with spears and arrows. There’s even a moment when a Roman is taking a leak and he is impaled with a wooden stake right in his genitals. All the battle scenes are full of blood and guts and it’s terrific. There were quite a few moments where I was exclaiming “Jesus” and “Fuuuuuuuuuck”. You know it’s good when I’m making comments like that when I’m watching.
To be fair this is a pretty ordinary film that’s well filmed but not very well put together in the final edit, the actors are generally all good in underwritten roles but the film is elevated from ‘waste of time’ to ‘well worth a rent’ due to buckets of gory violence. Fingers crossed that Neil Marshall’s next movie is far stronger affair.
Tuesday 11 January 2011
The "No Sleep Til 'No Sleep Til Hammersmith' Project"
The plan for this little project is to listen to all 20 studio albums by Motorhead (the greatest rock'n'roll band on earth) in order, starting with the selftitled first one (Motorhead in case you're not paying attention) and moving on to the most recent one, The World is Yours which is due out in the shops on Monday 17th January.
I'm aiming to listen to one album per night for consecutive nights and once I've had a listen I'll jot what will amount to a mini review about the album. I'll mention my favourite songs, things I don't like it and any other thoughts that spring into my head (change in the line up of the band, that sort of thing).
Some of the early albums have been re-released over the years with extra or 'bonus' tracks on them. I won't be listening to these, just the songs that were on the albums on first release.
Once I've done all 20 albums I will be concluding the project with the number one live album 'No Sleep Til Hammersmith'.
The idea for this came about when I bought and then listened to The World is Yours before Christmas. Classic Rock magazine were doing a special CD and magazine release early of the album in case you were wondering how I got my hands on it before it's in the shops.
Other than that I just thought "why the fuck not?"
I'm aiming to listen to one album per night for consecutive nights and once I've had a listen I'll jot what will amount to a mini review about the album. I'll mention my favourite songs, things I don't like it and any other thoughts that spring into my head (change in the line up of the band, that sort of thing).
Some of the early albums have been re-released over the years with extra or 'bonus' tracks on them. I won't be listening to these, just the songs that were on the albums on first release.
Once I've done all 20 albums I will be concluding the project with the number one live album 'No Sleep Til Hammersmith'.
The idea for this came about when I bought and then listened to The World is Yours before Christmas. Classic Rock magazine were doing a special CD and magazine release early of the album in case you were wondering how I got my hands on it before it's in the shops.
Other than that I just thought "why the fuck not?"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
