Tag Archives: rock

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere

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The latest big time musician biopic was released this weekend, with The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White taking the stage as Bruce Springsteen.

The film takes a certain part of Springsteen’s life, specifically the time he was working on recording his album Nebraska, and tells the story of that period. There are flashbacks to Bruce as a child with his alcoholic/abusive father, but the main emphasis of the film is getting Nebraska written, recorded and released.

Jeremy Allen White is spectacular as Springsteen. He gives a sensational performance as The Boss, going as far as doing his own singing for the role. He really does sound like a young version of Springsteen. I would also like to shout out the performance of Jeremy Strong, who played Jon Landau, Bruce’s friend and manager. Strong is always great and he puts in a very subtle and workmanlike performance here.

The music is great. It was odd at first as the music did not seem to include any Springsteen songs as had Lucille by Chuck Berry and Urgent by Foreigner. The first scene we see is Bruce playing Born to Run, so there was that. The Springsteen music does come over the course of the movie.

The film’s script deals heavily with the depression that Springsteen was dealing with, something that he has dealt with over his life. Springsteen made Nebraska as a very personal record and the songs all meant something to him, which was why he could not compromise with them.

I do think the film felt a little long, as some of the scenes became repetitive. There was a storyline with Springsteen and a girlfriend at the time, Faye Romano (Odessa Young). This was an interesting storyline and did not show Bruce in the best light. I liked Faye and I have to say that I was rooting for her.

I think Springsteen fans will love the movie while those who are just there for the film itself may find it a touch dull. I would not say that I am a Springsteen fan, but I do like him so I was entertained enough. I definitely think that the performance of Jeremy Allen White was better than the movie itself.

3.6 stars

Sha Na Na S1 E6, E7

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I watched two more episodes of Sha Na Na on YouTube tonight and it has become apparent that the first season of this show had the same strength and weaknesses in them.

Strengths: The songs are great. Specifically, the songs the group does on the stage in front of the studio audience. Donny did a cool rendition of “Come and Go With Me” and led the singing in “Rock Around the Clock.” Johnny, whose voice is so heavenly, did “Teen Angel” and gives an epic sob in the middle. Then, one of the best street songs so far was “Breakin’ Up is Hard to Do” with Donny and Chico taking the main part of the song. This was one of the better choreographed songs so far. Great basketball pass at the end of the song from Santini too.

Weaknesses: Comedy. The comedy on the show just feels too forced. I hate the crowd noises they add because there are several times where it just intrudes on the song. In the comedy song bit “Along Came Jones” the can laughter and applause made it hard to hear the song. Pamela Myers’s acting in this song was atrocious (though she was a Tony-nominated actress). I do not think I have laughed once with the back stage skits from Kenneth Mars, Philip Roth or Jane Dulo. At least Avery Schreiber’s cab driver character has a few laughs.

Two comedians were the guest stars on these episodes with Charles Nelson Reilly and Phyllis Diller. Both had some good moments. I am a big fan of CNR, especially during his days on the Match Game, which he referenced in the episode.

I remember being a fan of Lennie Baker as a child. Being a chubby kid, I related to Lennie. I have to say though, watching him do his background dancing is always funny. Lennie has a tremendous voice though.

I have really enjoyed the musical parts of these shows so far, but the rest have been a bit of a trudge to get through. The music is absolutely the stand out from these talented musicians.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #27

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SPOILERS

Part Two

The A & E documentary KISStory Part two is the story of the rock band Kiss, in the second part of their careers.

I still feel as if there are some things missing without Ace Frehley and Peter Criss’s actual involvement in the documentary. Any time Peter or Ace is heard in the doc, it is from archival footage or interviews and the doc started off with a message saying that they chose not to participate and they “do not endorse the views of this program.” That meant that this doc was from the POV of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. I am truly curious how the story might differ.

This part of the doc started off with the band in some internal trouble, though they tried to force their way through it.

HOT TAKE: The Elder is my favorite Kiss album.

However, I may be the only one as the concept album seemed to be mentioned as one of the big mistakes of the group.

Peter Criss left the band, apparently after a concert where he was messing with the timing of the songs. That is one of the main functions of the drummer, and I could understand the feeling of betrayal that would bring up.

Ace Frehley was gone too, not long after Peter, leaving Kiss struggling with new musicians and characters from the band. They no longer had the Catman or the Spaceman in the group.

The doc showed the historic moment on MTV where KISS, for the first time, revealed themselves without the make-up and followed the band as it became another 1980s hair band.

The MTV Unplugged series was the first place where Peter and Ace returned for some songs, giving the idea that there could be a reunion at some point. The reunion tour was huge business and seemed to be a success at the start. However, the same demons that had pulled them apart in the late 70s apparently remained at this time. It was portrayed that Peter was upset over money and the perceived secondary status in the band behind Gene and Paul. I wish I had his official POV to see how accurate that was. Ace appeared to not be one who could handle the fame at the level KISS had reached.

I found myself with so much more respect for guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer, who were in the band and were removed when Ace and Peter returned. That felt tough, but they were total professionals. Tommy was even brought back in to help Peter and Ace get back to their levels of performance, and he wound up doing much of the tour manager duties.

It was a tough section involving the drummer who had replaced Peter in Kiss came up. Eric Carr came into the group and wound up dying form cancer. Paul and Gene told the story of Eric begging them to play on the song “God Gave Rock ‘N Roll To You” for the video, a song they recorded for the Bill & Ted Bogus Journey film. Paul’s description of Eric playing on that video was heartbreaking.

Both weeks of this doc ended really quickly, as it felt like something was being cut off.

I enjoyed this as I was always a fan of KISS, especially when I was younger. I was never an obsessed fan and I would be curious to hear what a deep fan thought of this documentary.

With this two-part doc series done, next week we start with a new show for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk. I think the series that will be next is the HBO show, Lovecraft Country.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #26

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Spoilers

Week twenty-six of the Sunday Morning Sidewalk takes a bit of a turn as we start our first documentary series, a two-part show originally on A & E (which I watched on Disney +) featuring the EYG Hall of Fame rock band known as KISS.

The first episode of the series was about an hour and a half and outlined the early days of the band and their struggle to rise to the top of the record business, all the while struggling with their personal turmoil and behavior.

The doc heavily featured new interviews from Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, but only had archival footage or interviews with band members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. There was a disclaimer that appeared in the documentary stating that Ace and Peter refused to participate in KISStory and did not agree with the presentation. That really triggered my curiosity. I knew that there had been issues between the band for years, especially with Ace and Peter, and I wanted to know why they refused to participate. Online, what I could find was that Ace and Peter refused because the amount of money offered was insultingly low and that they wanted final editing rights. I don’t know where that came from. Apparently, Peter Criss also refused to allow the song “Beth” to be used in the doc so that was in my head the entire time they were discussing the success of that song and how it helped propel the group upwards.

Peter and Ace were shown to have their own problems, specifically with alcohol and drugs, but I do not think it was done to the exclusion of the others. Gene spoke of his own issues, trying to put his ego aside while Paul spoke about plenty of his own troubles, including his anxiety over a birth defect he had with his ear. It did not feel like the doc piled on Ace and Peter. They definitely included how important they were to the band. Heck, even Gene and Paul admitted that the band’s sound did not come into focus until Ace came in to audition.

The feelings of the band were being made clear as they became more successful and started doing things like “KISS Meets the Phantom” or going more disco with “I Was Made for Loving You.” They addressed how some fans felt as if the group sold out as the success came fast. You could tell from the way Paul and Gene spoke about it that they felt much the same way, but they could not refuse it.

The clips from the Tom Snyder interview where Ace was clearly drunk were amazing. The looks on the faces of Gene and Paul were unmistakable and were painful to watch. The anger in their eyes was so obvious that anyone should have been able to see it.

The first episode ended with Ace’s announcement that he wanted to do solo work, and the band was definitely falling apart.

I truly would wish to have had more than just Paul and Gene’s voices in the doc, reflecting back on the history of this band. Peter and Ace’s absence 100% put a cloud over the documentary, even if it felt as if the doc did a good job of being balanced despite of their absence.

Next week will be part two of KISStory for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk and we’ll see where the band went from there.

Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

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We have another documentary for the 4F as I am on Hulu/Disney + watching Road Diary, following a recent return tour from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Honestly, I am not a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen. I do not mind his music, but I am just not as familiar to it than I am in some other music. Because of this, I was not as filled with joy and wonder as some might be.

Having said that, there are some cool moments of watching how this band of musicians can come together after five years of inactivity and create a tour of American music.

Listening to the E Street Band discuss their music making as well as Bruce and his mastery of the form is interesting. I did not know that Steven Van Zandt was in the E Street Band. Van Zandt is a musician I had heard of and the only other musician I was aware of in the E Street Band was the late Clarence Clemons. It was intriguing to discover that Clemons’ nephew, Jake, replaced Clarence in the band.

I feel as if you are a Bruce Springsteen fan, this would be like candy to you. For me, it was an okay look at a powerful musician who I have had a healthy respect for over many years.

3 stars

The Greatest Night in Pop

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A great new documentary arrived on Netflix that featured the story of the recording of the classic 80’s song, We are the World.

There was a lot of recorded sections of the actual archive recordings with all of the artists involved in the amazing night. Starting after the American Music Awards were done, the recording session went the rest of the night and into the morning hours. 

Lionel Richie was one of the first interviews the doc had as he was a major factor behind the creation of the song. He and Michael Jackson wrote it, despite trying to get Stevie Wonder to be a part of it.

The artists interviewed for the doc included Richie, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Smokey Robinson, and Dione Warwick.

One of the interesting tidbits in the doc included the section with Sheila E talking about Prince and the desire of the people in charge to have Prince as a part of the song. 

Watching the process of these legends of music trying to put together this epic song in the limited time they had was fascinating. Seeing Bob Dylan struggle to get the line of the song out was amazing. You had Huey Lewis and Cyndi Lauper express their doubts and insecurities over being included with people that they looked up to for their whole lives.

Another awesome moment was when Quincy Jones thanked Harry Belafonte, whose idea led to this night’s work, and the whole crew broke into a version of The Banana Boat Song. That was an excellent moment from the doc.

This was a fantastic peek behind the curtain of one of the most amazing nights in music history. 

4.3 stars