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Showing posts from May, 2015

My Life It's A Long Story Willie Nelson

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My Life It's A Long Story is the autobiography of legendary American country singer Willie Nelson. In this book he talks about his upbringing in Abbot Texas as he and his sister Bobbie by their grandparents Alfred and Nancy Nelson when their parents split up,got his first guitar at age 6, sang gospel songs, taverns and dance as well as playing with the Rejcek band and Bud Fletcher and the Texans, worked as a deejay for KHBR,KBOP, KDNT, KCUL and KCNC where he hosted a show called Western Express, played with local singer Johnny Bush, going to Nashville where he success as a songwriter with Paper Walls, Pretty Paper and Crazy, country success in the 70's, his 4 marriages and working with people like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, ray Charles, Julio Iglesias, Bonnie Raitt etc. It is an AWESOME,BRILLIANT and FANTASTIC book with FANTASTIC stories which I enjoyed reading it. this book is co written with David Ritz who wrote the Marvin Gaye book Divided Soul as well as co writing ot

Deal Bill Kreutzmann

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Deal is the autobiography of Bill Kreutzmann drummer and founding member of legendary American rock group the Greatful Dead. In this book he talks about his upbringing in Palo Alto California, started to play drums at age 13, played in his first band called the Legends,forming the band Warlocks with Jerry Garcia,Bob Weir, Ron Pigpen McKernan and Phil Lesh who would become known as the Greatful Dead, playing at the Acid test as well as Monterey Pop Festival as well as working with Bob Dylan,The Rolling Stones, the Allman Brothers Band, Janis Joplin etc as well as the drugs, alcohol as well as his 5 marriages as well as the deaths of members Pogpen McKernan, Keith Godchaux, Brent Myland and Jerry Garcia and many others. it is an FANTASTIC, AWESOME and an BRILLIANT book with great stories and I enjoyed reading the book very much. this book was co written with Benjy Eisen who was written for Rolling Stone, Esquirem, Relix etc and is currently finishing writing his first novel called Oyst

Woman In Gold

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Last Friday Night May 22nd I went to the Balmoral Cinema with my Mum to see the movie Woman In Gold. Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren) who has been living in America after fleeing from Vienna 60 years before attempts to get back her family heirlooms which was seized at the time by the Nazis which among them were the famous painting done by Gustav Klimt called the Portrait Of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. Together with Randy Schoenberg(Ryan Reynolds) an lawyer with little experience she embarks in a major battle which will take them to the Austrian establishment as well as the US Supreme Court as well as for her confronting difficult truths about the past and it gets interesting. It's sad,touching, BRILLIANT and Superb with a top and SUPERB performance by Helen Mirren as well as BRILLIANT acting by Ryan Reynolds, Katie Holmes, Daniel Bruhl, Tatiana Maslany as the young Maria, Elizabeth McGovern, Max Irons, Charles Dance and others. Simon Curtis was the director, David M Thompson and Kris Thykie

APIA Good Times Show @ QPAC Concert Hall

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On May 14th I went to the QPAC Concert Hall to see the APIA Good Times which it's my first time seeing this show as it has been going for 2 years and this year's APIA Good Times show had Joe Camilleri(Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons/The Black Sorrows), Kate Cebrano, Brian Cadd and Glenn Shorrock. I caught the bus from Cannon Hill to South Bank, went to Nandoos where I had chicken and chips for dinner, drank Coke Zero, went to New Zealand Ice Cream shop where I had an Sundae for desert, walk to QPAC, had a photo taken, bought a program and CD's by Brian Cadd and Glenn Shorrock and Kate Cebrano, went inside, toom some photos and waited. The show started @ about 8pm which they showed film clip of the performed being photographed as well as being interviewed and then Joe Camilleri came on which he did a set of Black Sorrows songs as well as Jo jo Zep and the Falcons which for a few songs ex Falcons member Wilber Wilde came to perform with Joe, then Kate Cebrano on stage which she

Mental As Anything @ Wynnum RSL Club

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On Mother's Day May 10th I went to Wynnum RSL to see legendary Australian rock group Mental As Anything which it was my 7th time seeing and last time I saw them was 9 months ago at Kedron wavell as they were on the bill with Daryl Braithwaite with my friend Kristy. I caught the train to Wynnum Central, walk to Wynnum RSL, rang home, fill in survey, went up the stairs, had a Coke zero and waited. The show started @ around 4.40pm with Mental As Anything coming on stage with the line up that is original members Martin Plaza and Greedy Smith with current members Martin Cilia(the Atlantics) on guitar, Jacob Cook on drums and James Gillard on bass and for the next hour and 20 minutes they performed many of their big hits from the 70's,80's and 90's as well as a few of other people's songs with people dancing on the floor as well as Greedy's sense of humor too. The show finished after 6pm which I saw Leigh and her mum Jillane as well as meeting Ken Brown(formerly of C

The Wak Boys Show @ Moreton Bay Sports Club

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On Saturday May 9th I went to the Moreton Bay Sports Club to see the Wak Boys(Wickety Wak members Rob Roselund, Tony Jeffrey and Greg Doolan along with Greg's wife Laura) as it is my 6th time seeing the Wak members and it was also my first time being back at Moreton Bay Sports Club since September 13th 2013 when I saw the ACDC tribute show Whole Lotta AC/DC as I had not been going cause of the tendinitis in the foot. I caught the courtesy bus to the Club which I got there before 7pm, went inside, was taken to the front table, saw a friend Darren from school who I had not seen in about 26 years, had Pork and veges for dinner, drank Coke Zero, read book and won a steak tray which I unfortunately left it behind when I went home that night as I realized it when I got home. The show started @ 8.30pm with Greg,Tony,Rob and Laura coming on stage and for nearly 2 and a half hours doing classic pop and rock songs as well as funny humor and funny stories which cracked us all up as well a

It's the Girls Bette Midler

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It's the Girls is the new album by legendary American singer Bette Midler. This album was recorded in New York and Los Angeles and on this album it spans 7 decades of famous girls groups from people like the Andrews Sisters, the Boswell Sisters, the Shirelles, Martha and the Vandellas, the Marvelettes, TLC and also Darlene Love sings with Bette on He's Sure the Boy I Love. It is FANTASTIC, EXCELLENT and BRILLIANT with excellent singing by Bette who stills sound great and this album was produced by Marc Shaiman and Scott M Riesett. This album has done very well as it went to number 3 in the USA, number 6 in the UK, number 10 in Australia, number 17 in Ireland, number 24 in Canada, number 26 in Hungary,number 38 in Austria, number 62 in Sweden, Number 62 in Germany, number 64 in Holland and number 161in Belgium. This is a must for Bette Midler fans and I am giving this 4 and an half stars which it's in the shops now so do yourself a favour and BUY IT.

Ultimate Sinatra(Australian Edition)

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Ultimate Sinatra is the compilation of legendary American singer Frank Sinatra which I am reviewing the Australian edition as it's a double CD. On this double CD it has the classic hits of Sinatra's on the first CD includes My Way, Strangers in the Night, Young At Heart, Witchcraft, Come Fly With Me, Love and Marriage etc and on the second CD it has the live recording at the Sydney Stadium on December 2nd 1961 which has the intro by entertainer Tommy Hanlon Jr and Sinatra performed many of his classic songs as well as excellent humor on it. It is AWESOME,BRILLIANT and an FANTASTIC double CD with the songs are just FANTASTIC and BRILLIANT too as it holds up so well to this day as it is timeless too and the live recording is just BRILLIANT. This year would have been Frank Sinatra's 100th Birthday on December 12th as he passed away 17 years ago but his music lives on and the movies he made lives on too. Charles Pignone was the compilation producer and Frank Collura was the p

Avengers Age Of Ultron

On Sunday May 10th I went to the movies @ the Myer Centre in the City with my friend Billy to see the movie Avengers Age Of Ultron which it's the sequel to the 2012 movie the Avengers. The gang are back together with Iron Man/Tony Stark(Robert Downey Jr), Thor(Chris Hemsworth), Hulk/Bruce Banner(Mark Ruffalo), Steve Rogers/Captain America(Chris Evans), Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow(Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye/Clint Barton(Jeremy Renner) as they are put to the ultimate test as the planet hangs in the balance as Ultron( James Spader) who plan to wipe the humans off the face of the earth as he considered them enemies and also they encounter along the way 2 newcomers Pietro(Aaron Taylor Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff(Elizabeth Olsen) and it gets very interesting. It's action packed, excellent and an FANTASTIC movie by Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, James Spader, Sa

Writer Of The Week: Brian Wilson | American Songwriter

Writer Of The Week: Brian Wilson | American Songwriter

Timeless Dr Hook

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Timeless is the new double CD compilation by legendary American rock group Dr Hook. In this double CD it has many of the classic hits of Dr Hook including Walk Right In, When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman, Sylvia's Mother, Cover Of The Rolling Stone, A Little Bit More, Sharing the Night Together as well as albums as 2 live recordings and an version of Wild Colonial Boy. It is an FANTASTIC, EXCELLENT and an BRILLIANT CD with excellent songs that has stood the test of time and it holds up so good to this day. Lead Singer Dennis Locorriere was the executive producer for this double CD as well as hand picking the songs and doing the doing the liner notes and also this double CD has done very well in the charts which it was number 9 in the UK and this week in it's second week on the Australian charts is currently at number 36 which it is great to see so let's hope it stays in the Top 40 for a while. Dennis will be touring Australia in October-November so be sure to

Countdown 40th Anniversary Continues

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Last year the legendary Australian music show Countdown celebrated 40th years when it began on TV and there was an CD called 40th Anniversary which had songs by acts who were around at the time Countdown was on and also there is now an new double CD called 40th Anniversary Continues. In this double CD it has songs by the Australian acts and international acts who appeared on Countdown including Kylie Minogue, John Paul Young,Sherbet, ABBA, Little River Band, Joan Armatrading, Dr Hook, , The Ferrets, Men At Work,Australian Crawl, Elton John and many others. It is an AWESOME,BRILLIANT and SUPERB double CD with great songs that has stood the test of time and it holds up so well to this day. It is amazing that the show is still remembered after all these years even though the show finished 28 years ago as well being 41 years on November 8th when it started and I hope there will be an DVD of Countdown with episodes comes out in the future. This double CD is a must for Australian music fan

Duets Van Morrison

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Duets (ReWorking the Catalogue) is the new album by legendary Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. This album was recorded in Belfast and London for 12 months and re-record songs between 1970-2012 with different performers including Bobby Womack, George Benson, Pj Proby, Georgie Fame, Steve Winwood, Mark Knopfler, Michael Buble, his daughter Shana Morrison and many others. It is an excellent album with excellent songs with an excellent vocal performance by Van who will be 70 on August 31st and the work with the others is just excellent too. This album was produced by Van,Bob Rock and Don Was and this album has done very well in the charts which it went to number 5 in the UK, number 23 in the USA, number 10 in Australia,number 3 in Holland, number 2 in New Zealand and 33 in Sweden. It is 50 years since Van came on the scene with Them and is still going strong after all those years. This album is a must for Van Morrison fans and I am giving this 4 stars which it's in the shops now

Sweet Rebecca Beccy Cole

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Sweet Rebecca is the new album by Australian country singer Beccy Cole. This album was recorded at the Sound Hole Studios on NSW Central Coast as well as the music cellar and all the songs on this album are all written by Beccy which she wrote them in South Australia which it's the first time that she has written every one of the songs on a album which on 1 track Kasey Chambers and Gina Jeffreys sang with Beccy called Precious Times. It is BRILLIANT and SUPERB with BRILLIANT songs and an BRILLIANT vocal by Beccy which she is just BRILLIANT on this album which it talks about her life and this album has done very well which it went to number 19 on the Australian pop charts and number 2 on the Australian country charts. this album was produced by Shane Nicholson who also played on the album as well as the backing vocals with Jeff McCormick doing the mixing and Amanda Toombs doing the photography. It has been an great year for Beccy as she has just released her autobiography which

Climb Every Mountain Judith Durham

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Climb Every Mountain was the solo album for Seekers lead singer Judith Durham in 1971 which was recorded @ Abbey Road Studios in London as well as being mixed @ Air Studios in London with Ron Richards as producer with Peter Vince doing the engineering and mixing and Christopher Gunning doing the arranging and conducting and it was released in 1971 which among the songs on the album was the title track Climb Every Mountain which was from the Sound Of Music, Skyline Pigeon written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, There He Is written by Peter Pye(ex Honeycombs) and Franklin Boyd etc and also it is now out on CD. On the remastered album which besides from the original album tracks it has 2 extra songs that was the A side Let Me Find Love and the B side Music Everywhere that was released in 1970 and it was produced by Judith Durham, her husband Ron Edgeworth and Richard Clements with Mike Vickers(Manfred Mann) doing the arranging and conducting. It is an BRILLIANT and an SUPERB CD with BRI

Postcards From Paradise Ringo Starr

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Postcards From Paradise is the new album by Ringo Starr. This album was recorded at Roccabella West in Los Angeles and Rydenhurst UK and among the musicians who played on it were Joe Walsh(his brother in law from the Eagles), Dave Stewart(Eurythmics), Richard Marx, Peter Frampton, Todd Rundgren, Steve Lukather(Toto) etc. It is an EXCELLENT and an BRILLIANT album with excellent songs including Rory Storm and the Hurricanes(an Liverpool group that Ringo was in before the Beatles), Island In the Sun, Let Love Lead etc and Ringo is just excellent on this album as well as the musicians who played on the album played excellent as well. Ringo produced this album as well as doing the mixing with Bruce Sugar who played piano and synth on the album as well and Rob Shanahan did the cover the photo. Ringo is still going strong after all these years which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame just 2 weeks ago and will be touring America and South America this year too. This album is