LPs and Films - Jul. 17, 2014

LPs:

MERRY CHRISTMAS / MARIAH CAREY / COLUMBIA (THRU SONY MUSIC) / 1994 / CK/CT 64222

One of the most original and inventive Christmas records ever released by a big record label. Very gospel-influenced as well. And yes, given date, I seem to have jumped into Christmas in July territory, especially after having listened to it again last night. Carey returned into the Land of Christmas Music in 2010 with Merry Christmas II You, which I heard some bad things about, in 2010. I will reserve judgement on the latter until I can listen to it.

Tracks:
1. Silent Night (Give Carey credit for her treatment of sacred holiday ballads like this one, since one of the more oh-so-slow tracks on her LP and powerfully so.)
2. All I Want For Christmas Is You (This is the track that hit the jackpot for everybody, including myself. Any person who would not be entertained by this track would be hard to find as far as I'm concerned. It hit No. 1 on the Pop Charts in '94 and was re-recorded in 2010 with the title "(Extra Festive)" AKA "(Extra Backup Singers)" or "(Extra Same Damn Thing!)".)
3. O Holy Night (Back to the Gospel house, and for, again, a soulful, yet sacred, record.)
4. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (Originally a "Wall of Sound" hit for the Ronettes on the Philles label, which was 24 years dead at the time of the LP's release, Carey's version retains all of what was in the original, and even retains its honesty.)
5. Miss You Most (At Christmas Time) (First B-side of "All I Want For Christmas Is You", and just as powerful.)
6. Joy To The World (Rather unique pairing combines elements of the carol with elements of what was a Top 40 hit for Three Dog Night in 1970.)
7. Jesus Born On This Day (Carey ropes us back into the gospel house with her new addition to graceful, soulful, and sacred Christmas songs, of which there is a long list.)
8. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (Carey remakes the Jackson 5's version of the familiar song with enough energy inside.)
9. Medley: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing-Gloria (In Excelsis Dea) (Another unique pairing, it is also a sacred one.)
10. Jesus Oh What A Wonderful Child (Views on the Track are same as on Track 7)

EVEN WORSE / "WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC / ROCK 'N' ROLL-SCOTTI BROS. (THRU CBS) / 1988 / FZ/FZT/ZK 44149

Another great album by "Weird Al." As Homer Simpson once said, "He who is tired of 'Weird Al' is tired of life."

1. Fat (Spoof of the Michael Jackson hit "Bad" is hilarious and won the Best Concept Music Video Grammy in 1988 -- the fact that the King of Pop acquired 12 copies of the single (he was also a fan of "Weird Al" and gave 11 of them to family and friends certainly reflected that!)
2. Stuck In A Closet With Vanna White (Written at the peak of her -- and Wheel of Fortune's -- success.)
3. (This Song's Just) Six Words Long (This is an accurate summary of the song that it spoofs [George Harrison's "I Got My Mind Set On You"], which became the last, and most forgettable, of all the great Beatles guitarist's hits. I even made a sing-along video of this track.)
4. You Make Me (B-side of "Fat." 'Nuff said.)
5. I Think I'm A Clone Now (A stunningly and hilariously futuristic parody of the Tommy James and Shondells pop hit -- via Tiffany's version.)
6. Lasagna (Italian family kitchen dealings are the deal in this spoof of the Ritchie Valens classic "La Bamba" -- which became a Chicano/Latino classic.)
7. Melanie (A funny love song about -- well, who else would it be about?)
8. Alimony (Via Billy Idol's version, this fun spoof -- which, again, spoofs the Tommy James and Shondells pop hit -- details the typical results of getting an alimony, from a male viewpoint.)
9. Velvet Elvis (The King may be laughing in his grave if he heard this!)
10. Twister (What an inventive plug for the game!)
11. Good Old Days (The LP's conclusion is a creative spoof of cornball elements brought on by the Singer-Songwriter genre, specifically a spoof of the great James Taylor).

DICK CLARK PRESENTS RADIO'S UNCENSORED BLOOPERS / DICK CLARK / ATLANTIC / 1984 / 7 80188 4

I am a sucker for bloopers, screw-ups, knock-ups, etc. Usually these are not put out by the big record companies, instead being the delight of the smaller ones (example: the small Jubilee label was home to Kermit Schafer's "Pardon My Blooper" series.) So it was very surprising to see the spine of the record showing the Atlantic logo as it was a big, big company in 1984 (and to this day continues to be a big, big company). With the baton of "Blooper King" being passed off to Dick Clark (after Schafer's death in 1979), it takes off.

FILMS:

THIS IS SPINAL TAP / EMBASSY / ROB REINER / USA 1984 / R

Rob Reiner is one of our most gifted baby-boomers. Getting his start on All in the Family (also one of my favorite TV programs) he was off and running as a star by the time that show was cancelled. This is Spinal Tap is his breakthrough picture. From the hilariously nerve-damaging songs the band composes to the famous "Up to Eleven" segment, all the way up to the realization that THIS IS WHAT THE MUSIC BUSINESS IS REALLY LIKE, this film is a laugh-out-loud look at how long it takes for a band on the way down to realize that it is on the way down. The band had a big hit with "Listen To The Flower People" in 1967, but now they're putting out the now-legendarily fictitious "Smell the Glove" LP and it's no longer 1967. The more the band commits to hilarious antics, like getting caught in one of the props in the tour, getting booked at a formal dance for the U.S. Air Force, and having no autographs to sign at a record store, the more their audience continues to shrink, shrink, and shrink. It's all the more fun year after year.

THE PRODUCERS / AVCO EMBASSY / MEL BROOKS / USA 1968

The Producers may be one of the single greatest "first directed" films of all time. It's raw satire of Broadway at its indelible finest. The story concerns a producer of Broadway plays who is too busy romancing ladies who are distinctly elder to even come close to having a box office hit. But then he and his accountant (played respectively by Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder) come up with a Broadway play designed not to be a big hit at the box office: an old hilariously, predictably, and tastelessly such play from World War II called Springtime for Hitler. The plan backfires as the Producer gets a critical and commercial success. They try to prevent such success, but that only lands them in court, in body casts, and then finally, they go to jail, where they stage their own Prison version of Springtime for Hitler. A must-see.