Book Review: Let Me Take You Down

John Lennon wrote “Strawberry Fields Forever” in Almería, Spain, in fall 1966, and in November, in response to that song, Paul McCartney wrote “Penny Lane” at his home in London. A culmination of what was one of the most life-altering and chaotic years in the Beatles’ career, these two songs composed the 1967 double A-side 45 rpm record that has often been called the greatest single in the history of popular music and was, according to Beatles producer George Martin, “the best record we ever made.”

The Big Chill (soundtrack) (30th anniversary)

Welcome to another edition of Soundtrack Sunday.

Yesterday (September 28th) marked the thirtieth anniversary of the release of The Big Chill, a dramatic-comedy about baby boomer college friends coming together, after fifteen years apart, for the funeral of a friend hit the theatres. This smart, funny and engaging film featured an all-star cast.

The Big Chill soundtrack album was pretty all-star too. It featured a who's who of Motown artists and more that perfectly spoke to the baby boomer generation. Click here for my complete review of this record.

Mermaids (soundtrack)

Welcome to another edition of Soundtrack Sunday. Today (May 20th) is also the sixty-sixth birthday of an American singer, actress, television star, director and winner of an Oscar, Grammy and Emmy. Of course, I can only be talking about the one and only Cher.

In December of 1990, Cher starred along side Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci in the comedy-drama Mermaids. The story is about fifteen year old Charlotte Flax (Ryder) who lives with her eccentric mother (Cher) and younger sister Kate (Ricci). The film did well at the box office, clearing over $110 million.

The Beach Boys' Christmas Album

Welcome to another edition of Sixties Saturday, a very special Christmas Eve edition to boot.

In 1963, the California based rock band the Beach Boys released a holiday track. The song did so well that the following year they put out a full album of Christmas tunes. The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album reached number 6 on the US Billboard Christmas album charts in 1964 and eventually became a gold seller. The record contained a mix of original songs and holiday standards.

Blood, Sweat & Tears - Blood, Sweat & Tears

Welcome to an edition of Sixties Saturday, and a happy birthday also to saxophonist/pianist Fred Lipsius whose 68th birthday it is today (November 19th).

Lipsius was part of Blood, Sweat & Tears when the band released their second studio album in December of 1968. The self-titled Blood, Sweat & Tears was a commercial success, spending seven weeks (non-successive) at the top of the US Billboard 200 album chart and generating three top 5 hit singles. The album received the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1970. It also spent eight weeks total (non-successive) at the number 1 spot on the Canadian album charts. In the UK the album reached number 15 on the charts.

The Big Chill (soundtrack)

Welcome to another edition of Soundtrack Sunday.

In the fall of 1983, a dramatic-comedy about baby boomer college friends coming together, after fifteen years apart, for the funeral of a friend hit the theatres. The all-star cast featured Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly and JoBeth Williams. This smart, funny and engaging film did very well at the box office, pulling in over $56 million dollars.

The Big Chill soundtrack album featured a who's who of Motown artists and more that perfectly spoke to the baby boomer generation. The album went gold within the first few months on the charts and then Platinum in early 1984. It reached number 17 on the US Billboard 200 album charts. It did so well that a second album The Big Chill: More Songs from the Original Soundtrack was released a year later. Today I will just focus on that first record.

The Beatles - Meet the Beatles

I was at my parents' house last weekend, thumbing through my older brother's vinyl collection, and ran across our old copy of Meet the Beatles. This was the 1964 US release (the second US album) by the Fab Four and took a lot from their UK release With the Beatles, right down to a slighly different version of front covers. Meet... ranked number 59 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list while With... came in at 420. With... does appear on the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" list though.