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PETER ASHER: EVERYWHERE MAN – THE LIVES AND TIMES OF PETER ASHER (2025)

Featuring Peter Asher, Paul McCartney, Carole King, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Steve Martin, Eric Idle, Jane Asher, Lyle Lovett, Danny Kortchmar, Twiggy, Betsy Asher, Pattie Boyd, John Dunbar, Barry Miles, Yoko Ono, Paul Jones, Chris O'Dell, John Boylan, Leland Sklar, Kate Taylor, Waddy Wachtel, Victoria Asher, Rufus Wainwright, Wendy Asher, Clare Gillies, Ben Fong Torres, Beverly D’Angelo, Natalie Merchant, Cathy Shaffer, Paul Shaffer, ‘'Weird Al” Yankovic and archival footage of John Lennon, George Martin, Andrew Gold, Robin Williams, Marianne Faithfull and Gordon Waller.

Directed by Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine.

Distributed by Greenwich Entertainment. 118 minutes. Not Rated.

“Obviously a great deal of everything is luck – except there is no such thing. The skill is in taking advantage of what does come your way.” Peter Asher

This quote begins the documentary Everywhere Man, and it pretty much defines Peter Asher. Asher, who is a name that most people who are not relatively in the know may have never heard, has worn many hats in his life. He was a child actor. He was a smash British Invasion singer. He was a hip bookstore and art gallery owner. He was head A&R guy for the Beatles Apple records. Asher was also one of the widely-rumored (if never officially confirmed) inspirations for the look of Mike Myers' Austin Powers character.

He became a superstar music producer and manager (who is best known for guiding James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt’s careers, but who also worked with a who’s who of 20th Century superstars). Now Asher is a mostly retired man periodically touring with a concert/play looking back on his fascinating life.

The dude took advantage of what came his way. And we’re lucky he did.

Everywhere Man allows for Asher and famous friends, collaborators and fans to tell the amazing story of his life. In fact, much of the documentary revolves around a performance of his one-man show (well, he has an entire band, so it’s not exactly one-man, but he’s the one telling the stories) at San Francisco’s famous Bimbo’s 365 Club.

Much like a real-life Zelig or Forrest Gump, Asher is known as much if not more for his proximity to genius and fame as his own work, although thinking that he is simply a hanger on or lucky is definitely selling the guy short. Still, he realizes that sometimes he was at the right place at the right time.

Take for example his early career as a singer. He and school friend Gordon Waller had a running gig at The Pickwick Club, one of the chicest joints in swinging London at the time – celebs like Michael Caine, Johnny Cash, Terence Stamp, Frank Sinatra, Christopher Plummer and Sammy Davis Jr. frequented the joint. But Peter and Gordon weren’t songwriters, they did all covers.

When an A&R guy approached them about recording some of their songs from their show, he asked if they had any other songs. Asher’s sister Jane – who was a popular actress – also just happened to be dating this singer named Paul McCartney whose band The Beatles were just taking off. In fact, Paul was staying with the Ashers and living in the room next to Peter, and they had become good friends.

Peter often saw Paul and his bandmate John Lennon working on new songs. They had an unfinished song called “A World Without Love” which was not likely to make it onto a Beatles album – apparently Lennon kind of hated the song. So Peter asked Paul if Peter and Gordon could give the song a try. McCartney wrote a new bridge for the song, and Peter and Gordon recorded it in the style of The Everly Brothers – and it became a huge international hit.

While the group had a few more hits, Asher never really saw himself as a headliner. He felt more like a behind the scenes guy – and he eventually settled into becoming a record producer (the only one ever to make the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, although he had to bring along his artists James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt to get the cover shot.)

Both Taylor and Ronstadt are here discussing working with Asher – as well as such artists that he has worked with over the years as Carole King, Lyle Lovett, Steve Martin and Natalie Merchant. The film also shows how Asher revolutionized the world of musical sidemen – like Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel and Leland Sklar – by finally giving the studio musicians credit for their work and letting the album band tour with the artists. It’s an endlessly fascinating story, charting the history of popular music over the period of decades.

It’s an endlessly fascinating story, charting the history of popular music over the period of decades.

If there is one possible complaint about this labor-of-love documentary is that it is just that. Directors Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine are obviously such fans of Asher as an artist and a man that the doc tends to dwell on the sunny parts while downplaying some of the real down moments in Asher’s story; the drug usage, the inadvertent breaking up of a good friend’s marriage, the mental health issues of his first wife, the suicide of his father, the long-time and somewhat bitter split with his original singing partner Gordon Waller.

Which makes Everywhere Man a bit of catnip for pop culture fans, but far from a complete look at the man’s life. All of the things listed above were discussed in passing, but perhaps not with the detail that such life-altering events may deserve.

Still, even with those slight issues, Peter Asher – Everywhere Man tells such a fascinating story, and Asher is such a charming, shy, and slightly self-deprecating host that the two hours just fly by. Hopefully after this film, more people will know the name Peter Asher.

Jay S. Jacobs

#Peter Asher #2026 #Music Review #Jay S. Jacobs #Youtube #Everywhere Man

BILLIE EILISH – HIT ME HARD AND SOFT (LIVE IN 3D) (2026)

Featuring Billie Eilish, Finneas O'Connell, Andrew Marshall, Solomon Smith, Abraham Nouri, Tom Crouch, Jane Horner, Ava Horner and James Cameron.

Written by Tarik Mikou & Billie Eilish.

Directed by Billie Eilish and James Cameron.

Distributed by Paramount Pictures. 114 minutes. Rated PG-13.

When you hear that James Cameron is co-directing a concert film, you expect scale. But in Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), Cameron uses his cutting-edge technology to create a fantasy world devised by Billie Eilish herself, while hyper-rendering the reality of tour life. The result is an immersive hour and 54-minute experience that feels less like a movie and more like a shared physical space.

Beyond the strobe lights and bass, the tour offers a rare, behind-the-curtain look at the creative labor and emotional weight required for Billie Eilish to build a world for her fans.

The show acts as a bridge between the artist's private creative process and the public's experience. By offering glimpses into the reality of tour life – the exhaustion, the precision, and the evolution of the stage design – the performance feels less like a polished product and more like a shared journey. Most notably, seeing Billie navigate the stage without her brother Finneas for the first time marks a pivotal moment in her career, showcasing a new, independent strength that resonates through every note.

One of the most striking elements of the show is how it handles "girlhood." It isn't presented in a traditional or performative way; instead, it captures the simplicity of the feminine experience across the entire stadium.

Billie is clearly trying to redefine what it means to be feminine, creating a space where fans feel empowered to express themselves in ways that are unique to their personal experience.

This sentiment highlights the deep connection between the stage and the crowd. The snippets of her life shared throughout the set transform the arena into an immersive experience, making even the furthest seat in the movie theater feel like a front row seat to one of her sold out shows.

Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) is a triumph of vulnerability. By stripping away the artifice and showing the realities of touring, Billie Eilish has created something that isn't just a spectacle to be watched, but a community to be felt. It’s a loud, tear-streaked, eyeliner-heavy celebration of being exactly who you are.

Rachel Disipio

#Billie Eilish #2026 #Music Reviews #Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour Live in 3D #Rachel Disipio #Youtube

PAUL McCARTNEY: MAN ON THE RUN (2025)

Featuring Paul McCartney, Denny Seiwell, Henry McCullough, Denny Laine, Laurence Juber, Steve Holley, Chris Thomas, Stella McCartney, Mary McCartney, Mick Jagger, Chrissie Hynde, Nick Lowe, Sean Ono Lennon and footage of Linda McCartney, Wings, John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, George Martin and The Beatles.

Directed by Morgan Neville.

Distributed by Prime Video. 115 minutes. Rated R.

There is a story I was told by an old girlfriend back in the 1980s which may have been apocryphal, or may have simply been an urban legend, but that I thought kind of captured the gist of Paul McCartney. Supposedly McCartney was meeting one of his daughters’ dates for the first time. He asked the guy what he did. The guy said he was a musician. McCartney replied that he’d been in a couple of bands over the years himself. And, supposedly, the guy asked him, “What, were you in a band before Wings?”

That story sort of sums McCartney up. Good natured, ironic, self-deprecating, nice, not all caught up in ego, with a twist that shows he doesn’t mind being the butt of the joke.

Well, yes, Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings. And he was in some after, too, if you count his solo bands. However, Paul McCartney: Man on the Run is mostly about Wings. It takes a look at perhaps the most chronicled man in the 20th century, but I pretty much sticks to the period of 1970 to 1980, the time when Wings ruled the airwaves. Oh, sure, it starts with the end of The Beatles (Paul’s previous band, don’t cha know) and ends with the sputtering out of Wings in the early 1980s when McCartney released his second solo album and dealt with the death of his old friend and bandmate John Lennon.

In the 1980s that story would make sense because the reign of Wings was still fresh in the memory. Over 50 years on from the first Wings album and over 60 years into McCartney’s career, Wings is no longer high up in the list of things people think of when they hear McCartney’s name.

Interestingly, even though the band was mostly pretty huge throughout the 1970s, it certainly does not get the reverence that McCartney was used to with The Beatles. During those years, McCartney wrote some stone-cold classics, like “Band on the Run,” “My Love,” “Live and Let Die,” “Maybe I’m Amazed,” my own personal favorite “Listen to What the Man Said,” “Jet,” and “With a Little Luck.” At the same time he put out some much cheesier stuff like “Silly Love Songs,” “Let ‘Em In,” “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” “Mull of Kintyre,” and “Arrow Through Me.” (I have to admit I kind of like some of those songs too, particularly the last one.)

So, the Wings years are due for some historical resurrection and re-evaluation. For the most part, Man on the Run succeeds smashingly at that. The film is not without its faults as a musical history – they spend a little too much time on the Wings Over America tour while barely mentioning or ignoring such later albums as London Town and Back to the Egg.

Perhaps that makes sense, though. At one point McCartney says that the best lineup of the group was the one from the Over America tour, which had most of the members leave Wings by 1977. Longtime guitarist Denny Laine – the only member of Wings other than Paul and Linda McCartney for the entire run of the band – agreed that those last two albums had lost the magic of earlier Wings work.

However, even with those caveats, Man on the Run is a fascinating look at a specific era of the man’s life, one that is not always given the attention that it surely deserves. While McCartney has had a sporadically very successful solo career over the decades since he left Wings behind, honestly his solo career has never quite lived up to the history of Wings (or The Beatles, of course.) He did some of his finest work over that decade and it should not be overlooked.

It was sensitively directed by prolific documentarian Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom, Best of Enemies: Buckley vs. Vidal, Won't You Be My Neighbor?, STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces and the upcoming Lorne Michaels doc.)

While McCartney is executive producer and heavily involved in this film, it is not just a puff piece. It shows some less flattering moments in McCartney’s life – like the run-down Scottish farmhouse he hid in after the splintering of The Beatles, his time in a Japanese jail on marijuana possession charges and his seemingly flippant reaction to Lennon’s murder in a TV interview.

Many people who have gotten to meet Paul McCartney have said that he is one of the nicest celebrities that they have ever run across. Watching Man on the Run, I can believe that.

Jay S. Jacobs

#Paul McCartney #2026 #Music Reviews #Man on the Run #Jay S. Jacobs #Youtube

BILLY PRESTON – THAT’S THE WAY GOD PLANNED IT (2024)

Featuring Pastor Sandra Crouch, Derrick Preston, Gloria Jones, Blinky Williams, Valerie Ervin, Cory Henry, Billy Porter, Eric Clapton, David Ritz, Tony Jones, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison, Bob Ellis, Merry Clayton, Glyn Johns, Tommy Vicari, Manuel Kellough, Bobby Watson, Bruce Fisher, Mick Jagger, Keni Burke, Bob Margouleff, Don Mizell, Suzanne de Passe, Hon. Bernard J. Kamins, Sam Moore, Joyce Moore, Bill Maxwell and archival footage of Billy Preston, Ray Charles, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Robbie Preston Williams.

Written by Paris Barclay & Cheo Hodari Coker.

Directed by Paris Barclay.

Distributed by Abramorama Films. 104 minutes. Not Rated.

Billy Preston was many things in his career. He was arguably the greatest funk organist ever. He was a musical prodigy who was touring and recording before he reached his teenaged years. He was a favorite side person who played with some of the biggest names of the 1960s and 1970s – including Little Richard, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Sly Stone and the Rolling Stones.

He was one of the very few non-band members to ever play on a Beatles album. He first met the band in their Hamburg days as a child when he was touring Europe with Little Richard and stayed in touch for years. He became close friends with George Harrison, was one of the first artists signed to Apple Records. His organ parts in “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Get Back” defined those tracks. He even played with the band in their famous rooftop Abbey Road performance. In fact, he has as strong a claim for the term “the fifth Beatle” as just about anyone, as noted on a newspaper clip shown briefly here, which had the headline “The Fifth Beatle Is a Brother.”

As a songwriter, he created Joe Cocker’s iconic hit “You Are So Beautiful.” He was the frontman behind several big hit solo singles, including “Outa-Space,” “Will It Go ‘Round in Circles,” “Nothing From Nothing” and “With You I’m Born Again.” He was one of the two musical guests on the first ever episode of Saturday Night Live. (Ironically, the other musical guest was Janis Ian, who is also the subject of a recent documentary reminding the world of their artistry.)

Yet, for all of his proximity to stars and stardom, he was also an exceedingly private man. No matter how flamboyant a showman he was – and he could seriously jam – in other ways the guy was very uncomfortable with recognition. Hell, it turns out here that his infamous sky-high Afro from his glory days was just a wig (who knew?) – a disguise so that he would be easily recognizable onstage and then just blend into the background in real life with his real hairdo.

This is just one of the disguises that Preston wore over the years. An extremely closeted gay man, it was probably well-understood by friends and co-workers, but he never admitted his sexuality. In fact, he never officially came out to anyone publicly until days before his death. Not just in those ways, but Preston was always a bit of a cypher to people who knew and loved him. He refused to discuss his past, declining to discuss his religion (he grew up in the church), his addictions (to alcohol and drugs), his money issues.

Now, nearly 20 years after his way-too-early death (at 59 of respiratory failure), Preston’s contributions to music are not nearly as well-remembered as contemporaries such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, Issac Hayes or Lionel Richie.

Which is a shame, because as Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It reminds us, Preston was an extraordinary musician and singer who deserves so much more credit for his skills and his career than he has received.

The film is subtitled after the song, which was his first international hit single, which Preston also famously performed on George Harrison’s The Concert For Bangladesh album. In fact, this film opens with Preston’s performance of the song at that concert, in which the keyboardist shined, strutted and blew away an all-star jam band sharing the stage with him, including George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Leon Russell and the band Badfinger.

This film shows the rise and the fall of Billy Preston, which reaches some of the highest highs, but also hits some of the lowest lows. Later in his life, Preston dealt with violence, time in jail, alcoholism, addiction to cocaine and crack, and personal bankruptcy.

This documentary has some amazing footage – from the highs of a twelve-year-old Preston performing his self-written instrumental “Billy’s Boogie“ on The Nat “King” Cole Show to the lows of a clearly drunk Preston getting called out for his inebriation by Howard Stern on his show.

Yet, as much as you do learn from That’s the Way God Planned It, Preston does remain an elusive figure, a sheltered man who held his secrets close to the vest. And do you know what? That’s fine. Preston deserves this private life and while much of that stuff was fascinating and disturbing, the real job of this film was to resurrect his reputation as a pioneering and magnetic musician, and in that way, the documentary is a complete success. Now, that’s the way God planned it.

Jay S. Jacobs

#Billy Preston #2026 #Music Review #That's the Way God Planned It #Jay S. Jacobs #Youtube

THE MOMENT (2026)

Starring Charli XCX, Rosanna Arquette, Kate Berlant, Jamie Demetriou, Hailey Gates, Isaac Powell, Alexander Skarsgård, Rish Shah, Trew Mullen, Kylie Jenner, Rachel Sennott, Arielle Dombasle, Mel Ottenberg, Richard Perez, Tish Weinstock, Michael Workéyè, Julia Fox, Shygirl, and A. G. Cook

Written by Aidan Zamiri and Bertie Brandes

Directed by Aidan Zamiri

Distributed by A24. 103 minutes. Rated R.

Has The Moment’s time passed?

Charli XCX’s new mockumentary answers – or attempts to answer – the question of how pop stars make the decision when to evolve and move on from a breakout era. The era in question is the Brat album era, you know, the one that defined summer 2024.

The electronic artist’s sixth studio album took the world by storm in 2024 including viral tracks “360,” “Apple” and “365.” Charli has been putting out music for years, in heavy radio rotations of hits “I Love It” and “Boom Clap” in the early 2010’s. Though she was known, the Brat album was what brought Charli to the forefront of everyone’s minds and social media feeds.

The film follows Charli leading up to the Brat World Tour, highlighting the trials and tribulations pop culture icons face when they’re having their “moment,” and follows an alternate timeline in which she milked this chapter of her career and fell (even more) victim to the corporate music machine.

Viewers are thrown into the XCX world: partying, influencers, more partying, and mornings that start at noon. The Brat album has been taking the world by storm for quite some time now, so tour rehearsals and brand deals are underway. In addition to British Vogue and Skims, Charli’s team pushes her to partner with a commercial bank to release a lime green Brat credit card. Though her fans would buy a bag of rocks if it had her face on it, the company agrees to give away free concert tickets to everyone that signs up for the card.

Another money grab move on the singer’s team was secretly hiring an accredited concert film director, Johannes, portrayed by Alexander Skarsgård, to shoot a show on the upcoming tour for release on Amazon Prime. This is a point of contention between Charli and her team members because 1) she didn’t approve of working with this man and 2) he’s a total psycho. I’m talking insane – like he is in an ongoing legal battle with another pop star because he claims she’s “taking over his movie.” The movie about her tour.

In any case, this causes drama between Charli’s trusted artistic director, friend, and confidant, Celeste, played by Hailey Gates, and Johannes, because they have vastly differing creative visions and processes. Think of Celeste’s vision for the tour as a nightclub and Johannes’ vision as an acid trip in Candyland. One clearly matches Charli’s energy more accurately, and it’s not the one with Lord Licorice smoking a joint.

Things soon begin to go downhill as tensions grow on the creative side of things. Meanwhile, the bank that released the “Brat Cards” was shut down for mass amounts of fraud on behalf of its customers. Surprise, surprise – teenagers would go to unimaginable lengths for free concert tickets, including signing up for multiple credit cards under various pseudonyms to redeem as many tickets as possible.

The world literally falls down on Charli, and she needs to decide whether it’s worth holding onto this chapter of her life, moving on to the next, or rewriting the book completely.

Though The Moment is a mockumentary, it touches on very real topics like how social media can make your career just as quickly as it can break it, and how the corporate world of music and its deep inner workings impact what we think we know of pop culture.

Though I was disappointed with the conclusion, I will say, I appreciate Charli’s transparency and vulnerability in cracking open the door for viewers to peek inside the life of a pop star at her peak. I can’t help but wonder how much of this mockumentary is fabricated, and how much reflects her lived experiences during this time.

Overall, I’d say this film is a maybe-see for Charli fans but a skip for everyone else. Maybe don’t swipe the “Brat Card” for this one.

Kayla Marra

#Charli XCX #2026 #Music Review #The Moment #Kayla Marra #Youtube

KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN (2025)

Starring Diego Luna, Tonatiuh, Jennifer Lopez, Tony Dovolani, Josefina Scaglione, Bruno Bichir, Aline Mayagoitia, Kevin Michael Brennan, Thomas Canestraro, Eduardo Ramos, David Turner, Lynn Favin, Odain Watson, Lucila Gandolfo, Federico Repetto, Lucas Barreiro, Augusto Gordillo, Fabio Aste, Graciela Daniele, Federico Salles and Alejandro Ernesto Balbis Ortiz.

Screenplay by Bill Condon.

Directed by Bill Condon.

Distributed by Roadside Attractions. 123 minutes. Rated R.

I have to admit, I didn’t think that the terrific 1985 dramatic film Kiss of the Spider Woman, starring William Hurt and Raul Julia, could be made into a musical. Yes, I knew the musical was staged on Broadway and had become something of a hit in the 1990s. But still, could it be turned into a musical film after all these years?

Well, I take it all back. Kiss of the Spider Woman works surprisingly well in this context. It’s not as good as the original film (well, at least except for in one aspect, but more on that later), but it still works.

The story is rather simple. In 1980s Argentina is in the middle of a savage military junta in which the army is imprisoning and torturing many of its citizens. Stuck together in a jail cell are Valentin (Diego Luna), a tough revolutionary who is being targeted for his knowledge of the rebels, and Molina (Tonatiuh) who is in jail because he is a gay man who was caught in the act of having sex in a rest room. (Interesting socio-political point, in the original film and the 1976 novel it was based upon, Molina’s sex partner was a minor, but this particular ugly plot point is dropped in the updated version, which sands off some of the source material’s rougher edges.)

They are very different men and view each other with skepticism – particularly Valentin towards Molina. However, as they experience the atrocities of the jail together, they form a bond, a grudging friendship which steadily becomes deeper.

In order to pass the time and escape the horrors of the jail, Molina spends a lot of time telling Valentin about his favorite film, an old musical called Kiss of the Spider Woman. This old film is created here, with Jennifer Lopez playing the actress who is the star of the film, the lead character of the film and the Spider Woman, the evil spirit who craves a kiss from a man, even though she knows that it will kill him.

Interestingly, if anything the movie fantasy scenes actually work better in this film than in the 1985 variation. In this film, the main characters are introduced into the old-fashioned film as characters, and it somewhat mirrors their wants, needs and eventual directions. In the older film the description of the film was a bit more random and removed from the main plotline.

The film bounces back and forth from the technicolor melodrama of the old film to the stark horror of the characters’ current situations and the world surrounding them.

First things first – Tonatiuh, who I had previously only seen in a supporting role in a somewhat forgettable Netflix action film called Carry-On with Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman – is incredible in this role. If this does not lead to more work, then something is wrong.

Jennifer Lopez also definitely connects to this role and this project in a way that she rarely has on screen. Faint praise, I know, but she is actually very good in all three variations of her role, and she is able to use her singing and dancing skills extremely well.

Diego Luna is the only one of the leads who occasionally feels a bit off – he won’t make anyone forget Raul Julia’s powerful reading of the same character in the original film. Still, Luna does have some very strong moments mixed in, and while he’s not quite as good a singer and dancer as his co-stars, he holds his own.

I’m not going to lie; Kiss of the Spider Woman has a bit of a niche appeal that may be a hard sell in this current world climate. However, I hope people give it a chance, it certainly has some interesting things to say.

Jay S. Jacobs

#Kiss of the Spider Woman #2025 #Music Reviews #Jennifer Lopez #Jay S. Jacobs #Youtube

Various Artists – Play On: A Raspberries Tribute (Think Like A Key Music)

Raspberries packed a whole lot of rocking in during their two years of recording. The Cleveland-based band featured Wally Bryson (guitars), Eric Carmen (vocals and multiple instruments), Jim Bonfanti (drums), Dave Smalley (bass) and later Scott McCarl (bass) and Michael McBride (drums). Together with contemporary bands like Badfinger and Big Star, they were considered one of the founding bands of power pop.

They debuted in 1972 with a self-titled debut album which featured the smash hit “Go All the Way.” Two years, a few albums and several hits later, Raspberries broke up. Lead singer Carmen went on to a successful solo career and the others had differing levels of success in the music world. The band reunited briefly in the mid-2000s, but rumors of new original music never came to be, other than a terrific two-disc concert album Live on Sunset Strip.

Their influence in power pop music is borne out by the staggering breadth of guests playing on the tribute album Play On, which includes hitmakers like Rick Springfield, Vicki and Debbi Peterson (The Bangles), Lou Gramm (Foreigner), John Waite, Marshall Crenshaw, Karla DeVito (Meat Loaf), Cherie Currie (The Runaways) and The Shoes. Cult favorites and up-and-comers include The Lemon Twigs, Bird Streets, Adelaide Estep, The Kennedys, The Caulfields, Olivia Rubini and Robin Taylor Zander.

Members of bands like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Babys, Utopia, Brian Wilson’s touring group, The Georgia Satellites and Nada Surf also contribute to songs, even ones where they are not the lead artists. Original Raspberries drummer Jim Bonfanti lays down the beats on four songs and the band’s late lead vocalist Eric Carmen contributed the countdown leading into the song “Tonight.” Raspberries guitarist Wally Bryson’s son Jesse also contributed a track.

Play On: A Raspberries Tribute is co-produced by musician (and Raspberries biographer) Ken Sharp and musician producer Fernando Perdomo.

This compilation contains covers of 36 of the 39 tracks from the four albums Raspberries released between 1972 and 1974 as well as a non-album demo track called “Please Let Me Come Back Home.” (For the record, the three missing tracks from the original albums are “Rock & Roll Mama” and “Get It Moving” from the self-titled debut album and “Money Down” from Side 3.)

The first disk leads off with a powerful grouping of some of the band’s best-known tunes. First off, 80s rocker Rick Springfield takes off with a blistering cover of “Go All the Way,” one of the most perfect power pop singles of all time. Then Vicki and Debbi Pederson do a joyful take on the poptastic hit “I Wanna Be With You.” This is followed up by The Lemon Twigs’ swooningly gorgeous take on the sweet and near-flawless ballad “Let’s Pretend.”

However, as the disks get deeper into the weeds of the Raspberries’ song book, it quickly becomes clear that the band was so much more than its biggest hits. There are wondrous forgotten tracks like Katie Ferrara’s stunning piano-based take on “Come Around and See Me,” Robin Taylor Zander’s falsetto-voiced redo of the psychedelic rock ballad “Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye” and former Jellyfish / Slash’s Snakepit member Eric Dover’s hard-hitting “Ecstacy.”

The second disk rocks out with more favorites and almost-hits. Former Foreigner singer Lou Gramm and Babys leader John Waite rock the house with “Tonight” and “I Don’t Know What I Want” respectively. Co-producer Ken Sharp – one of two artists to do two songs here, the other is The Lemon Twigs – jams out to “I’m a Rocker.”

Raspberries’ final top 40 hit “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)” is given a spare reading by another early ‘70s power pop band, the cult faves Shoes. Speaking of early ‘70s bands, The Hudson Brothers (who knew they were still around?) rough up “All Through the Night.” That is followed by 80s fave Marshall Crenshaw’s jangly country-vibed take of “Should I Wait.”

Tori Holub wraps her Karen-Carpenter-like vocals around the relaxing “Starting Over,” and The Chefs (a supergroup featuring Dan Baird of the Georgia Satellites and Stan Lynch of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers) bring the AOR in their reimagining of “Party’s Over.” And then there is Cherie Currie of the Runaways’ punk/new wave variation of “Hands on You.”

So much great music, much of it undeservedly forgotten. Play On reminds us of what could have happened if Raspberries became as huge as they should have been. And if you like this stuff, go back and check out the original recordings.

You can purchase Play On: A Raspberries Tribute at: Various - Play On: A Raspberries Tribute. THINK LIKE A KEY MUSIC.

Jay S. Jacobs

#Play On: A Raspberries Tribute #2025 #Music Review #Rick Springfield #Jay S. Jacobs #Youtube

Stephen Bishop – THIMK (Life's A Bish)

Stephen Bishop has had a long, impressive career as a singer / songwriter, even if he never quite became a superstar. Now, nearly fifty years after his breakthrough album Careless (1976), which spawned the big hits “On and On” and “Save It For a Rainy Day,” Bishop is closing the book on his recording career.

In the acclaimed career he had several other hits and has recorded 20 albums over the years. Some of his other best-known songs at “It Might Be You,” and “Separate Lives” and the theme songs to the films Tootsie and National Lampoon’s Animal House. In fact, perhaps his most-seen performance ever was Bishop singing the folk standard “Cherrystone” and having his guitar smashed to bits by John Belushi in the toga party section of Animal House.

He insists that THIMK – which is made up of a mix of new and older songs – will be his last album. And if he’s going out, he’s going to go out in style.

Bishop has made a lot of friends and admirers over the years, and his final album includes a staggering roster of guest shots, including Sting, Eric Clapton, Art Garfunkel, Jimmy Webb, Graham Nash, Dave Grusin, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, David Pack, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell of America, David Benoit an Marilyn Martin.

That isn’t even counting his band of all-star session musicians – bassists Nathan East (Eric Clapton, Phil Collins), Leland Sklar (James Taylor, Phil Collins, Toto), and Sean Hurley (John Mayer, Alanis Morissette), keyboardists Greg Phillinganes (Toto, Stevie Wonder, Bee Gees), and Steve Porcaro (Toto, Michael Jackson), singer Leah Kunkel (James Taylor, Art Garfunkel), multi-instrumentalist Greg Leisz (Jackson Browne, k.d. lang, Eric Clapton); harmonica by songwriter Jack Tempchin (Eagles, Glenn Frey), drummers Nic Collins (Genesis, Phil Collins), Jake Reed (Katy Perry, Laufey) and Steve Gadd (Paul Simon, Eric Clapton).

However, for all the guest star wattage, this project is very much Stephen Bishop’s vision. None of the visiting players hijack any of the tunes. Take, for example, the opening track and first single, a reminiscence and a wry love song to his mother, “Now That I’ve Hit The Big Time,” which features subtle backing vocals from Sting and a graceful guitar line from Eric Clapton. With big names like that playing on the song, you’d expect them to stand out more, but this album is about the songcraft, not personal showiness.

Considered one of the stars of “yacht rock” (although I hate that term!), Bish sounds terrific here with some of the greats of that “genre.” Michael McDonald and David Pack (lead singer of Ambrosia) add gorgeous vocal support to the pretty acoustic ballad “One More Night.”

The samba-vibed “Under the Rainbow” also hits some gorgeous heights with the help of Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross and Marilyn Martin (who had sung the hit version of Bishop’s “Separate Lives” with Phil Collins all those years ago). Gerry Buckley and Dewey Bunnell of America add sweet harmonies to the sweet love ballad “Really Loving You.” Other standout tracks include the plaintive “She’ll Always Be My Girl” with Graham Nash and the sweet nostalgia of “Only the Heart Within You,” which is garnished by gorgeous vocals by Art Garfunkel and Leah Kunkle.

The only one of Bishop’s hit songs which is revisited here is “It Might Be You,” which is recast as a jazzy quiet storm ballad recorded with the song’s co-writer and fellow musician Dave Grusin providing a tasteful keyboard bed for the tune. And while it is just lovely, honestly it doesn’t improve on the original recording, in fact I doubt anyone will prioritize listening to this new version over the old single.

However, overall this is a strong collection of songs. So if Stephen Bishop is really hanging it up after THIMK – and there is no reason to believe that he won’t, unless he maybe misses the studio after some time off – this is a good way to sign out.

Jay S. Jacobs

#Stephen Bishop #2025 #Music Reviews #THIMK #Jay S. Jacobs #Youtube

The Bongos – The Shroud of Touring – Live in 1985 (JEM)

While the alt-rocking power pop band The Bongos – featuring singer/guitarist Richard Barone, bassist Rob Norris, drummer Frank Giannini and guitarist James Mastro – became heavy cult favorites, they never quite broke out to become stars.

Since they were always known for their concert chops, 40 years ago, the band recorded a show in Sea Bright at the Jersey shore, which was supposed to be their first live album on RCA Records. This was probably the heights of the band’s popularity. They were touring to support their 1985 album Beat Hotel and also featured songs from their 1982 debut Drums Along the Hudson and the 1983 follow-up EP “Numbers With Wings.”

Somehow, it took 40 years for these recordings to get released, and shockingly, it is still the band’s first official live album. although in some other live songs from a different Jersey shore gig that summer were released to streaming. Still, for a band which has been going on and off for 40 years, it’s kind of shocking this is the first serious shot of live Bongos to be released. (Several of these performances were also released on the band’s YouTube channel last year, as well as the 40th anniversary release of “Numbers With Wings.”)

It's good to see this show finally getting its due, because The Bongos were a great live unit (and still are, I just saw them a few years ago). With melodic and guitar drenched rockers like “Zebra Club,” “Glow in the Dark,” and the new-wave edged “Telephoto Lens,” it’s kind of shocking that The Bongos never became as big as The Cars. The album closes with a hot shot of the stuttering “Numbers with Wings” and “Beat Hotel.”

It’s decades late, but it’s a damned good thing that these performances are finally seeing the light of day. Hopefully, it will inspire people to track down the band’s catalogue.

Jay S. Jacobs

#The Bongos #2025 #Music Review #The Shroud of Touring - Live in 1985 #Jay S. Jacobs #Youtube

YACHT ROCK: A DOCKUMENTARY (2024)

Featuring Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, Steve Lukather, David Paich, Gary Katz, Jay Graydon, David Pack, Brenda Russell, Tom Scott, Steve Huey, J.D. Ryznar, Questlove, Fred Armisen, Mac DeMarco, Thundercat, Prince Paul, Brian Robert Jones, Bethany Cosento, Molly Lambert, Rob Tannenbaum, Amanda Petrusich, Steven Hyden, Alex Pappademas, Jason King and Garret Price.

Directed by Garret Price.

Distributed by MAX Films. 95 minutes. Rated TV-MA.

I truly hate the term “Yacht Rock” and the whole concept behind it. It’s just a snarky and mocking term, made up long after the fact, which tries to mash together some vaguely similar musicians in a way that makes the music look funny, out of touch and just a bit cheesy. You can even see the jeering in the subtitle of this documentary – a “dockumentary,” indeed.

That said, I unapologetically love much of the music which is considered yacht rock. Much of the music and many of the artists covered in this film are fantastic. Because of that this film is definitely worth watching. And, for better or worse, the popularity of the yacht rock format has brought a lot of very worthy artists and songs back to the public consciousness.

Of course, there seems to be a lot of disagreement as to what constitutes yacht rock. For example, in this documentary one of the architects of the term tries to explain why, in his opinion, The Doobie Brothers, Christopher Cross and Toto are yacht rock, and yet Hall & Oates, Fleetwood Mac and Eagles are “nyacht” rock. You just want to punch the dude in his smug, glib, self-satisfied face.

However, even if it is for the wrong reasons, it is obvious that the creators of yacht rock – which came to be after a group of comedians made a web series in the early 2000s which both celebrated and simultaneously made fun of the music – do have an appreciation for the makers of the songs they have championed. And if the affectations of yacht rock – the plummy upper-class accents, the captain’s hats, the yachts themselves – really have little to do with the music or the artists, it is getting the songs out there.

That’s not nothing.

So, even if it is not taken all that seriously, the Yacht Rock documentary shares some fascinating insights from such artists as Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, members of Toto, members of Steely Dan and many others. These interviews are rarely less than fascinating, and do take the music seriously, even if the made-up “genre” doesn’t really.

Lots of the artists who are considered yacht rock have complicated opinions about the “genre.” David Pack of Ambrosia considered it a bit of a back-handed insult. Christopher Cross originally was uncomfortable with the term but has realized that being connected with it has helped his sales and his career, so he’s made peace with the term. Michael McDonald on the other hand has just taken it with good-natured amusement from the very beginning.

Still, the basic idea of the importance of yacht rock is best exemplified during a brief audio discussion with Steely Dan’s Don Fagen at the end of the documentary.

The music is pretty amazing, though, and Yacht Rock: A Documentary does entertain royally, even if you don’t buy into the basic concept.

Jay S. Jacobs

#Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary #2024 #Music Review #Michael McDonald #Jay S. Jacobs #Youtube

STOP MAKING SENSE (1983)

Featuring David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth, Jerry Harrison, Steve Scales, Lynn Mabry, Ednah Holt, Alex Weir and Bernie Worrell.

Directed by Jonathan Demme.

Distributed by A24. 88 minutes. Rated PG.

“And you may ask yourself, ‘Well, how did I get here?’”

How did the world get so lucky to see Stop Making Sense, the Talking Heads film that is arguably the best concert movie of all time – at the very least, it’s in the top handful – anew on an IMAX screen with spectacular remastered sound? Particularly after decades of having to watch it on small TVs or computers or pads or (shudder) cell phones?

Brought back into theaters in honor of the 40th anniversary of the film, seeing Stop Making Sense on the big screen again after so long is (once again) a revelation. We see the majesty of the vision of Talking Heads and director Jonathan Demme in which they make what can be the most static and dull of film genres – the concert film – suddenly come alive with magic and whimsy.

It doesn’t hurt that the music is jamming (this was from the tour for the band’s biggest hit album Speaking in Tongues), the playing is oh so tight, and the choreography is off the hook.

This is one of those rare concert films that not only makes you wish that you were there for the show – but it makes you feel like you were there.

And considering that this was from the last extended tour by Talking Heads – they released three albums over the next five years after this, but never again toured before sort of unofficially ceasing to be in 1989, (they never really officially broke up, but never got back together other than a few occasional one-offs over the decades) – this is about as good as it is going to get for people who want to watch this pioneering band live.

Which is good because Stop Making Sense is sort of a deconstruction of a traditional concert. The four band members come on one at a time, with each of the first four songs. The roadies and lighting and sound techs are still onstage building the sets as these early songs are being performed. This puncturing of the fourth wall is undeniably fascinating, not only enjoying the performances but seeing the magic behind the curtain.

Lead singer David Byrne starts things off with an unhinged acoustic guitar and boombox performance of their earliest single, “Psycho Killer.” Then bassist Tina Weymouth joins Byrne onstage for a gorgeous take on “Heaven.” Chris Frantz comes up with them for the third song, “Thank You For Sending Me an Angel.” Jerry Harrison comes up for song number four, “Found a Job.”

By the time the group hits the wildly soulful “Slippery People” and the band’s biggest hit “Burning Down the House,” all of the other live performers – including the legendary funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell and some shockingly good backing singers, are filling the stage, mixing wild choreography with some spectacular singing and playing.

And of course, you can’t forget David Byrne’s big suit.

The music and wild dancing slay, including the quirky jogging in place movements of “Life During Wartime” (Byrne actually eventually jogs around the stage multiple times) and the deep South blues of “Swamp.” There is the sweet romantic optimism of “This Must Be the Place (Naïve Medley)” and the neo-evangelical favorite “Once in a Lifetime” and even a throbbing version of Frantz and Weymouth’s side project Tom Tom Club’s hit single “Genius of Love.”

By the time the show climaxes with the spectacularly soulful “Girlfriend is Better” (the song that lends this film its title, the group’s quirky rethink of Al Green’s gospel favorite “Take Me To the River” and a wild “Crosseyed and Painless,” the band and the audience are in a sweaty fervor.

Sorry for the superlatives but Stop Making Sense is pretty much perfect.

Jay S. Jacobs

#Talking Heads #Stop Making Sense #2023 #Music Review #Jay S. Jacobs #Youtube

SPINNING GOLD (2023)

Starring Jeremy Jordan, Wiz Khalifa, Jason Isaacs, Jason Derulo, Jay Pharoah, Michelle Monaghan, Dan Fogler, Sebastian Maniscalco, Winslow Fegley, Ledisi, Sam Harris, Caylee Cowan, Chris Redd, James Wolk, Tayla Parx, Lyndsy Fonseca, Peyton List, Pink Sweats, Casey Likes, Alex Gaskarth, Michael Ian Black and Vincent Pastore.

Screenplay by Timothy Scott Bogart.

Directed by Timothy Scott Bogart.

Distributed by Hero Entertainment. 137 minutes. Rated R.

Neil Bogart was a larger-than-life legend in the music business, even if very few people other than music nerds like me still have a clue who he was.

Bogart ran Casablanca Record and Filmworks, which after a very rocky start became the most successful independent record label of the 1970s. Bogart worked with and/or discovered such acts as KISS, Donna Summer, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Bill Withers, The Village People, Parliament/Funkadelic and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. He worked hard, lived hard, partied hard. He ran up monumental debts and threw legendary parties. He ran afoul of music biz execs and the mob. All of that before dying way too young at 39 of cancer.

It's a fascinating, under-explored story about the highs and the lows of the music business in its glory days. Bogart’s son Tim has long felt that it was important to tell his dad’s story and has been working to get his dad’s story on film since the 1990s. (Early on, Justin Timberlake was in talks to portray Bogart, although eventually he had to drop out because his musical schedule was packed, and he could not fit it in.)

Now, finally, after decades of waiting, Tim Bogart has gotten his father’s life story onscreen. He did it in a way that his own dad would appreciate – going the independent route and taking on the tough work (screenwriting and directing) himself, and basically willing it into existence.

“Getting that story out… is… moving for me,” Bogart told me in a recent interview. “I do think this is a great parallel in the perseverance and the dream I had in making it.”

Bogart has captured a fascinating look back at the wild west days of the old music world, sex, drugs and rock & roll back when it was safe and normal. Like many recent music biopics, Spinning Gold is a mix of hard reality and fanciful romanticization. Sometimes it feels like a serious gangster drama of the 1970s, at other times a jukebox musical with some damn good music provided by current singers playing the legends of days past.

While most of the celeb singers have the voices to pull off the roles, they mostly look almost nothing like the performers they are playing, such as Donna Summer, Gladys Knight and Bill Withers. Also, a personal note to Wiz Khalifa, in 1976 almost no one had nose piercings, not even someone as wild and funky and willfully out there as George Clinton. So you may want to take those things out when portraying a real-life character from another era.

However, I suppose this is not supposed to be a tribute act. The song is the thing, and mostly the re-recordings of legendary hits of the 1970s work surprisingly well.

Holding it all together – the ringleader of the film portraying the ringleader of Casablanca – is Broadway and TV star Jeremy Jordan (Newsies, Little Shop of Horrors, Supergirl) who can access both Bogart’s showmanship and hard-nosed determination. It’s a fascinating bit of myth-building.

“That was kind of Neil's vibe,” Jordan told me in that same interview. “He just wanted to make you dance and wanted to entertain. He was a showman.

“He's writing his own ending, and it is really kind of beautiful and magical and different in that way,” Jordan continued. “We don't feel tied to ultra reality, and this is the exact perfect way that this happened. It doesn't have to be [real] because it was sex, drugs, rock and roll. It was the journey as opposed to the actual truth of it all.”

You could say that about the 1970s in general.

Spinning Gold is spinning some fascinating tales of life on the periphery of superstardom and the high you reach by going all in and creating some genre-defining art. Plus, it’s got a great beat, and you can dance to it. What more can you ask?

Jay S. Jacobs

#Spinning Gold #2023 #Music Review #Jeremy Jordan #Jay S. Jacobs

Ken Sharp – I’ll Remember the Laughter (Jet Fighter)

Back in the day, when an artist could not fit all the goodies they had stored up on a single slab of vinyl, they would release a two-record set. The latest collection by pop/rock anthropologist Ken Sharp is an embarrassment of riches. It wouldn’t even fit in a two-record set, at 50 tunes it’s more like a three-record set or a box set.

The album title I’ll Remember the Laughter is rather apt because laughter is not the only thing this brace of tunes will make you remember. It is a stylistic traipse through the history of 60s and 70s AM/FM radio (with a little 80s and beyond mixed in for good measure).

Sharp has grown a cult audience for his sharp pop songwriting skills and on-point understanding of popular (and also obscure) music of the past. Taking a sonic trip through I’ll Remember the Laughter is like coming across a transistor radio from the multiverse; an alt-history of songs that could have, should have and would have been hits in the glory days of Top 40 radio, only if they had just been recorded in time.

It is a place where Todd Rundgren rubs elbows with T. Rex, The Knack hangs out with Hall & Oates, and The Raspberries had the kind of career that merited inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The styles of I’ll Remember the Laughter are all over this place – and I mean that in the best possible way. From the bluesy shredding of “No More Silver Linings,” the strutting bubblegum pop/soul of “42nd Street” to the catchy prog of “Halyx Rising (Lora’s Song)” to the sunshine pop of “Dennis” to the soulful lament “Cracking This Heart of Stone,” the album is a primer of musical styles and feels.

“Lightning Crash” feels like an old lost Cheap Trick fave, while “Shut Out the Lights” rides on a Clapton-esque guitar line. “Ghetto Child” (not to be mixed up with the Spinners classic of the same name) does share that song’s Philly International soulful vibe, as does the sweet intro to “Are You a Lover or a Fighter?” which eventually moves into more of a blue-eyed soul feel. “Between the Lines” on the other hand, pulls from the paisley underground school of The Dream Syndicate and The Bangles.

Beyond Sharp’s sharp originals, I’ll Remember the Laughter also offers some adventurous and intriguing covers. There is a swinging version of The Who’s “The Kids are Alright” and two (count ‘em) covers of songs from a semi-obscure pre-superstardom album by 80s pop/rock icon Rick Springfield of “Jessie’s Girl” fame. (Springfield adds some tasty backing vocals to Sharp’s recordings of his songs.) However, possibly the greatest cover is a stunningly catchy version of “Girl,” which is remembered in pop culture as the song which Davy Jones performed in his guest appearance on The Brady Bunch.

So, if you miss the glory days of pop radio, where diverse styles rubbed shoulders in a mind-boggling array of music – with the only true through line being that most of it was one hell of an earworm – you can recreate that sensation with I’ll Remember the Laughter.

Jay S. Jacobs

#Ken Sharp #2023 #music review #I'll Remember the Laughter #Jay S. Jacobs

I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY (2022)

Starring Naomi Ackie, Stanley Tucci, Nafessa Williams, Tamara Tunie, Ashton Sanders, Clarke Peters, Bria Danielle Singleton, Daniel Washington, Kris Sidberry, Marilyn Swick, Naheem Garcia, Greg Roman, Alana Monteiro, Heidi Garza, Tanner Beard, Jennifer Ellis, JaQuan Malik Jones, Alexa Renée, Courtney Caruso, Dave Heard, Rob Lévesque and Lance A. Williams.

Screenplay by Anthony McCarten.

Directed by Kasi Lemmons.

Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. 146 minutes. Rated PG-13.

Whitney Houston had a fascinating, exciting, tragic, complex life. There is a whole lot of stuff that went on in her life – both the highs and the lows – probably more than can be explored in a movie. Even a relatively long two-and-a-half-hour movie.

I Wanna Dance With Somebody rushes through the years; the accomplishments, the dramas, the scandals, the complications and the early death of arguably the defining singing voice of her generation, giving the film the feel of a greatest hits medley. However, many of those hits are pretty terrific, so it’s often very entertaining. You just never feel like you’re getting the whole song.

Interestingly, I Wanna Dance With Somebody seems to revolve around a single performance of Houston’s – a live medley of “I Loves You Porgy” “And I’m Telling You That I’m Not Going” and “I Have Nothing” which she did on the 1994 American Music Awards. The film starts and ends on the performance, and also mentions it several times throughout the run of the film as proof that Houston was the greatest voice of her time.

I’m not going to lie, I’ve never heard of this particular performance, and while it was stunningly performed (the film uses Houston’s vocals over the lip syncing by star Naomi Ackie) I’m not sure it was the most memorable performance in Houston’s career, not by a long shot.

And that is what I Wanna Dance With Somebody does best – reminding us of Houston’s music and performances, all with newly remixed and powerful sound.

Actress Ackie does a terrific job in portraying the different eras of Houston’s life – recreating performances, capturing her cadences and attitudes (although she doesn’t exactly look like Houston) and capturing her highs and lows.

It falls into a pretty standard music biofilm structure – the rise and fall of a terrific performer, from obscurity to the top of the world, touching on many milestones and showing the temptations of great fame.

As an officially sanctioned biofilm, I Wanna Dance With Somebody slightly pulls its punches on some of the darker aspects of her life. For example, they toy with the longtime gossip that Houston was gay or bi, and possibly involved with her longtime best friend Robin (Nafessa Williams), teasing the possibility of a relationship – even showing them cohabitation, kissing and Robin getting jealous – before pulling away from the possibility quickly and pretty definitively, coyly suggesting that maybe they were mainly just besties after all.

They also have ex-husband Bobby Brown played in a cartoonishly stupid way, almost feeling like a Chris Rock parody of the guy. Now, no one has ever claimed that Bobby Brown was a deep, thoughtful guy, but I have to believe that he was not the gangsta Casanova loser they play him off as. After all, even the film Whitney acknowledges that the drug addiction that ended up taking her life was not Brown’s fault and he got too much blame for it. (Although, in fairness, he certainly didn’t help…)

Also, super producer Clive Davis (as played by Stanley Tucci) is played out as an exceedingly sweet, magnanimous, supportive force in Whitney’s life. Maybe that is even true, but it’s hard to believe that in a relationship that lasted for well over three decades that there wasn’t some acrimony between them ever. However, the super-nice Clive may just be explained by the fact that Davis is one of the producers of the film.

Also, much like Davis, occasionally the film tends to reduce the diva to her sales figures. In the end credits chyron talking about her life, career and death, they make a point to say how she was the only woman to ever to be diamond-certified three times (her 1985 debut album, 1987’s Whitney and the 1992 The Bodyguard soundtrack). Now, I’m a music nerd, so I know what diamond-certified means (ten million albums sold, also known as ten-times platinum), but I’m pretty sure that stat will go right over the head of most casual fans. More to the point, is it really fair to reduce Houston’s career to units sold, or even awards she won, which the end credit chyron also lists faithfully?

Whitney Houston was much more complicated than that. And while I Wanna Dance With Somebody tries its best to capture the essence of Whitney, it comes off a bit more like the Cliff Notes version of her life. It hits on most of the highlights and lowlights, but it doesn’t explore most of them deeply enough. Perhaps this would have worked better as a limited series for TV or streaming, where the story and characters would have room to breathe and get more in depth.

But, man, what a soundtrack. Just hearing these songs again in full cinema sound is definitely worth the price of a ticket.

Jay S. Jacobs

#I Wanna Dance With Somebody #2022 #Movie Review #Whitney Houston #Jay S. Jacobs #Music Review

WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY (2022)

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson, Toby Huss, Julianne Nicholson, Quinta Brunson, David Bloom, Spencer Treat Clark, Dot-Marie Jones, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Will Forte, Scott Aukerman, James Preston Rogers, Tommy O'Brien, Nina West, Arturo Castro, Conan O'Brien, Jack Black, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, Demetri Martin, Paul F. Tompkins, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Patton Oswalt, Thomas Lennon and Nat Faxon.

Screenplay by “Weird Al” Yankovic and Eric Appel.

Directed by Eric Appel.

Distributed by Roku Originals. 108 minutes. Not Rated.

Screened at the 2022 Philadelphia Film Festival.

I’m not big on superlatives and I find it hard to believe I’m about to write this, but Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is the funniest film comedy I’ve seen all year. By a long shot.

Now I know that sounds strange. And before you ask, no I’m not a Weird Al superfan, although I like him well enough. (Who doesn’t?) I’ve never seen (or had much urge to see) his previous attempt at film stardom with UHF, although I have heard relatively good things about it over the years.

And yet, I say it again – Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is absolutely hysterical.

As you may get from the title, it is a takeoff on the traditional rock and roll bio pics, although it is very, very loosely based on the life of Yankovic. Or, as it is described online: “The unexaggerated true story about the greatest musician of our time. From a conventional upbringing where playing the accordion was a sin, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic rebels and makes his dream of changing the words to world-renowned songs come true. An instant success and sex symbol, Al lives an excessive lifestyle and pursues an infamous romance that nearly destroys him.”

This deviation from pure fact is what makes it so funny. Imagining the goofy, good-natured, teetotaling novelty singer Yankovic as a surly drunken rock star is comedy gold. And imagining a world where a man can conquer the rock charts with a Hawaiian shirt, an accordion and a dream – to make up funny words to other people’s songs – is just so weird that it can only be true. Or true-ish.

I mean come on, just the idea alone of Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter) playing Weird Al is meta enough to blow your mind. And he does a damned good job of it, too.

And I haven’t even mentioned the Pablo Escobar and Madonna connections, nor when (according to Weird), Michael Jackson plagiarized Al’s magnum opus.

It’s silly, it’s stupid and it’s undeniably funny.

Weird Al himself even has a bit part as one of the Scotti Brothers, the record label owners who signed him and released his early records. (Other Scotti Bros. acts which became marginal stars included Survivor, John Paul Young, John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band and Leif Garrett.)

One slight caveat... Weird: The Al Yankovic story was made as an original production for the new streaming machine Roku, which very few people have, so it may take some work to track the movie down. You can stream it on Roku’s website as well. More to the point, having seen it on a big screen at the Philadelphia Film Festival with a hysterical crowd (and Weird Al in the house), I realize that a theater is the way that it should be seen. (With or without Weird Al.) Weird is a film that works a lot better as a community experience than it would sitting alone watching it at home. They really should have given it a brief theatrical release.

But see it any way that you can. It’s that funny.

Jay S. Jacobs

#Weird: The Al Yankovic Story #2022 #Music Review #Weird Al Yankovic #jay s. jacobs

Meghan Trainor – Takin’ It Back (Epic)

Since her debut single “All About That Bass” struck the airwaves in 2014, Meghan Trainor has been a hit. Meghan was born in Massachusetts in 1993, going on to independently record and release acoustic various albums before writing songs for other performers starting in 2013.

In 2014, Meghan signed with Epic Records and released “All About That Bass” – the song that made her a household name. She has gone on to release four studio albums and will be releasing her fifth titled Takin’ It Back on October 21st, 2022!

I was lucky enough to listen to the album cover to cover and loved every song, minute, and note!

Takin’ It Back is the perfect album for anyone who has recently gone through a breakup or simply needs a boost of confidence. Meghan’s lyrics mixed with the uplifting and pop-centered instrumentals blend perfectly to create everyone’s next getting-ready-for-a-girls’-night-out playlist.

The album is filled to the brim with everything from empowering anthems to romantic ballads, and even some catchy club songs. There is absolutely something for everyone on Takin’ It Back and I stand by that!

I’m also excited to see if this album release leads to an upcoming tour because these songs were clearly written to be performed, as they both invoke emotion and have lots of music layers to them – from melodic horn sections to even an acapella track. Meghan’s versatility as an artist is what makes her the brilliant artist that she is because fans never fully know what to expect next from her.

The album touches on the themes of healing, nostalgia, positivity, empowerment, self-awareness, and self-love. Another theme touched on is the harsh reality of social media, and that life isn’t all sunshine and roses, but you can learn to navigate and block out all of the noise.

Meghan’s retro musical influences are very apparent, setting the vibe and making the album that much catchier. I believe Takin’ It Back will be another milestone in Meghan’s career, soon to become an instant classic!

Make sure to check out Takin’ It Back on October 21st, streaming on all platforms and available for purchase at retailers near you!

Kayla Marra

#Meghan Trainor #2022 #Music Review #Takin' It Back #Kayla Marra

NOTHING COMPARES (2022)

Featuring Sinéad O’Connor, Jeannette Byrne, Paul Byrne, Mike Clowes, Bill Coleman, Chuck D, Fr. Brian D’Arcy, John Grant, Kate Garner, Margo Harkin, Roisin Ingle, Dr. Sinéad Kennedy, Clodagh Latimer, Claire Lewis, John Maybury, Peaches, Marco Pirroni, John Reynolds, Elaine Schock, Skin and Jerry Stafford.

Written by Eleanor Emptage, Kathryn Ferguson and Michael Mallie.

Directed by Kathryn Ferguson.

Distributed by Showtime. 96 minutes. Not Rated.

The Sinéad O’Connor documentary Nothing Compares starts with one of the more horrific moments in an often-tragic life.

It took place soon after the Irish vocalist started a media firestorm while performing on Saturday Night Live, where after doing a passionate a capella rendition of Bob Marley’s protest song “War,” O’Connor said to the camera, “Fight the real enemy” and ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II. (At the time of the incident, SNL head honcho Lorne Michaels banned O’Connor from the show and swore that the footage of the performance would never be seen again, however it has been trotted out often over the years – and is included yet again in this documentary.)

Anyway, soon afterwards, O’Connor had been invited to an all-star celebration of Bob Dylan’s 30 years in music. All of the guest singers were performing Dylan songs in honor of the show’s host. Kris Kristofferson introduced O’Connor, “I’m real proud to introduce this next artist whose name became synonymous with courage and integrity. Ladies and gentlemen, Sinéad O’Connor.” and the New York crowd turned on her – booing her lustily to the point that she could not even get her song (which was supposed to be Dylan’s 1979 tune “I Believe in You”) out. She stood silently at the microphone for a while, but the booing just got worse. Finally she spat out another angry rendition of Marley’s “War” and stalked offstage.

What was it about O’Connor – a woman who was smart, principled, passionate, giving, progressive, professional and both fierce and damaged at the same time – which brought out these intense reactions?

Nothing Compares tries, mostly successfully, to explain this. It also does a good job of showing how O’Connor was ahead of her time – both as a musician and as a human rights activist. It also shows that beyond all other things, she was a scared former victim of abuse who was in way over her head in a world she wasn’t even sure she wanted to be a part of.

Nothing Compares mostly focuses on the years 1987 to 1993, the supernova part of O’Connor’s early career when she released her first three albums – The Lion and the Cobra (1987), I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990) and the all-covers album Am I Not Your Girl? It was also the period of time when – for better or worse (and sometimes both) – O’Connor was a regular in the rock and tabloid press.

If you lived through the 1980s and 90s, you probably remember it well. O'Connor went from a talented, sensitive alt-rock chick to a superstar who had had to deal with a million-selling single and the apparent inability to follow it up. Then she had to deal with the “Star-Spangled Banner” incident, the bald chick jokes, the Pope controversy, getting lustily booed off the stage at the Garden, a failed suicide attempt and even the threat of an ass-kicking from Ol’ Blue Eyes. (And, this documentary shows, also the threat of a beatdown from Joe Pesci.)

O’Connor, speaking now with years of hindsight, acknowledges that she never got into music for money and stardom. In fact, she considered it a form of therapy, and if no one ever heard it, she was fine with that. Early on, when she got critical acclaim and a certain amount of notice for her debut album and her first single “Mandinka,” her life was mostly in control. She married young, had a baby, toyed with acting and was able to mostly live her own life. Even her dramatic fashion sense and look was not to get attention, it was just an expression of her individuality.

Of course, all this changed when O’Connor recorded a fairly obscure song by musical icon Prince called “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which the songwriter had written for the debut album of a short-lived group on his label called The Family, which was a spinoff of The Time. “Nothing Compares” wasn’t even the single from The Family album, it was a song called “The Screams of Passion.” It was an album track on a barely noticed record. And O’Connor’s sparse and emotional cover made the song her own – and became a number one single internationally.

It seemed odd that throughout the film they have lots of O’Connor’s music throughout the film, with the exception of her one huge hit single, the one song she is known best for. Then a chyron over the end credits explains ‘The Prince Estate denied use of Sinéad’s recording of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ in this film.” In fact, O’Connor’s entire, somewhat fraught relationship with the late music superstar who wrote her biggest hit is completely ignored, to the point that the film never even mentions that it was Prince who wrote the song until that quick disclaimer at the end of the film.

Other tragedies in her life were also skirted over or not mentioned, like her attempted suicide attempt and her son’s later problems with mental illness and drugs which led to his death. This last thing happened years after the thrust of the film, however at the end Nothing Compares does flash forward to the present day for a performance and also to celebrate the large part O’Connor played in getting abortion legalized in her home of Ireland – and her difficulties with her son was certainly a defining part of her life.

However, I can see why O’Connor would not want to discuss these horrible situations and I cannot totally blame director Kathryn Ferguson for not pushing these subjects. Nothing Compares is more of a celebration of a quirky, groundbreaking career and a woman’s principled (if sometimes a little exasperating) refusal to be what the machine wanted from her.

And it is good to see that despite all of the hardships she has had through her life – whether self-caused or through wild fate – Sinéad O’Connor seems to have become a rather well-grounded and somewhat content adult. Also, Nothing Compares proves that she was never just a one-hit-wonder. Even without her biggest hit, there is some fantastic music here that still feels groundbreaking 30 years on.

Jay S. Jacobs

#Sinead O'Connor #2022 #music videos #Nothing Compares #Jay S. Jacobs

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