maugorn / Random Reviews (Reply)

This album is as good and better than it sounds. Your average "tribute album" doesn't usually have the input and inside info from "The guy who made it happen". In a setting like this you would expect a "legendary lead guitarist" to just pick the songs that let him show off. Don't get me wrong there's puhlenty of Jimmy Page shredding the fretboard. The shredding, for the most part is not quite as mindblowing as some of their early bootlegs and film footage- but Jimmy Page, getting old and tired and coming off of years of abuse and rehab and not on his A game is "STILL OMFG that is GOOD GUITAR" I'm serious, if you like Jimmy Page shredding his fretboard you'll love this album. But even for me, a total guitar head, that's only part of the treat of the album. Mr Page was also a phenomenal producer and conceptualiser and at Led Zeppelin's best, alot of their tracks featured some really thick and excellent overdubs. With the very competent aid of The Black Crows, alot of this music didn't have to be compressed arrangement-wise just because they were live. Nope they could bring these arrangements to life, because right there, along with Jimmy, TWO OTHER EXCELLENT GUITARISTS were on that stage. Hell, the whole band gets huge kudos for this. They took some of the cornerstone music of classic rock and nailed it to the wall without ever sounding trite, canned or derivative, like most cover bands. Maybe it's not like a Zeppelin Concert in '73 with Jimmy cloned and playing with two other of himself on stage. We'll never know what that could be like. But these Zeppelin Songs are vibrant and lush like you've never heard them live before, I'll tell you what. Add that to the fact that the lead singer can do a superb Robert Plant imitation, and you'll listen to this album and curse that you weren't there to hear it at full tilt.

Two highlights for me were "In My Time Of Dying" which was just mind-exploding, and "Your Time Is Gonna Come". They NAILED that organ solo at the beginning, and just when you thought it couldn't get any better, that two beat drum and guitar intro grabs you by the spine and pineal gland, and I double dog dare you to try and sit still and NOT air drum into the main part of the song.

I was trying to be jaded at first because the first song or so weren't quite earth shatteringly impressive, especially since, as I mentioned, Jimmy doesn't fill his huge shoes out quite the way he used to. But then the rest of the two discs came along and I was hooked and dragged for the next 120 minutes. The first song, therefore, was probably still a "soundcheck" and they waited to cut loose until they knew they had it all right. One other little "second guess" I might have done was to turn up the other guitars just a little bit in the mix. But live, that might not have been an issue. I also wonder if the state of the art in digital recording might not have been utilised or if perhaps Mr Page didn't oversee the mixdown. Even on vinyl, old Zeppelin recordings have a punch and clarity that this sometimes didn't quite catch.

But WTF? This was done live and, like I said, I was hooked for two hours during which I had a very hard time concentrating because I was "rockin' out" like we used to when this stuff was new and fresh.
I am SO glad this album was made. A whole lot of young people are going to be turned on to some genius in rock music composition (hell, ANY music composition) the likes of which you rarely hear any more.
This album is both a classic and an update not to miss.

This record could get you thru a two hour stock-still traffic jam feeling fine!!!
It's so good you don't even notice that "Stairway To Heaven" isn't on it.

I was channel surfing looking for something to occupy my brain as I churned thru endless scribbling, and folding of MDFF entertainer contracts and found a quirky little gem from the late 80's. I have no idea what it was called, and would greatly appreciate any enlightenment.
It's set in the early 60's. Looks, like it's post Kennedy, '63 or so.
The movie's protagonist is an above average intelligent high school kid, a bit of a nebbishy underdog, who thru guile, quick thinking and luck, wins a dare to get himself on a local (Philadelphia)teen dance show on TV. Once there, he discovers a knack for it, and winds up partnered with the "popular girl" because her motorbike-riding James Dean wannabe boyfriend is in trouble again.

She uses our Hero's naivete at first so that she can keep seeing her ne'er-do-well sweetie, but eventually falls for our Hero too. Our hero also discovers that that Biker-guy's aspirations to being an actor aren't so off base, and doesn't blow his cover that alot of his toughness is chutzpah and a not too unlikeable charisma combined with a crazy streak.

Several of the characters in this movie are quite over the top and the script and performances manage somehow to keep them from being two dimensional caricatures.

We're treated to a nifty counterpoint to the story thru High School literature class, and shown a not-too flattering dichotomy between "screen" and "theatre" actors.

But the movie as it's essence is fully played out, is really is about breaking down these boundaries and presenting us with the possibility that intelligence, enlightenment, common sense, pop culture, and life in the US DON'T have to be the contradiction that the 50's and modern Conservatism say it must be.

One of the beautiful things about the 60's was the blossoming of intelligence as well as creativity, and what tickled me the most about it was that just when you thought the ending was sad and our hero's identity would remain incomplete, and the banality that ruled the beginning of the movie would return as life "returned to normal" for the Hero, the ending is salvaged as his best friend plays him _Highway 61 Revisited_. Banality is thwarted and our Hero's universe is changed for the better with the arrival of Bob Dylan!

COOL!

Not everyone liked this film. I did. I like Peter Jackson's take on the story, and also how much of the original look, feel and story he kept intact. And the stuff he added- I liked that too.
I grow weary of movies where the story is slave to the "Short American Attention Span".
Bah! Phooey! If you're gonna make an Epic, let it unfold as one, I'll be there.
(just give me the occasional bathroom or meal break)

The effects were impressive, and very convincing. And I was actually convinced that a real bond formed between the Ape and the Heroine. That wasn't quite so convincing in the original.

Bravo! Peter.

Keep doing stuff like this

So, in the continued quest to embrace the power of "Jokes as invocation", here's my latest:

So once upon this time, there was this gal that Maug found himself very attracted to. He really liked
her and he really really wanted her, but... as happens all too often, she wanted nothing to do with him.
"Maybe when Hell freezes over" she said "... but don't hold your breath". Which gave Maug a real
devilish idea. No. He didn't construct a "freeze ray" driven by the power of a dozen suns, nor did he
hold his breath until she relented.

What Maug did was to go and sell his soul to Santa. (Yes SANTA, it's spelled right)
He offered to work for Santa for all eternity in exchange for
-a million dollars
-one night with the girl of his dreams.

Santa scratched his beard and his eyes twinkled and he said:
"Hm... You know, you've just barely make the 'Good' list for 42 years running now. I'm gonna appreciate
the help, don't get me wrong, but let's be realistic here. You're not gonna get everything you want.
So, I'll give you a choice:
ONE night with that girl you like and no promises of what will happen, 'cause even *I* can't fix that.
OR.....
The One million dollars.
And either way, you're working for me from now on."

So Maug scratched *his* beard while *his* eyes twinkled and said:
"This is more than fair, Santa, Sir. And besides, if I take the cash, that means:
1) I'll be A millionaire
2) I'll work for Santa.

If I'm not mistaken, I'll be far too popular to need to worry about wasting my time on someone who's not
interested. Shoot, I may never even GET to sleep alone again! "

"You're a smart boy" said Santa, who wrote a check advancing Maug the million dollars.
"Welcome aboard! Ho! Ho! Ho!"

Maug lived happily ever after working very hard for Santa (and sometimes even using some of his own money)
helping to make nice peoples' dreams come true.