Synchronicity in action: Stoney Curtis
Two milestones occurred today – Actor Tony Curtis passed away at age 85 and The Flintstones celebrate it’s 50th anniversary.
Google dedicated it’s home page to the modern stone age family, so today my post will honor both. Even though the actor is best known in movies like “Sweet Smell of Success” and “Some Like It Hot,” he also did a cameo on the cartoon shows sixth season in 1965 as “Stoney Curtis.” Be a good “slave boy” and get the episode here.
What has any of this to do with music? Not that much actually, but the cartoon show did feature many classic musical episodes with “The Way Outs” and “The Bedrock Twitch” and even Pebbles & Bamm Bamm harmonize. My favorite has been the music of “The Beau Brummelstones.”
Dead Heart Bloom "Strange Waves"
A sense of dread hangs over “Don’t Worry For Me” and “Some Will Rise” but each track reaches deep into your musical subconscious. “Another Mistake” has a Paul Simon-like quality with acoustic guitar and bass leading a story of youthful recollections. The title track has an exotic feel, with maracas, sax, and Spanish guitar strums that sounds like a combination of The Alan Parsons Project and Love & Rockets. “Love Will Have Its Day” evokes the lonely spirit of Gordon Lightfoot. The strong compositions brimming with clear choruses and middle eights make this album a winner despite a somber tone for the most part. No filler either makes this a perfect rainy day album.
Toddstock the trailer
I learned about this event years ago through Todd Rundgren’s web site. A limited number of fans had the opportunity to spend a week in Hawaii with Todd and his family for his 60th birthday. At that time, I didn’t have the money or opportunity to take a second vacation. Well who knew they’d make a documentary about it? I truly missed out on a life changing experience. Oh well, at least I’ll be able to see the movie.
Rusty Anderson "Born On Earth"
Rusty Anderson is a guitarist with Paul McCartney’s band (along with Brian Ray) who produced an awesome debut album and now it’s followed by his sophomore effort Born on Earth. Filled with lush orchestration and solid song structure it starts with a heavy guitar bridge on the opening title track. You can definitely hear Paul’s influence on “Timed Exposure,” it’s got a sneaky hook that bursts into crunchy guitar riffage in the chorus “You’ve got a story to tell, when it’s over, timed exposure…” A few tracks get quite artistic and emotional (“Private Moon Flower” and “Under A White Star”) but remain solid rockers.
The gorgeous melodies come out when Rusty works the easy going ballads “Julia Roberts” with it’s slow shuffle, harmonica and the sunny strumming of “Where Would We Go?” But he is just as impressive when it comes to full bore guitar pop of “These Are The Days.” Unlike his boss, Rusty favors louder riffs when it suits the song. Loads of quality tunes and fans of hard driving arena pop will love this album.