Shaw Blades, The Lake House and AI

Shaw. Blades. To an 80's rock fan, these names signify not just rock, but RAWK! Tommy Shaw of Styx, Jack Blades of Night Ranger and both formerly of Damn Yankees-they are two legends of Arena Rock. In Damn Yankees, their songwriting and harmony vocals were the perfect foil for Ted Nugent's bombastic guitarwork. Outside of Damn Yankees, their strong sense of harmony still shines through.

On Influence (2007) the dynamic duo deliver a covers album in a market flooded with them. Like most covers albums, the songs focus on a specific timeperiod where the artists taste in music developed. In this case, the time is the late 60's and early 70's. A mix of folk rock (Simon & Garfunkel, Mamas and Papas), prog rock (Yes, ELP) and soft rock (Seals & Crofts, Orleans) fill out the song choices. All of the songs are tastefully produced with a focus on the intertwining vocals between the jaunty Jack Blades and the high voiced Tommy Shaw.

The highlight of the album is the opening track "Summer Breeze". Shaw / Blades play the song fairly straightforward but the passion for the song makes it stand out. A spot on cover of Yes' "Your Move" is another highlight with Tommy Shaw almost rivaling Jon Andersons' vocal range. They stay true to most of the song arrangments except for on Paul Simon's "I Am A Rock". "Rock" has a modern rock arrangement remiscent of the Foo Fighters (the similarity is so noticeable they comment on it in the liner notes).

Is Influence an outstanding covers album or the best of it's kind? No, not really. But the intentions seem honest in wanting to pay tribute to their favorite tracks and as a fan of both of them it's great to hear. Influence isn't for everyone, but if you're in the mood for some mild rockin with a bit of nostalgia then it should hit the spot.

I watched the last half of The Lake House (2006) starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock as lonely rich people who are separated by two years but send letters through a magic mailbox. Lake House is one of those movies that gives Chick Flicks a bad name, the story is extremely flawed and let's face it: in movie time, two years is not an unsurmountable gap for two people to overcome. The bomb in Speed was a better romantic device than this mailbox. All these two people had to do is Google each other in either time period and knock on the other's door to meet. If you would like to see a good movie of this type, check out Somewhere In Time (1982) with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.

The latest American Idol update, I was wrong again as Sanjaya was not booted off this week. I thought for sure his number was up when he turned in a decent performance that wasn't a joke. But Haley Scarnato's hot legs couldn't outrun her manic, unfocused performances and America sent her home. Too bad, she was the only good looking person in the whole group and I'll miss my wife's imitation of Scarnato's sudden spastic twitching in the middle of her "sexy" sauntering. So far I'm only 1 for 5 in predictions for AI, I will have to try harder next year!

Number 53

I just picked up a CD yesterday, but haven't had the chance to listen to it more than once so I'll add to my favorite CD list instead. At Number 53 is...

Bonnie Raitt - Nick of Time (1989)

Like many people, I had not heard of Bonnie Raitt until the 1990 Grammy Awards when she came out of nowhere to win multiple awards. Raitt's years of struggling under the radar suddenly paid off as she became an overnight sensation. And due to her long wait she was presented to the public fully formed, a whiskey voiced red head with a love for blues and a mean slide guitar. Raitt is still a presence on the music scene and it is all due to this disc.

Nick of Time shines due to Raitt's world worn performance and Don Was' warm, meaty production. The title song was a deserved adult contemporary hit written by Raitt about aging. Nick of Time plays the field stylistically, alternating between slinky blues / reggae ("Love Letter", "Have a Heart"), acoustic balladry ("Nobody's Girl", "I Ain't Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again") and luminously soft pop ("Cry On My Shoulder, "Too Soon To Tell"). All of this sets up the bar band blues displayed on "I Will Not Be Denied" and "Real Man". But the highlight is her version of John Hiatt's "Thing Called Love", a sh*tkicking romp that pushes Raitt's voice and guitar to its limit.

Producer Don Was became an indemand producer after Nick of Time and rightfully so. Was stamps the album with thick grooves, big drums, glowing keyboards and crisp guitars. Also, like American Idol Don Was emphasizes song choice with a selection of strong songs that highlight Raitt's voice. The Raitt / Was partnership would continue for two more excellent CD's, Luck of the Draw (1991) and Longing in their Hearts (1993) making a trilogy of very listenable blues pop rock.

The Departed, Wrestlemania 23 and AI

Time to end another gap in posts, though this will be brief as it is late at night. I finally saw the Academy Award winning best picture of 2006 The Departed. Martin Scorsese goes gangsta again but instead of testosterone driven mafia lugs in New York he depicts testosterone driven mafia lugs in Boston. All of the Scorsese touches are there (the power of ruthless men, the guy on the inside trying to get out of the mob, the tasteful classic rock soundtrack) and strong performances by all actors make this an engaging film. Matt Damon in particular shines while demonstrating his ability to play villians against his all American looks (Damon's almost as good here as he was in The Talented Mr Ripley). Meanwhile, Jack Nicholson chews up the usual amount of scenery as a mob boss. But the best actor in the movie: Cell phones. This movie had me seriously wondering if FBI / Police training now includes cells, because it was used by just about everyone on screen. Not just talking, but texting with one hand while not even looking at the phone. I can't even figure out if there is a mute button on mine.

There's nothing here that Scorsese hasn't done better elsewhere (the rampant racism is remiscent of Gangs of New York, Leo Decaprio's character is slightly Ray Liottaish) but the film maintains a high level of quality in it's storytelling and ability to raise tension. Is The Departed the best Scorsese film ever? No, but it is a strong film worth your time.

Last weekend I saw the best Wrestlemania I've seen in Wrestlemania 23. Highlights including an exciting Money in the Bank match where many wrestlers crashed and burned off ladders. The title matches were expertly done, the Undertaker and Batista started theirs as a regular match and built up to powerslams on the announce table. John Cena wisely let the veteran Shawn Michaels carry the match in their contest. Best of all, they hit all the right spots during the Donald Trump / Vince McMahon match. The sight of the Donald tackling and pummeling Vince McMahon was priceless. The shaving of McMahon was quite a sight too.

Another American Idol update, I finally got one right! I predicted Gina Clocksen would be voted off for lack of identity this week and that pretty much happened. Clocksen gave strong performances two weeks in a row and was shown the door for her trouble. ...And the Malakar Express rolls on, even a wretched version of "Cheek to Cheek" couldnt' stop him. Not even dent him, Sanjaya avoided the bottom three all together.