The College Crowd Digs Me

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Serial #1 Max Allan Collins, Gabriel Rodriguez, Ashley Wood Published January 1, 2003 Graphic Novel, 144 pages NO SPOILERS:       If you are familiar with the CSI TV show, the parlay within these pages will ring familiar, but it can sometimes be annoying.  Thankfully, the story keeps a good pace, and everything clicks and plays nicely with the mystery.  But Ripper stories, as you well know, have been done to death in all their various shades of blood splatter and knife slicings.  If you're cool with this overworked premise, you'll find this one is no worse for wear.   CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Serial  #1 (inside graphic novel)      Here we have a modern-day Jack the Ripper imitator reinacting the historic murders committed in the 1800s during a "Ripperologist" Convention.  It's kind of corny, and yet the pages hold court pretty well.  The artwork is fine, but it would have behoove...

"Fantasy" - Fantasy (1970 )       Fantasy's self-titled album is a mix of psych and prog, a little heavier on the prog side yet somehow stays mostly grounded.  There are a couple more jammier rockers, one of which is an instrumental track... "Stoned Cowboy" ... that received a lot of heavy radio play for a fairly long minute.  If Jefferson Airplane Grace Slick vocals are your thing, or perhaps if the occasional Frumpy legend  Inga Rumpf snags your swag, you'll definitely enjoy this.  And singer  Lydia Janene Miller's vocals   belie her age.  She was just 16 when she hooked up with the band to record this album.  Miller sounds like a girl who could sell seashells down by the seashore, and customers would still hit the tip jar.  Good stuff.        As for this band that called Miami home,  Fantasy's  songs often slip into some kind of art-rock wigout, and at times, sound pretty dang ambitio...

"Pretties For You" - Alice Cooper (1969 - Rei 1970 )       "Pretties For You" is an unexpected Alice Cooper psych album.  The square is a widowmaker of surprises and louies from needle drop to label.  At times, the band rubs shoulders with The Beatles and shakes hands with the early Syd Barrett Floyd the next.  It gets heavy over here and goes jazz-trippin' over there.  Everything in good measure.  The harmonies are great.  The musicianship is solid.  And conviction is the rule of the school.  Not quite the dangerous, creepy, hard-rock sound the band would later create, but there is still a delightful strangeness here that hits the sweet spot.       And lest we forget, this was the band's debut!  And what they couldn't sell in the open market, I expect, would quickly change hands in the murkier alleys.  The album may be underrated or underappreciated; I can never make up my mind about which word to c...

"After The Gold Rush" (w/ Pink Text ) - Neil Young (1970 - Rei 1976)      I'm showing this Neil Young album because it's the rare-ish 1976 reissue with pink text instead of the usual yellow-gold.  I wasn't a fly on the wall when Neil found out, but apparently, he was plenty pissed and demanded that the albums be yanked from stores PDQ.  And that's what they did.  The pink text copies were pulled from record shelves faster than you can say 'hey-hi-you!'  How many actually got out is unknown, but it's safe to say not all that many.  I mean, they're out there, but...  So I guess in the whole Rock and Roll records scheme of things, these pink-text albums are like leprechauns.  I mean, they're around, but you don't see'em very often.       Some copies are known to fetch relatively high dollars.  Over $100 from time to time.  You're probably not gonna get rich, but there's still something cool about an album, "r...

" And Paul said,  'What are you doing for the next few years?'" ~ Laurence Juber ~ Hailing from East London, but now calling L.A. home, Laurence Juber has had plenty of days playing in the sun.  With a 30-plus discography of critically acclaimed CDs under his belt, the fellow definitely knows his way around a guitar.  Juber is recognized as one of the top acoustic guitar players of all time and was once voted Guitarist of the Year .  He has received two Grammys, and his fingers have never once left his hands.  The guy can play.       Since moving to California, Juber has put his guitar stylings to good use composing or co-composing soundtracks and scores for shows as diverse as Dateline NBC, Ken Burns documentaries, and even The Brady Bunch.  Juber has added his guitar to soundtracks and dozens of films and television shows.  From "Good Will Hunting" to "Dirty Dancing."  From Eric Carmen To Harry Styles.  The man walks throu...

Sandman Mystery Theatre: Vol. 5 Dr. Death and The Night Of The Butcher Matt Wagner /Steven T. Seagle (writers) Guy Davis/Vince Locke (artists) Vertigo Comics First published April 7, 2007 Graphic Novel, 208 pages   NO SPOILERS:       This is late-1930s, early 40s crime noir.  The two stories within are dusted with a delicious pulp flavor, making them all the more fun to read.  But don't be fooled by the time era; the violence is real and in your face.  One story is about someone who determines if a person's life is worth living; the other story is about a serial killer.  Much darker than one might expect.  The words and drawings within fill your senses with a wonderfully unsettling atmosphere.  Our hero, Wesley Dodds, aka The Sandman, is a pudgy, average social businessman who solves mysteries with his wits, donning a rather clumsy gas mask and carrying a sleeping-gas gun.  No superpowers whatsoever. Sandman Mystery Theatre: Vol. 5 ...