"The Spice Of Life" by MARLENA SHAW (2005 Universal/Cadet CD Remaster - Her 1969 Cadet Records LP) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...All You've Got To Do Is Believe It..."

Released on vinyl in late 1969 in the USA on Cadet LPS-833 - Marlena Shaw's 10-track LP "The Spice Of Life" contains the monster rare groove hit "Woman Of The Ghetto" (the opening track on Side 1) and from there on in - it just doesn't let up. 

"The Spice Of Life" by MARLENA SHAW is one of those fantastic Soul LPs you don't know anything about and should - so Sixties - Funky, Bluesy, Soulful and righteous in its message. It ticks all the right boxes.

This hip little Universal CD reissue (released in the UK and Europe July 2005) on Verve/Universal 0602498818695 comes in an aesthetically cool-looking card digipak with a foldout inlay that repros the black rear sleeve and Louis McGlohan's original liner notes. The lovely BOB CRAWFORD photograph and silver feel to the front album cover art is there too (the vinyl repro of it is gorgeous to look at).

1. Woman Of The Ghetto

2. (They Call It) Stormy Monday

3. Where Can I Go

4. I’m Satisfied

5. I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel To Be Free)

6. Liberation Conversation

7. California Soul

8. Go Away Little Boy

9. Looking Thru' The Eyes Of Love

10. Anyone Can Move A Mountain

The remaster (31:32 minutes) was carried out by BOB IRWIN and JAYNE PIERUZZI at Sundazed Studios in the States and is fabulous throughout - clear, full of power, great presence - just a joy to listen to. All of the tracks were recorded at the famous Chess/Cadet 'Tel-Mar Studios' in Chicago between 1968 and 1969 with "Liberation Conversation" actually dating back to September 1966.

The big names involved here are RICHARD EVANS and a personal cult hero of mine - CHARLES STEPNEY - arrangers, songwriters and musicians. Stepney was involved in a lot of the Cadet label output - Rotary Connection, Terry Callier and The Dells and was sort of a Burt Bacharach of Soul - bringing beautiful string arrangements and cool brass fills to many songs.

Shaw's cover of T-Bone Walker's "Call It Stormy Monday" is wicked while her version of the song made famous by Nina Simone "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To be Free" ends Side 1 in real style. Ashford And Simpson provide the other huge Rare Groove hit "California Soul" - while "Go Away, Little Boy" is a Goffin-King track made famous by Steve Lawrence in 1962.

Marlena co-wrote the huge hitter "Woman Of The Ghetto" with soul heroes Bobby Miller and Richard Evans ("Liberation Conversation" is also a co-write with Bobby Miller) and it's impossible not to be moved by its funkiness and 'trying to survive' lyrics. Mellow and lovely like Dionne Warwick on a Soul tip - "Looking Through The Eyes Of Love" is a Mann-Weil song with that Gene Pitney melodrama built in. It also has staggering backing vocals with that glass-breaking sky high pitch Minnie Riperton used to get for Rotary Connection. The liner notes don't provide full musician credits - so I wonder is it her - its got to be? It ends on the anthem gospel groove to "Anyone Can Move A Mountain" written by Johnny Marks (lyrics above).

A stunner - a peach - enrich your Soul world with this little beauty...

PS: see also reviews for TERRY CALLIER - Occasional Rain, What Color Is Love and I Just Can't Stand It, Rotary Connection and Songs/Hey, Love (2LPs on 1CD) by ROTARY CONNECTION and Standing Ovation by THE DELLS (all of which have Charles Stepney connections)...

“Deception” on BLU RAY – A Review

"...This Isn't A Negotiation..." – Deception on BLU RAY

Mild-mannered accountant Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan McGregor) sits alone at his laptop in the plush boardroom of yet another New York high-rise mega-company doing employee audits. It’s 10:30 pm and he’s still working.

From out of nowhere – Jonathan is joined by the handsome and very slick Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman) – a lawyer who is clearly living a life poor McQuarry could only dream of. Bose feels sorry for the sad number cruncher - stays for a chat that soon becomes a shared spliff – joking about life (or the lack of it) as they watch the city go by on the streets down below. Next thing you know they’re playing tennis together – Jonathan sees Wyatt’s fabulous apartment – his uber babe lifestyle in city bars – his equally well-heeled work colleagues…

Then by accident at lunch in the park one afternoon – Jonathan mixes up his mobile with Wyatt’s – and that night while Wyatt is in London closing a business deal – he get’s a phonecall from a sexy female executive voice asking if "...he’s free tonight?" Jonathan soon works out that playboy Wyatt is part of a group of sex connoisseurs – powerful people enjoying anonymity and physical liaisons in plush hotels around New York because they’re on "The List". He takes a chance and soon he’s engaging in hot passion with gorgeous corporate women on "The List" who would never have looked at him twice.

But then one night in yet another hotel room - in walks a blonde girl he saw on the subway that he really liked (Michelle Williams) – and an immediate spark is lit between them. He doesn't want her to take clothes off - but talk - like normal human beings. But just as the relationships is moving away from call girl to partner – he wakes up in yet another strange room with one too many drinks taken and her naked body is missing – replaced with bloodied sheets. Then Wyatt suddenly turns up and he’s not the nice guy he once seemed. And on top of corporate blackmail - the woman Jonathan now loves - is in danger from this oily confidence man…

Directed by Marcel Laggenegger in 2008 - Mark Bomback’s razor-sharp script is brilliant – twisting and turning and constantly leading you astray. It’s helped by a trio of superbly chosen actors – McGregor as the put upon nobody who must become a somebody – Jackman as the smiling beguiling snake who knows how to press the emotional buttons in suckers – and Michelle Williams as the reluctant participant – caught up in something that gets out of hand – even murderous…

The BLU RAY picture quality is top notch – beautifully filmed to give it that silver-suit office slickness (Aspect Ratio 2.40:1). Extras include a feature length Commentary with the Director, a Making Of called “Exposing The Deception”, Deleted Scenes and a feature on the various nightclubs called “Club Sexy”. Audio is English 5.1 DTS and English 2.0 Dolby Digital - while the lone Subtitle is English SDH.

"Deception" on BLU RAY is a superb thriller with brains, cool, sexiness and angles you didn’t see coming. Play the game with this one…

“Dante’s Peak” on BLU RAY – A Review

"...Second-Best Place To Live In America..." - Dante's Peak on BLU RAY

Setting aside the ludicrous premise of a magmatic eruption in rural USA - "Dante's Peak" (if you'll forgive the volcanic pun) - is a real blast. And it's a looker on BLU RAY too.

Pierce Brosnan plays Harry Dalton of the United States Geological Survey who is sent to the sleepy town of Dante's Peak - overlooked by a dormant volcano. Four years earlier Harry lost his ladylove Mary Ann to a blast he and his pick-up truck couldn't outrun - so his bosses think him good at his job - but also over-zealous when it comes to predictions.

Harry meets the town Mayor Rachel Wando (Linda Hamilton) and her family of two kids (Jamie Renee Smith and Jeremy Foley as Lauren and Graham) and soon forms a bond with them. But Harry also finds that the town has recently been awarded the "...2nd Best Place To Live In The USA..." - and the council is eager to keep the $18 million investment of an incoming conglomerate called Blair Industries. Unfortunately they are also a little too willing to overlook the Geologist's warnings that something is going on with the wizened trees, dead wildlife and rising acidity levels in the lake beneath the waking giant. And on it goes to a jug of water shaking on a table at a town meeting and all Hell then breaking loose...

When the big bang/property destruction finally does arrive - Dante's Peak disintegrates with real special effects style and believability - Director Roger Donaldson delivering on set piece after set piece. Brosnan looks fantastic - as does Hamilton - and there's convincing chemistry between them, the kids and Nanny Ruth (Elizabeth Hoffman). Right up to the end - the tension and drama is poured on - danger coming in lava flows through the kitchen, boat trips across sulphuric acid lakes, clouds of molten ash in rotary blades and finally to a crushed car in a disused mine.

Given a budget in excess of $100 million in 1997 - the BLU RAY picture is excellent - especially when it goes to the picturesque town and surrounding mountains (idyllic). The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 rattles your speakers with explosions that will wake the neighbours. Other Audio includes French, Italian, German, Spanish and Japanese DTS-Surround 5.1 - while Subtitles include English SDH, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Korean, Latin American Spanish, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, and Traditional Mandarin.

"Dante's Peak" is a properly entertaining movie on BLU RAY with a great cast and effects that impress to this day. Boil your bottom on this little hottie...

“Centurion” on BLU RAY – A Review

"...A Soldier Of Rome Never Yields..." – Centurion on BLU RAY

A cleaved and semi-naked soldier is stumbling across a snowy tundra landscape with both of his hands tied in front of him. Quintus Dias is alone in this hostile terrain (Michael Fassbender) – and running from something far more terrifying than wild wolves eager to dig their teeth into his flesh. He’s trying to outpace a barbarous tribe called The Picts…

We now go to two weeks earlier and Quintus is in full breastplate protective uniform standing on the wooden ramparts of Inch-Tuth-Il – the Northernmost Roman Garrison in Britania 117 AD (close to Scotland). "Even the land wants us dead…" he says ominously as he looks out at the dimly lit night. A few moments later and another guerrilla raid will bring that prophecy to fruition. Soon Quintus is in their midst – face to face with their fearsome Pict leader Gorlacon (Ulrich Thomsen) and then forced to fight a woman more blood-thirsty than a vampire – a Pict warrior called Etain who kills without mercy and doesn’t speak (Olga Kurylenko). 

But Quintus escapes and links up with the legendary Ninth Legion out of York and their leader General Titus (Dominic West) - sent on a final thrust into the Northern Territories by Governor Julius (Paul Freeman) who harbours political ambitions. Betrayed by their supposedly loyal guide – disaster follows in a wood ambush – and soon Etain and her merciless Picts are hunting Quintus and a small band of survivors…

Written and Directed by Neil Marshall in 2008 – "Centurion" did bugger all business at the box office which I think is unfair to it. Sure we’ve been in this slice-and-dice territory before – but here we get great actors like Dominic West (The Wire), Paul Freeman (Raiders Of The Lost Ark), Ulrich Thomsen (Fringe and Banshee), Liam Cunningham (Game Of Thrones), Andreas Wisniewski (Die Hard and Mission Impossible) and David Morrissey (Thorne). And under all that muck and facial warpaint - we even get a double whammy of beauties – the "Quantum Of Solace" bond girl Olga Kurylenko - brilliantly cast as a mute female terminator who can smell you on the wind. Countering her is the gorgeous wild-haired Imogen Poots as a healing necromancer/witch – disfigured and cast out into the woods by her own – a wilderness that might just offer Quintus a future away from generals all too willing to sacrifice him and his men in the name of Rome’s glory…

The BLU RAY picture quality is top notch – beautifully filmed on rugged and wild mountain terrain in Autumn and Winter (night and day) to give it that mud-and-blood feel (Aspect Ratio 2.35:1). The Extras are pleasingly comprehensive - full of the actors commenting and joking on set. There's features about Blood and Gore – Stunts - purpose built villages and wooden forts - and the physical difficulty of shooting in some dangerous and inhospitable locations. Audio is English 5.1 DTS Master Audio and English Audio Description 2.0 Stereo - while the lone Subtitle is English For The Hard of Hearing.

"Centurion" wishes it was "Gladiator" and clearly isn’t (what film is). But it's a very entertaining watch and a proper blood-splattered looker on BLU RAY.

Don your Toga boys and get the Daz ready – you’re gonna get down and dirty on this one…

2014 Panasonic Viera A400 Widescreen LCD TV (50" and 42" Models) - A Review

I wanted to live with this 2014 Panasonic Viera A400 LCD Television Set (50" Model) for a few weeks before doing a review and I'm glad I did. In a nutshell - I'm really pleased with it and enjoying its huge range of facilities - but there are few things worth discussing and pointing out for prospective buyers.

Our home was previously the proud owner of a Sony BRAVIA LED 42" TV for over five years and going to another brand was going to be a gamble. So why move? The reason is price. These big televisions used to be £2000 two years ago - now the 2014 42" Panny is £350 and their 50" model is less than £500 (we actually got ours for £480 through a large retailer). That's incredible value for money for what you're getting.

The first couple of days made me feel disappointed after the clarity of the Sony - but of course it took a while for the screen to burn in and the picture quickly graduated to gorgeous. For instance the World Cup on ITV HD looks fabulous - as clear and as steady as you could hope for. But when you go back to Freeview and standard mode on Terrestrial TV - the quality naturally dips. But this will be the same on all TVs - and that's unfortunately a source problem few of us can do anything about (once you discover HD - you'll find it hard to watch anything else).

It's wide and skinny - and despite the sheer size of the outer box - deceptively light. The Panasonic has 5 Picture Aspects to choose from - Dynamic, Normal, Cinema, True Cinema and Game. I personally found anything except Dynamic too dull for my tastes. There are controls on Backlight, Contrast, Sound and even a Child Lock (and loads more). The 'Guide' Button throws up a TV Channels Menu that is easy to use and very clean once onscreen - and I personally like that the remote is small rather than long (easier to navigate). The set itself comes with its own stand (two people needed to mount it) or you can wall hang too of course (needs brackets). It searched out the channels during set-up automatically and we were off and running in minutes.

It has 2 HDMI sockets at the rear (when ideally it should be three) - so when both your DVD/BLU RAY player and your set-top box are plugged in - both HDMIs are used and there's no room for a games console. You can of course remove one HDMI lead and stick in another but that's a hassle few want. Machines with three HDMI sockets usually cost more. With regard to socket connectivity - here's what you actually get on the rear panels:

1. Digital Audio

2. Two x HDMI

3. AVI (Scart)

4. Ethernet

5. AV2 (Component / Video)

6. Terrestrial Aerial Socket

7. Headphone Jack

8. USB Port

9. CI Slot.

There is also Media Player Aspects to the television accessible via the remote. Insert a USB Flash Memory Stick and you can use Photo, Music and Movie Modes. I couldn't detect any Apps other than Freeview (I'm open to correction on this) - we get iPlayer etc. via our BLU RAY player.

The next thing to discuss is size. It depends completely on the room you're in. If you're telly room is small - then go for the 42" version of the A400 and don't think twice about it. It's truly staggering value for money and when using full 1080 HD - has a picture to die for. But if you've a room large enough to accommodate the 50" and enough distance to sit away from it - then go for that because it's a game changer - especially when you're viewing movies either from a download or a DVD or BLU RAY.

To give a simple example of this - I bought the BLU RAY reissue of "One Fine Day" starring George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer - which looked very good indeed on the 42". It's defaulted to Full Aspect Ratio so the picture fills the entire screen. But when allowed the stretch to 50”, which extends the view on both the left and the right - it becomes an altogether different cinematic beast. It absolutely rocks because it's the first time we've felt cinema has actually come into our home. The detail and hugeness is amazing. Of course - it can also have the opposite effect - be 'too' big. Stretching of the image can be a problem - and you do need space away from the screen to 'not' see the blemishes. But in truth - once you've gone big (if you'll forgive the phallic pun) - it's hard to go back to the little guy. In place of a Soundbar - we've also hooked the stereo (via a Marantz Amp) to the speaker jacks at the back of the telly (using QED Silver Anniversary cables with quality plugs) and the audio is rocking too.

The other aspect to all TV sets nowadays is downloads. As there are no Apps on the Panasonic (this is not one of the Sony Smart TVs that charges you handsomely for the privilage) - we used our cheap £70 Sony BLU RAY player to stream BBC iPlayer, Netflix and Amazon's Love Film/Prime. I find the quality on Amazon to be average at best - and the TV choices old and useless. In comparison to Netflix they really need to get their act together. They also charge handsomely for anything that's relatively new or half decent and their 'no pence' film offerings are uninspired and often dire.

Netflix is the opposite. Whoever chooses the movies for them looks for goodies the viewers have either forgotten or not seen at all ("Ondine", "IQ", "The Secret In Their Eyes", "Dot The I", "Love Is All You Need", "Gone Baby Gone" etc.) Also - when you're downloading from Netflix the Super HD mode will kick in - and this Panasonic with its full 1080 HD quality puts a picture on screen that defies belief (Season 2 of "Orange Is The New Black" and "House Of Cards" both look incredible). You're sat there thinking - is this really a download - because its hard to tell the difference between a stream and a BLU RAY. Good examples of films looking stunning on the Panny from download are "Seabiscuit", "Priceless", "Moonstruck", "Populaire" and "The Giant Mechanical Man" (or "Love In Detroit" as its called in some territories - see review). For TV with super picture quality - check out "Parade's End", the BBC's "Emma" with Romali Garai and Jonny Lee Miller and of course "Breaking Bad". 

Overall - this is a fabulous television set that's within most people's budget. Whether you chose a 50" or a 42" model - these new Panasonics make for a dynamic duo indeed...