Original image by There Stands the Glass.
Assembling a comprehensive collection of classic soul was one of my primary projects at the onset of the CD era. I built an extensive library of artists ranging from Solomon Burke to Jr. Walker & The All Stars one disc at a time. The endeavor was enormously satisfying. My mind was repeatedly blown by hearing deep tracks by the likes of Ruth Brown, Al Green and Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes for the first time. After all the obvious bases were covered, I began buying compilations of soul rarities. That’s how I first heard the scorching vocals of Bettye LaVette. While much of the material she recorded in the ‘60s and ‘70s sounds thrilling today, her efforts lagged stylistic trends at the time. The many hardships the septuagenarian endured make her late career renaissance all the more rewarding. Blackbirds, a new set of imaginative covers, is as solid as anything LaVette has released. I suspect most of the CD mixes I made during my initial immersion in soul were only half as satisfying as LaVette’s profound new statement.
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The pledge breaks during the premiere broadcast of KCPT’s new Charlie Parker documentary Bird: Not Out of Nowhere were almost as interesting as the program. I assess the film at Plastic Sax.
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Four days after publishing an analysis of various opera presentations, I learned of the existence of “Trollflöjten”, Ingmar Bergman’s freaky adaptation of “The Magic Flute” (“Die Zauberflöte”). I may be an uncultured country bumpkin, but I was on to something when I suggested Kenneth Branagh’s version might be appropriate for children. Bergman’s primary conceit is the depiction of Mozart’s work through the eyes of a little girl seated in a Swedish opera house. For those keeping score at home, I’ve now watched 169 operas in the past 168 days. My second rendition of “Der Rosenkavalier” is on deck.