Omnivore collects Chris Hillman's "Asylum Years"


Out Feb. 9, a compilation of the former Byrds' early solo material.

Details:

Chris Hillman co-founded some of the most classic, seminal, groundbreaking acts of the ’60s and ’70s including The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Manassas, and The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band. But, in the mid 1970s, Hillman decided it was time to try things on his own.

1976 brought Slippin’ Away, the musical journeyman’s first solo release. Produced by renowned engineers Ron and Howard Albert (Derek And The Dominoes, Allman Bros., Jimi Hendrix), it was a star-studded affair, featuring members of Booker T. & The M.G.’s, Poco, Buffalo Springfield, The Turtles, and ace studio musicians. Hillman took his place as front-man, and the results were the epitome of the classic ’70s LA sound.

He returned the following year with Clear Sailin’, which saw him dial back the flashy supporting cast for a more traditional release—much like the iconic music he had created in his early years with The Byrds and Burritos. For Clear Sailin’ Hillman assembled a core band (including soon-to-be-superstar Richard Marx) with production helmed by Jim Mascon (Poco, Firefall). A number of songs feature co-writes with Crawdaddy magazine’s founder, Peter Knobler.

Hot on the heels of his 2017 critically acclaimed album (produced by Tom Petty), The Asylum Years presents both of those ’70s albums on one compact disc, with an essay from Scott Schinder, featuring a new interview with Hillman.

Having been a catalyst and innovator on the musical landscape for decades, The Asylum Years sees this byrd take flight.

Tracks:
  1. Step On Out
  2. Slippin’ Away
  3. Falling Again
  4. Take It On The Run
  5. Blue Morning
  6. Witching Hour
  7. Down In The Churchyard
  8. Love Is The Sweetwest Amnesty
  9. Midnight Again
  10. (Take Me In Your) Lifeboat
  11. Nothing Gets Through
  12. Fallen Favorite
  13. Quits
  14. Hot Dusty Roads
  15. Heartbreaker
  16. Playing The Fool
  17. Lucky In Love
  18. Rollin’ And Tumblin’
  19. Ain’t That Peculiar
  20. Clear Sailin’

First photos from "X-Men: Dark Phoenix"

Entertainment Weekly has a first look at "X-Men: Dark Phoenix," which stars "Game of Thrones" actress Sophie Turner as Jean Grey gone bad. The film is set to open in November 2018.





New "Walking Dead" comics covers by Bill Sienkiewicz

I don't read or watch "The Walking Dead," but I'm a longtime fan of Bill's.



New "Black Panther" movie poster


"Both Sides of the Sky," new collection of lost Jimi Hendrix recordings out March 9


You can pre-order it now from Amazon.

Details:

This special album presents thirteen Jimi Hendrix studio recordings ­including ten which have never before been released. 

Both Sides of the Sky is the third volume in a trilogy of albums with Valleys Of Neptune and People, Hell and Angels, intended to present the best and most significant unissued studio recordings remaining in the Hendrix archive. 


Recorded between January 1968 and February 1970, Jimi’s desire to push the boundaries of blues music can be heard throughout. Both Sides of the Sky additionally highlights Jimi’s mastery of studio production and his increasing use of these facilities as a proving ground for new sounds, material, and techniques. Many of the album’s tracks were recorded by the trio that would come to be known as Band of Gypsys: Jimi on guitar and vocals, Billy Cox on bass, and Buddy Miles on drums. For their first-ever recording session on April 22, 1969, Hendrix turned to their shared musical root, delta blues. Their previously unreleased, uptempo reworking of Muddy Waters’ “Mannish Boy” opens the album and sets the tempo for what follows. “Lover Man” was a favored Hendrix original and the guitarist was determined to realize a finished master. Previous attempts by the original Experience had yet to yield this for Hendrix but this December 1969 effort by the Band Of Gypsys — complete with its homage to the popular Batman theme song—was his strongest effort to date. 


“Hear My Train A Comin'” features drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding from the original Jimi Hendrix Experience. This original blues composition had become a staple of Hendrix’s concerts. This previously unreleased April 1969 recording captured the furious power and dynamic tension that made the song so memorable. Previously unheard recordings of “Stepping Stone,” “Jungle,” “Cherokee Mist” (which features Hendrix on both electric guitar and sitar) as well as the January 1968 recording of “Sweet Angel” provide further highlights. 


Both Sides of the Sky also features an assortment of notable guest musicians. Stephen Stills befriended Hendrix at the June 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. In September of 1969 Stills was invited to a Hendrix session at the Record Plant in New York. Stills burst into the session with a song Joni Mitchell had recently composed, titled “Woodstock.” Joined by Hendrix and Buddy Miles, the trio recorded this version first--months before Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released their popular rendition of Mitchell’s song. Stills would also contribute “$20 Fine,” an original song that featured Hendrix on multiple guitars, Mitchell on drums, Stills on organ and lead vocals and Duane Hitchings (Buddy Miles Express) on piano. 


Another of the album’s unique band creations sees Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Winter on guitar, backed by Billy Cox and drummer Dallas Taylor of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. An excerpt of their rendition of Guitar Slim’s “Things I Used To Do” was initially heard as part of a 1990 nationally syndicated radio program and accompanying box set, but here it is presented in full, newly mixed by Eddie Kramer for Both Sides of The Sky. On “Georgia Blues,” Jimi is reunited with his old bandmate Lonnie Youngblood (vocals/sax) from his pre-fame days in Curtis Knight & The Squires. Briefly issued as part of the 2008 Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues series but out of print for nearly a decade, this special recording is once more available to Hendrix fans throughout the world on all audio formats.


Tracks:

1)    Mannish Boy*
2)    Lover Man*
3)    Hear My Train A Comin'*
4)    Stepping Stone*
5)    $20 Fine*+
6)    Power Of Soul^
7)    Jungle*
8)    Things I Used to Do#
9)    Georgia Blues++
10)  Sweet Angel*
11)  Woodstock*+
12)  Send My Love To Linda*
13)  Cherokee Mist*

*Previously unreleased
^ Previously unavailable extended version
+Featuring Stephen Stills
#Featuring Johnny Winter
++Featuring Lonnie Youngblood

Deal Alert: Games on sale today at Amazon

Board and strategy games are on sale today at Amazon. Check out the listings here.


Comic Art: The Silver Surfer on keyboards, by John Romita

Via Hake's Auctions: A Romita panel used as part of the cover art for the awesome 1976 Spider-Man: Rock Reflections Of A Superhero album.




Video Find: The Sex Pistols play a kids Christmas party, 1977

I love this:

The Sex Pistols' final UK performance was at Ivanhoes in Huddersfield on Christmas day 1977, a benefit for the families of striking firemen. 

New music I like: Franz Klammer Sledgehammer

New music releases: Rolling Stones; Van Morrison; Ella Fitzgerald; Tragically Hip; Minus 5

New and notable this week. Click the links to order discounted releases from Amazon.





Pop Culture Roundup: Old comics; Twiggy; Jonny Quest; David Lynch, Jim Shooter


Today's big screen superhero blockbusters are boosting the market for old comic books, according to Heritage Auctions.

The saleroom has noted growing demand for “exceptional high-end comics” and the number of bidders competing for the most valuable appears to be increasing.

Sandoval, who is Heritage’s comics and comic art director of operations, told ATG: “It's pretty telling that most of the $100,000 comics we just sold didn't even surprise us by getting to those levels. It speaks to the tremendous interest in key comic books at the moment, and it's fair to say that the current wave of superhero movies has given buyers confidence that interest in these characters as pop culture icons is going to continue.”


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Via DaveLandWeb: Twiggy visits Disneyland, 1967.

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Check out David Lynch's "Meditating Eye" jewelry.

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Rip Jagger celebrates the Jonny Quest art of Doug Wildey.

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A lot of folks say Jim Shooter was tough to work for, but he sure helped turn out some great comics during his Marvel regime. There's an interesting interview with the man here.

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Super-Friends: The true-life Hall of Justice is undergoing a renovation.

So long Jim Nabors


Just saw that the great "Andy Griffith" and "Gomer Pyle" actor passed away today. I always enjoyed watching him, from the time I was a little kid to the present day. He also should be remembered as a pioneer for gay marriage. He'll be missed.

A native of Alabama, Nabors also recorded more than two dozen albums with a rich, operatic baritone voice that surprised those who were used to hearing Nabors exclaim "Gawwwleee!" with a Southern twang on television.

...  In January 2013, Nabors exchanged wedding vows with Stan Cadwallader, his partner of almost four decades, before a judge in a Seattle hotel room. Nabors met Cadwallader, a former firefighter in Honolulu, in 1975.

Pop Artifacts: Vintage Mego Bend'N'Flex superhero figures

Via Hake's Auctions:



"Justice League" and why we need to kill Batman


I went to see "Justice League" the other day. Turned out that it wasn't nearly as bad as the reviews or the theater's empty seats led me to believe.

I enjoyed seeing a DC Comics "team movie" and liked several of the characters.

I liked Cyborg. The half-man, half-machine was tortured here but not overly so. He lightened up and had some fun, even letting out a cheerful "booyah" at one point.

I liked the Flash, though I don't see why he couldn't be the same actor/character as on DC's TV series. I bet some of the little kids in Flash t-shirts at my screening were confused by that, too.

I wasn't too crazy about Sea Conan. The thing that makes Aquaman interesting to me is he's a king, faced with the responsibilities and tough choices implicit to nobility. I don't get what this guy is all about, other than being big, bad and bearded.

Superman was surprisingly ok. After all its post-Christopher Reeve fumbling, DC finally got the character right here. Henry Cavill, as the Man of Steel, finally gets a chance to do more than glower and punch stuff. He even smiles and smiling, for Superman, is vital.

Superman is a guy who grins as he walks into a stream of bullets, knowing that, as lousy as human beings treat him and one another, he'll always do the right thing. He's the orphan who's adopted the Earth. He won't give up on us, no matter what. He's Super God.

And I love Wonder Woman. Present tense, because Gal Gadot wasn't just good in this movie, she's great every time she dons the starred tiara. She was great in the "Wonder Woman" solo film, she was the only great thing great in "Batman V. Superman," and she was great here. Her Amazon is inspiring, strong, noble and hopeful.


And while Steppenwolf as the film's big villain came off as generic and uninteresting, I enjoyed seeing elements of Jack Kirby's Fourth World - such as Boom Tubes and the Mother Box - on the big screen and I hope they'll be put to better use soon. Who's ready for a New Gods movie?

What I didn't like was Batman. Which is weird, because I've been a Batfan since I was  6. But here he was boring, annoying and utterly predictable. And it's not just Ben Affleck's fault.

You could put Jake Gyllenhaall, Ryan Gosling, Marlon Brando or Sir Laurence Olivier in that lumbering rubber suit, force him to speak in a ridiculously low tones and he'd still be just as dull.

Boring Man
The truth is, apart from the Lego movies, which succeed because they lampoon the character so well, Batman has been boring for decades.

Part of the problem is he's no fun. By stressing the character's darkness so much, filmmakers have buried his humanity. Bruce Wayne has vanished into his batsuit, and the batsuit has vanished into the Bat Tank and all the other absurdly oversized militarized paraphernalia the character hides himself in.

There's a scene in "Justice League" where Flash asks Bruce Wayne, "what's your superpower?" and Wayne replies, "I'm rich." It's funny, but it's wrong.


The character we've seen on film lately is Iron-Bat, not Batman. He's a knock-off of Tony Stark, but without the endearing caddishness. This Bruce, like Stark, is a playboy developer of military tech. But how do you make Bruce Wayne, the guy who hates guns, make guns?

By hiding him in that ungainly armor and all those ugly vehicles, DC's filmmakers have completely lost sight of the character. They need to kill off the absurdity Batman's become and, as they've done with Wonder Woman and now, seemingly, Superman, get to the roots of what makes him tick.

With Batman, it was never about the money or the stuff. Sure, the Batmobile - when it resembled something that would fit on an average city street - was cool. But what made Batman, himself, cool, was that he didn't have a superpower. He was just a strong, smart, resourceful guy.

He was also vulnerable. The excitement of watching him, or reading about him, was knowing that he's human and could be hurt or killed. But, in his big bullet-proof suit and in his big Bat-vehicles, he's now nearly as indestructible as Superman.


And, once, Batman had a personality. Look back at some of the best comics featuring the character, or the excellent 1990s Batman animated series, and you'll see a Caped Crusader who displays a range of emotions: From anger and frustration to sadness and joy. And he didn't growl all his lines like he was a pre-teen trying to hide the fact his voice hadn't changed.


That Batman was also sleek and stealthy, a creature of the knight. It's hard to be stealthy when you're driving a diesel-belching Bat-Tractor down the road. Hell, this Batman didn't even need his car half the time. He'd creep over rooftops or swing on a rope. And it was all much easier to do, because he wore a suit that allowed him to move smoothly, not like a muscle-bound middle-linebacker. This Batman didn't need bullet-proof armor because he was too quick and too adept at hiding in the darkness.


And this Batman wasn't driven by revenge. Revenge is stupid and one-note. Anyone can get pissed and lash out. This Batman was driven, in a weirder, more interesting way, by compassion. His parents were killed and he was hurt. His motivation to fight crime was driven by wanting to stop that - not for himself, it was too late, but for anyone else. He hated guns and violence, but used the latter to prevent more of it. His compassion also explained his decision to adopt Dick Grayson, a fellow childhood victim of crime.

When I think of this Batman, I think of those great 1970s Denny O'Neill-Neal Adams stories, when, after all those campy TV show years, that dynamic duo reached back into the character's mythos and brought back his essential elements.

I think of stories like "The Secret of the Waiting Graves," where Batman is alone, without gadgets or vehicles or sidekicks, puzzling through weird, dangerous and confounding situations and trying to do what's right. The story is gothic, spooky, mysterious. Batman doesn't radio in an airstrike from the remote-controlled Bat-Bomber.


So, do I expect DC to put its current plans for Batman on hold and re-boot the character in his 50-year-old gray cloth suit with blue/black cape and long pointy ears? Yes.

Of course they won't. But maybe what they will do is conclude that it's not just down to who you put in the batsuit, it's ensuring that the suit contains a human being.

Maybe Bruce Wayne needs to lose all his money. Maybe he needs to have a nervous breakdown or lose his memory. Maybe he needs his gadgets and vehicles to fail him. But for Batman to survive, this incarnation needs to die. The character should be stripped to its essence and be born again.

Strip away the armor and the toys, restore the vulnerability and humanity, revive the character's wit, heroism and self-sufficiency and you'll have a bad ass Batman that's far more interesting to watch.