FLASHBACK: London. 1967., April 12 2004

The story is rather lame. '60's London is the star of this show. It's such a time tunnel that you'll feel quite dazed when it's over...but I think you'll be entertained.

Carol White was always nice eye candy. She plays Oliver Reed's girlfriend. She stumbles and staggers through her lines (in one scene she almost falls over, in another she 'reacts' to the people in the room before she even has entered it,) but you forgive her because she had a sort of innocent charm, like this film.

Reed is at his cool best. He was also at his handsomest in 1967. He handles his part with great ease.

Orson Wells camps it up, maybe a little too much. Marianne Faithfull says the 'f' word...but little else. She looks dreadful, her hair reminds me of those shaggy little rugs people used to put by their beds in those days, in fact maybe that's what it was.

If you like and/or are interested in '60's London...don't hesitate buying this. Otherwise I'd be reluctant to recommend it.

P.S. Almost forgot, the photography is excellent. So sharp and clear and so very London, 1967.

Oh, dear..., April 12 2004

This may appeal to a seventeen-year-old schoolboy, but if you're a 'grown-up' I'd definitely give it a miss.

Terence Stamp seems to have been given a sort of retro-cool that he doesn't deserve. Even in his heyday, he was the lamest of the '60's British stars, though some people considered him very pretty.

This is like very mediocre T.V. schlock.

UNgroovy., Mar 9 2004

There's something vey unsexy about this movie. By 1966 Audrey was well past her sell by date. She had a very sweet, but very short era. 1966 was the height of the youth kick and old Audrey just couldn't fit in...however hard she tried and try she did, desperately.

Finney's performance is wooden & what's going on with his dreadful, droney voice?

I think this movie was already dated on release. It just doesn't work. Audrey's performance is so mannered and awkward and there's absolutely no chemistry between the two 'stars'.

It's like watching a couple of middle aged folk, from Geneva, on a weekend visit to Swinging London, who decide to go take a look at Carnaby Street. Embarrassing!

Len's Fabulous...This C.D Isn't., Mar 9 2004

The poor sound quality here is typical of early C.D's.

I've got a copy of Len's original 1965 album, 1-2-3, and there are so many great songs on it that aren't here and the sound of the original recordings is SO fabulous...so sharp and LOUD, baby.

Len Barry represented all that was right about mid-'sixties American pop/dance music, when the coolest thing a white singer could do was sound like a black guy, which Lenny does, in trumps. I'm amazed there isn't anything better out yet.
If I were you I'd wait until that happens. These recordings sound muddy and bassy.

P.S. One thing I did like about this collection is the very groovy intro, which I've never heard before, when Lenny thanks all the D.J's for making his song (1-2-3) a hit...he talks in his hip/cool voice, over a swingin', switched-on, finger clickin' soundtrack...check out the soundbite for a cool taster.

I Would Have Appreciated Some Extras, Mar 29 2003

The earlier episodes seemed somewhat wooden. The cast looked too squeaky clean. Lots of annoying 'subtle' lighting (sun shining through venetian blinds and gently lighting people's eyes)... over-coiffed hair. Some of the characters seemed a little single-dimensional.

But...after about sixteen episodes things started to kick in. I started to care about these people, a lot. Some very touching moments... some good laughs...but, I definetely didn't find it as fabulous as some of the other reviewers here. It's not a touch on 'thirtysomething'. A little too much focus on the very young members of the cast bored me...how much can you say about a twelve year old?...and Grace, the classic self-loathing teen, was too consistently snarky to warm to.

It was really fun to watch a whole season from scratch...no waiting 'till next week...no commercials.

I would have liked some extras...interviews with the writers and cast would have been very welcome, but there's absolutely nothing.

BUT...I did enjoy it enought to be very certan that I WILL buy the next seasons as they become available.

Paul McCartney's Greatest Post-Beatles Opus., Jan 29 2003

This is such a fluent & confident album.

It's deeply romantic, all about finding the right person to love & hiding away from the world together, which is exactly what was happening in this man's life at the time.

Some people were critical about it when it was first released, but this album is an absolute gem.

On some of the songs, he sings like a bell (check out 'Dear Boy')...so sweet, so tuneful, like no one before or since.

Not all the songs are sweet & melodic, there's also the wonderful, raunchy 'Monkberry Moon Delight' & yes, there are a few clangers that, after a time, you will want to skip...but the good, vastly out-weighs the bad.

I have a vast record collection & this was the very first LP I ever owned & it's still one of my all-time favorites.

To anyone who loves The Beatles & is now looking around to discover stuff they did after the great party was over, this will not disappoint.

Forget the Paul McCartney of 2003 & slide back to his glory days of 1971, when Paul was giving true love it's rightful chance & expressing it through his music.

Top Notch DVD Package Makes This A V. Worthwhile Investment, Jan 12 2003

There's a short documentary included here that was made at the time of release, about 'Roman & Mia' which for me made my re-purchase of a DVD version of the film worth every cent. It's a fascinating timepiece. Very L.A, very 1968...the way it's shot & put together. Mia was this very fey flower child, painting flowers & the words 'Love & Peace' on her trailer: 'because love brings peace.'

There's also a very intelligent contemporary short, consisting of interesting interviews with Polanski & various people who were involved in the original production.

Watching the movie again on DVD is like watching it for the first time. Wonderful sound and color reproduction which in no way detracts from the original sensuality of the picture.

A Book That Proves That Real Life Is Stranger Than Fiction., Dec 5 2002

Sorry to be crass, but this book is a real page turner.

Edith is an intelligent, warm & witty soul who had an extraordinary experience & luckily for us, has been brave enough to look back & write it all down.

It has an intimate quality, due largely to the fact that Ms. Hahn Beer has written it for her daughter who, born in a Nazi hospital, in 1944, wanted to know exactly what happened. Can you blame her?

If you are interested in Nazi Germany or The Holocaust this is a book you won't regret buying. In fact, I'm certain you'll remember it for the rest of your life.

First Rate!

EXTRAORDINARY., Sep 15 2002

On reading it, I almost couldn't believe that it was genuine...but no writer of fiction could have created something as extraordinary,(I've used the word again,) as this.

Klemperer was a Jew, who managed to survive the war living within Nazi Germany because he was married to a Christian woman & 'luckily' for us, he wrote EVERYTHING down. Every. Tiny. Detail.

A superbly intelligent & witty man. Sometimes these kinds of books are just fascinating as eye-witness accounts, but what's unusual about this, is the fact that this man could actually write AND SO well.

SO sad & frustrating that it wasn't published within his lifetime.

I can't say any more. I'll never be able to say enough.

Probably the most extraordinary eye-witness account about life in Nazi Germany available...NO!...that will EVER be available.

Definetely the most extraordinary, (yes, it IS the right word,) book I've personally EVER read.

I'm honoured in being able to recommend this to you.

FABULOUS!!!, Sep 15 2002

I didn't expect too much. I've grown used to being disappointed by a lot of these mid-sixties soul albums. Usually they are full of weak covers of hit songs of the era. You're lucky if you find a couple of good tracks.

BUT...I started to play this & slowly, one by one, these songs grabbed me.

His voice is SENSATIONAL! A cross between Levi Stubbs & Otis Redding & better than both of them. I kid you not. A crisp, cool, confident & powerful voice. Jazzy & soulful at the same time.

I've hardly heard any of these songs covered by anyone else.

I've been groovin' & movin' & singin' along ever since I got it. So will you, if you love '60's soul...DON'T HESITATE buying this.

(I consider this one of my major discoveries of recent times).