ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, MAY 13, 2009 By Steve Newton Any self-respecting rock-guitar freak has at least a couple of Joe Satriani CDs in his or her collection. The Bay Area musician has been steadily churning out adventurous, technically boggling instrumental albums since blasting onto the six-string scene in 1986 with Not of This Earth. … Continue reading Chickenfoot guitarist Joe Satriani was into Humble Pie as a kid, missed out on Montrose
Tag: 2009
Past Masters reissue brings sweet Beatles nostalgia in stereo
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, NOV. 2, 2009 By Steve Newton I’ll never forget the day I got my very first record. I was six or so, visiting my grandparents at their home in Point Grey, and my mom took me on a walk to a music store on 10th Avenue. I came back with a … Continue reading Past Masters reissue brings sweet Beatles nostalgia in stereo
Crest of a Wave shows off the best of shockingly underrated Rory Gallagher
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, OCT. 2, 2009 By Steve Newton I’m a sucker for guitar heroes. Check out my CD stash and you’ll find the biggest sections are reserved for Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, and Joe Satriani. But in recent years my main guitar-god … Continue reading Crest of a Wave shows off the best of shockingly underrated Rory Gallagher
Drive-By Truckers captured at its raw and raucous best on Live from Austin TX
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, AUG. 12, 2009 By Steve Newton Drive-By Truckers fans had cause for concern when long-time guitarist-vocalist Jason Isbell—one of the group’s main songwriters, along with cofounding singer-guitarists Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley—decided to leave the southern rock–influenced alt-country band in 2007. But the group simply responded by recruiting guitarist and pedal-steel … Continue reading Drive-By Truckers captured at its raw and raucous best on Live from Austin TX
Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day could be the funniest Canadian movie ever made
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, SEPT. 23, 2009 By Steve Newton The last film I saw that made me laugh out loud numerous times was 2006’s Trailer Park Boys: The Movie. It was freakin’ hilarious. But the new Countdown to Liquor Day left the old ribs achin’ even more. It could be the funniest Canadian movie ever made. … Continue reading Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day could be the funniest Canadian movie ever made
Woodstock 40-year anniversary box set goes overboard with six discs
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, DEC. 2, 2009 By Steve Newton Music historians often make Woodstock out to be the greatest concert happening of all time, but after slogging through this six-disc set I’m not so sure. The sociopolitical ramifications of the three-day event were immense, no doubt, but there sure were some questionable performances at … Continue reading Woodstock 40-year anniversary box set goes overboard with six discs
Gary Moore’s Essential Montreux is a five-disc feast of fret-burning action
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, DEC. 2, 2009 By Steve Newton Got someone on your Christmas list who’s a huge fan of wailing rock guitar? Then look no further than Eagle Rock's five-disc feast of fret-burning action by Irish guitar hero Gary Moore. So what if it contains no less than four live versions of Otis Rush’s … Continue reading Gary Moore’s Essential Montreux is a five-disc feast of fret-burning action
Horror review: The Box
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, NOV. 6, 2009 By Steve Newton “Button, Button”, the 1970 Richard Matheson tale on which The Box is based, is only 10 pages long, but that didn’t stop Hollywood from turning it into a 115-minute sci-fi abomination complete with solid cubes of water that transport people around, hordes of automatons with bleeding noses, … Continue reading Horror review: The Box
Horror review: The Collector
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, OCT. 28, 2009 Now here’s a twisted little gem just in time for Halloween nightmare-making. The Collector—no relation to the same-named ’60s thriller in which weirdo Terence Stamp kidnaped hottie Samantha Eggar—should make the backers of the Saw and Hostel franchises think twice, because it takes the rotting corpse of torture-porn out of the abandoned warehouse … Continue reading Horror review: The Collector
Horror review: Saw VI
Saw VI is the sixth Saw I’ve seen, and maybe the sickest. In the opening scene, a man and a woman are held captive with devices strapped to their heads that can screw bolts into their skulls. They’re told that only one of them will live, the survivor being the person who dumps the most … Continue reading Horror review: Saw VI
Horror review: The Stepfather
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, OCT. 19, 2009 Before he became known for his starring turns in Vancouver-shot TV series like Millennium and Harsh Realm, Terry O’Quinn dazzled in The Stepfather as a serial killer bent on forming a family and keeping it happily together—no matter what. Working from a script by novelist Donald E. Westlake, O’Quinn brought quiet menace and … Continue reading Horror review: The Stepfather
Horror review: Pandorum
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, SEPT. 25, 2009 The two movies that I remember scaring me the most as a little kid were The Wizard of Oz—that Wicked Witch of the West really had my number—and It! The Terror From Beyond Space, a low-budget 1950s sci-fi flick, a precursor to Alien, about a monster that gets on board a … Continue reading Horror review: Pandorum
Horror review: Jennifer’s Body
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, SEPT. 17, 2009 There's a pivotal scene in Jennifer's Body where a rock band is playing at a bar. During its first song, a fire breaks out on-stage, and quickly engulfs the entire place, with many patrons burning to death. The scene is basically a small-scale reenactment of the tragedy that occurred in … Continue reading Horror review: Jennifer’s Body