They Call Me Mister Tibbs (1970) - murder meets interior design, and comes up short

A decent cop movie with Sidney Poitier playing it cool. A good supporting cast with Martin Landau, Barbara McNair, Anthony Zerbe, and a hairy-headed Ed Asner. Directed well by Gordon Douglas, and music by Quincy Jones is always good. Script is unremarkable though, and the murder story could have been used in any number of cop television shows from that era. There's a good car chase, a long foot chase, and a couple of fist fights. We also see Tibbs with his family on several occasions, mainly working out a relationship with his young and unmindful son. The movie never really catches fire, and the ending kind of fizzles. The most fun for me was taking in the early 70s interior design. Browns and drab greens dominate, with a splash of orange thrown in to brighten things up. And some cool lamps.

A Long, Long Time Ago: David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World (1970)

U.S. Cover, my favorite.

I picked this one up in the mid-seventies, after I had listened obsessively to several other David Bowie LPs (Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, etc.). I remember being struck by how different much of it sounded from those - the vocals at times strange, the guitars heavier, and there were some songs I didn't like (!). It grew on me though and became one my favorites, standing happily alongside those other masterpieces in my Bowie collection. 

U.K. I never really cared for this ugly cover.

This was the first David Bowie album recorded with producer Tony Visconti and guitarist Mick Ronson. Bizarre lyrics with science fiction themes, soaring vocals, creepy background vocals, monster riffs and blazing guitar solos from Ronson, all add up to a superb and satisfyingly odd album. The first three songs in particular ("Width of a Circle", All the Madman", "Black Country Rock") all rock like crazy and should be counted with Bowie's best. The only song I never really cared for is "Running Gun Blues", an anti-vietnam tale about a soldier who keeps killing after he gets back from the war. I still think it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Wearing a dress, the good old days when Bowie was still bi.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive II (1973) - takin' care of you-know-what

The 8-track, a genuine 1970s artifact

I've been listening to this on my iPod while walking to work. Back in the 70s I had it on eight-track tape. A magical medium the eight-track was, plastic casing with the cover glued on - usually resulting in bubbles and folds - and of course a song or two interrupted in mid-play for the track to change. Still, it was pretty cool for a few years at least and was around for the entirety of the 1970s.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive was also around for most of the 1970s. They formed in 1973 and released two albums that year, including this one, the imaginatively titled "II". It's good straight ahead working class rock 'n roll and included their first smash singles "Let it Ride" and "Takin' Care Of Business". There are some other decent songs, notably "Welcome Home" and "Tramp", and some surprisingly nimble guitar work from Randy Bachman. Not the greatest band ever, but an enjoyable album that I remember with fondness.

Time After Time (1979) - a science fiction romantic comedy with serial killer

"IMAGINE! A scientific genius named H.G. Wells stalks a criminal genius named Jack the Ripper across time itself in the most ingenious thriller of our time." The poster pretty much says it all. Throw in some light romance and comedy and you pretty much have it. Seriously though this movie is quite fun, and exciting too. Directed by Nicholas Meyer and starring Malcolm McDowell as H.G. Wells and David Warner as Jack the Ripper. Mary Steenburgen, providing the romantic interest, plays Amy Robbins, a liberated 70s gal.

Basically, it's London in 1893, H.G. has just built a time machine, but has yet to try it out. Before he can, Jack steals it to escape the coppers, lands in 1979 San Francisco and quickly gets up to his old bad ways. H.G. realizes what has happened and tracks him down (the time machine automatically returns home to whoever has a certain key). Amy helps him in his endeavors.

Much of the fun here is Wells' befuddlement at all of the strange things 1979 has to offer. The future is certainly not the utopia he had imagined. Along the way he meets Amy and strikes up a mutual interest. McDowell is cast perfectly for this and you feel for him and his predicament.  This was one of Steenburgen's first major rolls and she's very likeable as well. Warner does a terrific job as the Ripper - he's mean and arrogant and finds that 1979 suits him just fine. A great musical score, by long-time film composer Miklos Rozsa, adds a nice ambience and enhances the action. This was Nicholas Meyer's first directorial effort and he succeeds winningly. He had previously written the excellent "Seven Percent Solution", and subsequently would direct "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan".

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré (1974) - mole hunting in Britain

My parents bought this book when it first came out and I remember being intrigued by the title, especially the spy part. Of course James Bond was the quintessential spy in the early '70s, especially for young boys. When I did finally get around to reading this book in the later '70s I understood that this was no James Bond caper - pretty much the opposite in fact. John le Carré created an anti-James Bond spy hero in George Smiley, who on the surface is a curmudgeonly, out-of-shape old man. As this book begins he is in forced retirement, but is persuaded to return to the fold to hunt for a Soviet mole inside the "Circus"- the British secret intelligence service and his former empoyer. Smiley is one the most perfectly realized characters I have ever had the pleasure to come across in fiction, spy genre or otherwise. le Carré is brilliant in his descriptions of Smiley's various taciturn ways, his mannerisms and lack thereof, his quiet observation and patience - mostly his steely intelligence as he closes in on his quarry. Not much for action fans here, it's a more cerebral ride, and thoroughly engaging. I won't get into plot specifics as any details are better uncovered in the reading as layers are peeled back slowly to reveal the awful truth. A truly exceptional novel and a great, great protagonist in George Smiley.

Pretty Baby (1978) - Malle, Nykvist and Shields bring Storyville to life

I remember when this first came out and all the stir centered around 12-year-old Brooke Shields playing a child prostitute named Violet. This was Shields first major movie role, after having had early success as a child model. Her acting is in fact quite excellent, outshining her costar Keith Carradine (who seems rather wooden at times), and at a level with the other adults in the film, notably Susan Sarandon who plays her mother Hattie.

The story, set in New Orleans' Storyville in 1917, just before the end of legal prostitution, centers around Violet's becoming a prostitute and her relationship with photographer Ernest J. Bellocq (played by Carradine and based on a real life character). Despite the dark subject matter, there are moments of lightness, especially in reagrds to Violet's relationships with the older prostitutes, and there are many colorful secondary characters. Louis Malle directs expertly and there many arresting scenes. Especially chilling and central to the entire movie is the scene where Violet's virginity is auctioned off to a bunch of  disgusting old men. Her subsequent deflowering is off screen and there is a shot of two little girls listening outside the room. Disturbing, creepy, and absolutely brilliant.

The best thing about this movie though, besides Brooke Shields' fine performance and Louis Malle's directing, is the exquisite cinematography of Sven Nykvist. Too much can't be said of the talent of Nykvist, who has an impressive body of work. He collaborated with Ingmar Bergman throughout the 1960s and continued that partnership in the 70s and 80s, winning an Oscar for "Fanny and Alexander" in 1982. His work for Louis Malle is no less impressive, giving New Orleans' Storyville district a distinct glow, yet with a feeling of gritty reality. It made the film a joy to watch, despite the sometimes ugly subject matter. Now I want to see all of those Bergman movies.

Silent Running (1972) - out in space, a plea for beauty

I don't remember if I saw this film when it was originally released, or years later, but I remember really enjoying it the first time I saw it. It is an outstanding directorial debut for Douglas Trumbull, who worked on both 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Andromeda Strain as a special effects wizard.  The story itself doesn't make a lot of sense from a practical standpoint. In the future there are these enclosed domes out in space (near Saturn). They're actually giant greenhouses holding the last of earth's flora. Earth is apparently just hunky dory, with no unemployment, and a temperate 75 degrees everywhere. But there's no more forests, so they sent the last plant life into space. On the surface it's an eco science-fiction story from the early 1970's, when there was much worry about pollution and its devastating effect on our planet.

Below the surface it's much more interesting. Bruce Dern plays Freeman Lowell, one of the astronauts charged with the safekeeping of the domes. Far more than the other three crew members on board, Lowell takes the forests to heart and believes the mission to be of the utmost import. He even makes some passionate speeches about beauty and nonconformity, to the deaf ears of his crew mates. When word comes down that the domes are to be nuked and the crew is to return (for "commercial" reasons), Lowell doesn't take it too well. The story gets going as Lowell starts to unravel and makes some unfortunate decisions. Ultimately he is left alone with the forest and a few robots (referred to as drones). Dern's performance is excellent of course, and the drones almost steal the show.  Huey and Dewey (as Lowell has named them) become his new crew mates and he is able to relate much better to them than he was to the human crew. Loneliness and regret starts to eat at Lowell however and Dern does a great job of being a little crazy and still sympathetic.

It can get boring out in space, alone, with regret, and some robots.

The special effects are excellent all around, with great models, exceeding most anything else from that era. The interiors were shot aboard the decommissioned aircraft carrier "Valley Forge", the same name given to the spaceship, with lots of cool lights and buttons. The drones were manned by multiple-amputee actors and to me are the most outstanding aspect of this film. The soundtrack is also very good, composed by Peter Schickele (of P.D.Q. Bach fame), there's a song sung by Joan Baez, which does seem a bit corny, but I like Joan so that's fine by me.

Interior shot of the "Valley Forge"

Favorite Album Covers: Muddy Waters by Phil Hays (1978)

Another gem from 1978, Muddy Waters' "I'm Ready", produced by Johnny Winter with a killer band including pianist Pinetop Perkins, guitarist Jimmy Rogers and harpist Big Walter Horton. A mix of blues standards and new original material, this was the middle record of three that Winter produced and my personal favorite. I admit that one reason I always liked this so much, besides the music, was the great portrait of Muddy Waters gracing the album cover. Painted by the late Phil Hays, it's about as congenial a portrait as I can imagine and a perfect invitation to the music within. Check out more of this illustrator's work here.

Kate Bush - "The Kick Inside" : strange phenomena from 1978

U.S. cover, the one I had.

The first LP by Kate Bush came out in 1978, one of the most extraordinary years in recorded popular music. Dozens of brilliant long players were released that year and it might be easy to overlook this  excellent debut. Bush was only 19 when this was recorded and it only made a small splash in the U.S. It was much bigger in her native England where her first single "Wuthering Heights" went to the top of the charts. Ostensibly a singer songwriter, she sounded nothing like the North American singer songwriters, certainly not like Joni Mitchell , Carole King or Carly Simon.

U.K. cover.

Kate Bush has a way of combining childlike wonder with an overt sensuality, especially evident in several songs here, "Moving", "Strange Phenomena" and "Oh To Be In Love" come to mind as being especially alluring. The first time I heard this it was like discovering a previously unknown forbidden world.

Japanese import.

As good as this recording was it only hinted at the genius that would emerge in subsequent releases. She'd get better each time as her songwriting became sharper and stranger, and the production and arrangements more wild, peaking with the incredible '80s albums "The Dreaming" and "Hounds of Love".

Of the three album covers pictured I definitely prefer the U.S. cover, maybe because it was the one I owned, but I think it's a great photograph. I find the U.K. cover too busy, and Kate is too small. The Japanese cover is okay but kind of boring. Her album covers would get better along the way.

Sharp Practice by John Farris (1974) - a southern gothic psychopathic maniac suspense thriller

1988 printing, uncredited artwork, small wonder

John Farris is the author of many horror novels, the most famous being When Michael Calls (1967) and The Fury (1976), both of which were made into movies. Sharp Practice starts out in England where there is a ripper-like psycho about killing young women with large knives. The main characters are erudite upper crust academics who may or may not be targeted by said psycho. There are many twists and turns in this very entertaining suspense thriller, and as the action moves from Oxford to a college in Tennessee things seem calm for awhile...

Farris is expert at having a seemingly placid scene suddenly erupt into shocking violence. He also writes well drawn three-dimensional characters, whose actions are always in keeping with their character. The plot gets pretty thick but never confusing. It's a fast read, overall a recommendable thriller from the 70s, especially for fans of John Farris.

A note on the cover art: I haven't been able to find a good shot of the 1974 edition of this book. No doubt it is better than the one above. In the 1980s they started overusing that embossed foil stamping, especially rampant in horror fiction, and the artwork became secondary.

Favorite album covers: Lou Reed by Tom Adams (1972)

Lou Reed's first solo album is not so bad. Not as great as some of the albums to follow, but not as bad as some either. Some pretty good songs, Wild Child and Lisa Says are especially fun. Worth checking out if you are a Lou fan. What I especially like about this release is the outstanding album cover art by Tom Adams, an illustrator who's most notable achievement is the great series of Agatha Christie book covers he did in the '60s and '70s. The name made of flowers with the hummingbirds I always loved and the little bird up front is quite touching, then there's a Faberge egg and a wave coming down the street. I assume all of these elements illustrate lyrics from the album in some way, but in any case it all looks really cool.