I guess they passed the audition - Fabbing it up with the Fabs

Incredible that in 2013 we have new Beatles music - but that's what we get with the On Air: Live at the BBC volume 2 set (out today) from Apple Records. The two disc set contains 37 previously unreleased Beatle performances, many of them not heard since they were first broadcast way back in the 1960's - that decade which started out in black and white but soon exploded into vibrant colour.

The first volume, which originally came out in 1994 is also re-released and  it's worth replacing the original with this new version. Not only does the thing sound better but there are extra tracks. The new CD's are also better packaged with an improved booklet.

And in other Beatle related news Dhani Harrison, son of George, has recorded a version of his dad's song, For You Blue. George's version appeared on the Let it Be album and Dhani's take, recorded as a charity single for the Material World Foundation, is excellent - he sounds so much like his father. In fact when I first heard it on the radio via Dennis Mitchell's Breakfast with the Beatles I thought it was George. It's on iTunes for 99p and you can bet I've bought a copy.

And in even more Fab news I suggest anyone with even a passing interest in the world's best ever group check out the Fab 4 Free 4 All podcast which is hosted by three self confessed American Beatards. The current show features a great interview with author Mark Lewishon. And check out the archives for the older shows which are all worth a listen or two or three.

All these years later there is no escaping the Beatles and the incredible influence they still exert over all the music out there in this big wide world.

CD ONE
And Here We Are Again (Speech)
WORDS OF LOVE
How About It, Gorgeous? (Speech)
DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET
LUCILLE
Hey, Paul… (Speech)
ANNA (GO TO HIM)
Hello! (Speech)
PLEASE PLEASE ME
MISERY
I’M TALKING ABOUT YOU
A Real Treat (Speech)
BOYSAbsolutely Fab (Speech)
CHAINS
ASK ME WHY
TILL THERE WAS YOU
LEND ME YOUR COMB
Lower 5E (Speech)
THE HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE
ROLL OVER BEETHOVEN
THERE’S A PLACE
Bumper Bundle (Speech)
P.S. I LOVE YOU
BEAUTIFUL DREAMER
DEVIL IN HER HEART
The 49 Weeks (Speech)
SURE TO FALL (IN LOVE WITH YOU)
Never Mind, Eh? (Speech)
TWIST AND SHOUT
Bye, Bye (speech)
John - Pop Profile (Speech)
George - Pop Profile (Speech)

Betards - one and all - the Fab 4 guys with Mark Lewishon

CD TWO
I SAW HER STANDING THERE
GLAD ALL OVER
Lift Lid Again (Speech)
I’LL GET YOU
SHE LOVES YOU
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SATURDAY CLUB
Now Hush, Hush (Speech)
FROM ME TO YOU
MONEY (THAT’S WHAT I WANT)
I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND
Brian Bathtubes (Speech)
THIS BOY
If I Wasn’t In America (Speech)
I GOT A WOMAN
LONG TALL SALLY
IF I FELL
A Hard Job Writing Them (Speech)
AND I LOVE HER
Oh, Can’t We? Yes We Can (Speech)
YOU CAN’T DO THAT
HONEY DON’T
I’LL FOLLOW THE SUN
Green With Black Shutters (Speech)
KANSAS CITY/HEY-HEY-HEY-HEY!
That’s What We’re Here For (Speech)
I FEEL FINE (STUDIO OUTTAKE)
Paul - Pop Profile (Speech)
Ringo - Pop Profile (Speech)

Breaking Bad

I arrived late to the party that was AMC's the Breaking Bad - I'd never seen an episode until a few weeks ago but I'd heard it mentioned plenty of times. Every now and then the show would come up in conversation and  and all I'd heard were raves, raves and a little more raving. I picked up the season one box set and was instantly addicted and over the last three weeks I've watched all five seasons, 60 odd episodes, and have come to the conclusion that this is as good as it gets. There may never be another TV show as good as this - now, if you've not seen the show then BEST not read on because I don't want to spoil the party for anyone else.

Final warning - this way there be spoilers.

The plot - a homely, timid chemistry teacher discovers he has inoperable cancer and becomes a big time drugs kingpin in order to provide for his family. The journey from the first episode to the incredibly satisfying climax is nothing short of genius. Take note Sopranos and Lost this is the way to tie up a show and leave fans reeling but ultimately satisfied. In a way this dark, realistic ending was a happy one - well in the sense that Walt died on his own terms and Jessie managed to break the hold he had over him and escape screaming into the night, it was happy. Though the final episode may have had a higher body-count than thirty minutes of a Rambo movie it didn't get ridiculous and stuck to the tone carried through the rest of the series.

There were so many stand out secondary characters - Gustav Fring, Mike the ex-cop turned crook and  Saul Goodman to name but three of many - in fact the Saul Goodman character is to have his own spin-off series, and whilst its bound to disappoint after Breaking Bad I'm not going to arrive late for that party.

Below are several Twitter tweets posted directly following the final episode.

I got more closure from the series finale of breaking bad than I did with my last relationship.

I have to go into rehab to break my addiction to Breaking Bad- Get it?

Spoiler alert! The series finale of #BreakingBad was effin' awesome. This show has never been anything less that fantastic. Congrats to all!

That's the most satisfying series finale I've ever seen. Goddamn.


The double act of Walter and Jessie was the heart of the show and their relationship remained consistent throughout the series, with a great punch the air ending in which Jessie finally broke free of Walt's grasp. And Walt AKA Heisenberg managed to cheat his cancer get some sort of redemption. Of course he had to die - anything else would have been a cheat - but the show managed to give us a death that was dignified and well deserved. It had to be lead and not cancer that brought him down.

Having watched every episode in so short a duration it feels as if I've lived with the characters forever and now I'm going to miss them. I don't think there was a weak episode. Though the odd trying to catch that fly episode did seem poor it shines when taken as a part of the whole. It allowed for some slower storytelling to fully explain the true love/hate relationship between Jessie and Walter.

Yo bitch, that was good.

Tainted Stats

Weekly Stats Report: 4 Nov - 10 Nov 2013 
Project: THE TAINTED ARCHIVE
URL: http://tainted-archive.blogspot.com/

Summary

	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total	Avg
Pageloads	178	151	155	165	147	150	167	1,113	159
Unique Visits	141	72	129	139	127	134	146	888	127
First Time Visits	127	62	120	132	121	131	137	830	119
Returning Visits	14	10	9	7	6	3	9	58	8

Beatles Back at the BBC

Fifty Years in Time and Space 9 - The Fourth Doctor

All teeth, curls and a never-ending scarf - ask many people about Doctor Who and they will come up with the legendary Tom Baker who held the role from 1974 - 1981. He remains the actor to have served the longest in the part and is perhaps the most recognisable holder of the role, both domestically and internationally. In fact when the Simpsons spoof Doctor Who it is most often the Tom Baker version that they use.

Prior to landing the role Baker found his acting career had gone down the toilet, indeed immediately before taking the role he had found himself working as a labourer on a building site in order to make ends meet. Baker was a difficult actor to cast being unsuitable for both leading parts and comic roles but it was this odd quality that made him perfect as the Doctor. That the show was about to enter its most entertaining period was a happy coincidence, and Baker benefited from both quality writing and improved production values.

Baker was born in Liverpool in 1934 and before deciding to become an actor he had trained to be a monk, but the acting habit bit hard and he turned his back on the monk's habit. Just as well since that scarf would have clashed with the sombre religious robes. For many years after leaving the role Baker tended to avoid all things Doctor Who and even refused to reprise his role for the Five Doctors, 20th anniversary special. This was a great pity as he did appear in the show through clever manipulation by the producers of unused clips. It would have been entertaining to see Baker performing alongside Troughton, Davidson, Pertwee and Richard Hurndall who took the late William Hartnell's role of the first Doctor.

These days Baker is back playing the Doctor for the Big Finish series of all original audio plays based around the adventures of the fourth Doctor.

Try as he might Tom Baker has now realised that there is no escaping the Doctor.

Granny Smith sales drive

November is a big month for me - not only is my new Black Horse Western, The Afterlife of Slim McCord out at the end of the month, but this month will see the final revisions to the new Granny Smith novel before publication in December - the book Granny Smith: The Welsh Connection is the third in the popular series which  is achieving high sales on both Amazon. Com and Amazon UK.

So it's about time for a little sales drive and I'd certainly like it if anyone reading this blog goes over to Amazon and buys a copy of the first two Granny Smith adventures as listed here.

Below are a sample of the reviews for the Granny Smith series.





A light, funny story with a mystery for Granny to solve. I really enjoyed the first book - Granny Smith Investigates- so had to read this one.

A shorter story than the first book but still has all the ingredients to make it a good read. I was laughing out loud at the part where Granny Smith's son returns home unexpectedly. Really funny!

G M Dobbs has the ability to give a brief description of a character which builds an image of their personality and what they look like so you feel you know them. This is a real talent especially for short stories.

Would recommend reading this after the first book.

Pipe smoking, headbanging Granny Smith is a kindred spirit to this reader. While she has a few years on me, I too still love all things metal and, while I don't smoke, i once had a brief relationship with a pipe. Granny has a cat named Lemmy(mine was named Puss Cooper) and doesn't dress like a person of her years. Same here.

Writer Gary Dobbs has created a modern day cozy series that can stand alongside some of those series by British Isles authors that I devoured in my early years. He has a great mystery here and brings that style of cozy forward into the twenty-first century, touching on modern subjects that wouldn't have been tolerated back then, Hell, not even thought of back then.

Most excellent.









Out November and available for pre-order now - The Afterlife of Slim McCord

Tainted Stats

Weekly Stats Report: 28 Oct - 3 Nov 2013 
Project: THE TAINTED ARCHIVE
URL: http://tainted-archive.blogspot.com/

Summary

	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total	Avg
Pageloads	187	177	157	174	179	147	152	1,173	168
Unique Visits	155	152	131	145	158	123	131	995	142
First Time Visits	141	143	125	136	154	119	129	947	135
Returning Visits	14	9	6	9	4	4	2	48	7