Friday, July 8, 2022

Charlie Says - Movie Review

    Charlie Says (2019) hit the theater as a limited release in 2019, and pretty much came and went, barely even registering a showing at the box office, only taking in about $37,000. Despite this poor showing, it is actually a pretty good film, well worth checking out. The movie comes at the TLB saga from a different angle- a post-murders, feminist slant. The production values are relatively good, and there are some decent performances. It is currently available on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Roku. 

    When it comes to movies about the Manson saga, it is probably best to look at the films from two angles- how does it work as a movie, i.e. entertainment, and how does it fit into the whole area of Manson/TLB studies regarding accuracy. This film is not a documentary, so problems with accuracy should not deter you from viewing it. Word of warning: there is abundant nudity and sexual situation in the film.

     The source material for the movie is The Family by Ed Sanders, and The Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houten by Karlene Faith (the producers add a disclaimer at the end that the movie was made without the cooperation of Leslie and Katie. Susan had already passed away at this point). The primary focus of the movie is on Lulu, with Katie and Karlene Faith playing prominent supporting roles. Susan does feature as well, but not too as large a degree as the others. Charlie is of course in a large number of scenes, but he is not the focus of the film. 

    The film itself alternates between two time periods- the mid 1970s and the months leading up to the TLB murders. Karlene Faith is a grad student that is invited by the warden of the California Institute for Women to teach courses to Lulu, Sadie, and Katie, who are being kept in isolation after having had their death sentences overturned. Karlene is a feminist scholar and focuses part of the sessions with the girls on the premise that they may also be victims of Manson's abuse. As the story progresses, the girls come to some painful realizations about the lives they led with Manson and the horrors they took part in. 

    All of the actors involved do a good job, with some giving real scene stealing performances. Hannah Murray as Leslie and Sosie Bacon as Katie are very expressive and emotional in their portrayals. Marianne Rendon actually underplays Sadie, making her more pensive than the typical over the top crazy Sadie portrayals we have come to expect. Merritt Wever really nails the socially conscious and empathetic Ms. Faith. 

    Some scenes to look out for: Paul Watkins bringing a young girl to the ranch who doesn't fall for Charlie's act or his jailhouse pimp games, Melcher's visit to Spahn for Charlie's music showcase, Charlie's physical and sexual abuse of Sadie over salad dressing (this really highlights his misogyny and control over the women) and the final key scenes in the movie: the LaBianca's murders and the cut to the 'present' when it really sinks in for Leslie.

    The LaBianca's murder scene is harrowing. We see the casualness of Charlie dispatching them inside, the confusion and mounting terror in Lulu, Rosemary's desperate fight for her life against a knife wielding Katie as she hears her husband being murdered down the hall. It culminates with Tex and Katie prodding Lulu to stab Rosemary. Hannah Murray plays this scene to great effect, punctuating each stab with her own blood curdling screams. The look she has on her blood spattered face afterwards is powerful.   

     Now onto the actual history in the film. A lot of the Manson movies are hampered by the fact that there is an awful lot of information and back story to pack into a running time of around two hours. Out of necessity, things are left out or condensed for storytelling's sake, or put onto composite characters or other characters. Charlie says at times suffers from some of these faults. 

    The set at Spahn is pretty accurate, and it is actually the same set used in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. We also get to see Squeaky taking care of George (in more ways than one), Charlie orchestrating an orgy, Charlie's head games, the acid trips, Dennis Wilson, the Straight Satans, etc. these scenes come and go pretty quickly. 

     The motive for the murders is presented as being part Helter Skelter and part Manson's frustration at his derailed music career. After Melcher passes on Charlie's music, Charlie starts to spiral, becoming more and more aggressive in pushing Helter Skelter on the Family. Helter Skelter was mentioned in passing at first, but after this rejection, it takes center stage. 

    The filmmakers actually gave most of the women distinct, actual personalities, rather than the cartoonish portrayals they often get in some films. 

    The murders themselves receive little screen time. We are shown Tex and Sadie getting high on speed the night of Cielo. the murders at Cielo are condensed into a short but powerful scene of Sadie holding a terrified and pleading Sharon while Katie tells Tex to 'kill her.' Tex slashes Sharon's face and then the scene ends. The Waverly scene is slightly longer, but the actual murders aren't depicted in a graphic manner where we see Rosemary being stabbed by Leslie- we just see Leslie thrusting a knife over and over.

    Manson here is shown to be more of a con man and wannabe pimp than in some of his other on screen portrayals. He is shown to be manipulative more than he is shown to be some kind of mystical guru with extraordinary powers of persuasion and the ability to stop clocks. He uses a mix of drugs, physical abuse, sex, jailhouse games, and some pseudo philosophy in order to manipulate the Family members. 

      Overall, Charlie Says is one of the better Manson related films. The performances of the leads make it standout, and the portrayal of the relationships between the three women and Manson are fascinating to watch. It also includes a fairly accurate portrayal of life at Spahn.   

60 comments:

G. Greene-Whyte said...

Welcome, Jay. I liked this one too. I never expected these films to be as deep as they are.

G. Greene-Whyte said...

We need a Hawthorne movie.

Peter said...

Can you define "abundant nudity". Asking for a friend.

G. Greene-Whyte said...

I thought I made a bunch of screen caps for this film but was unable to find them when I saw this post in the queue.

Unknown said...

Just watched it. It was "ok" ... certainly not as bad as some other attempts.

Little details bug me though - Why were their heads shaved, but no Xs carved in their foreheads? The door Sharon answers at Cielo when Charley visits looking for Melcher looks nothing like the real "pig" door.
... Where was Clem? Not mentioned and no one played him, not in the cast. All trivial little stuff but if I can remember minor details, why can't the writers/director? But then I like to nitpick, like when there's a Peaches record store in Tarantino's recreation of 1969 Hollywood, when Peaches didn't even exist yet. I know ... "picky picky picky" =D

I've given up though - no one will ever get it "perfect" - not gonna' happen. And as time goes by, the myths will grow while the facts recede.

tobiasragg said...

I found this to be one of the more accurate and realistic of the Manson/TLB films. As Jay suggests, they don't get everything correct (did Dennis Wilson ever actually visit Spahn?) but they get a ton more correct than not.

The LaBianca murders are quite close to the tale told by the perps and about as tastefully done as such a thing can be. We do not see either of the couple actually being stabbed, but the effect and horror is accurately communicated. Particularly impressive to me was the scene that played out in the kitchen upon the girls' entry into the home. The brief dialogue between the two girls and Watson was on-point, and we hear Leno crying out in the background "you're going to kill us - aren't you!" I watched this with a really good 5.1 sound set up and the visceral effect was a bit harrowing, with Mr. LaBianca's desperate cries sounding as if they really were coming from another room.

The actor playing Manson is a bit too Hollywood-handsome, but he does a decent job and there are moments where he really nails Manson's voice and mannerisms. I found the post murder prison scenes to be most interesting, and after a while I found myself wishing that the entire film was focused on this period, rather than interspersing the flashbacks along the way.

This film deserved a bit more attention than it apparently got, though perhaps more people are discovering this via streaming services than were motivated to pay for a theater seat when the flick first released. Def worth the watch.

Fayez Abedaziz said...

Is this the movie where there are clips on youtube 'Charlie Says'?
I watched 'em.
Really? A good portrayal, ha, why didn't they have Charro and Pia Zadora in there?
What did they do, walk out to the nearest sidewalk and grab the first three brunnettes to play Susan, Leslie and Patricia?
Same old story with these Manson movies. Hell, the girl doesn't even resemble Leslie
Van Houten and,
did you know about the old ads for oh, lemme see, E F Hutton!
Yeah, those ads, in the good old days, had people like, in a restaurant and a couple guys are talking brokers and one asks the other who's your broker? Fella says, "E F Hutton, Hutton." The restaurant goes quiet and everybody looks at them, all ears.
Cause you see, when "Hutton talks, people listen."
So, this stupid movie is titled 'Charlie Says'? Let's ask the dummies Patricia and Leslie if that bull frtom grubby, clever and big mouth 'no it's all' Charlie said those things, where did the dialogue come from?
What they don't tell you in any movie is that, more people left Spahn Bitch then stayed. The dummies that stayed weren't even there that long, anyway. Some stayed a couple days, some a week. After the murders, most were gone. Just look at the pictures of all those that were around for the months before the end of August and then at the not too many that were at Barker Retch in October.
I don't beleive for a second that Ole Charle said half the words in any of these movies. And, the girls that went to trial and the ones that didn't either didn't wanna talk about some things and 'facts' of life at horseshit ground and no showers Spahn, or they just smiled or laughed, like, 'okay, yeah,' 'cool,' sure, whatever
Listen to me. There were alot of guys like 'Charlie Says.'
That's a funny last name, isn't it? They were in some communes and in some shared big house or two or three, together. The difference is that Charlie and the primitive minded people, like Tex and the three bitches-Leslie, Pat and Susan, committed murders and of...wait for it...celebrities! Show business people! A movie star. Swimming pools. Fashion guy Sebring! The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.
Everything is sensational, everything is gossip, everything is read all about it.
Fancy shmancy, sex, rich people, what's not to like? Read some more, those crazy hippies and blah blah.
Charlie Manson had long hair
the kids there didn't care
they listened to Charlie and Charlie was more clever than smart
That's why he ended up in jail
take a look at the three girl stooges walking down the courthouse halls
boy this is gonn be fun
Charlie sees 'em walk into the courtroom grins waves and smiles
look at the videos at the three girls of Cielo and Waverly shame and fame
look at the ' them' in this dumb weird not to be taken seriously movie
they look absolutely nothing like the real Susan Patricia and dizzy Leslie
right there that should tell you all-huh who what where what story is this
heh, the wrong one-more false portrayal's of the simple minded young people that were and are everywhere from Santa Susana to the Haight to there and there too
but Charlie led them to violence and so, it all ended there.
Did the girls in this movie go get their clothes from Macy's? Ah, you fashion bug Susan, I knew it, on to Paris, Gigi Hadid is waiting or something
By the way, I don't beleive for a second, that Lynnette, Sandy, Susan and some other girls really believed the nonsense, most anyway, that Charlie said to newcomers to the Ranch. They just went along and simply had their own grudges and hang-ups and were comfortable there. Where else to go? They asked silly Sadie, later and she said, "I don't know...sometimes I thought I'd leave but I had nowhere to go...no where...I didn't

grimtraveller said...

Translation: Fayez didn't like the movie.

Peter said...

I watched it. The tits were good. Lulu is too fat though. And the hairy armpits were a turnoff.

David said...

Grim said: "Translation: Fayez didn't like the movie."

You are probably right but are you sure that is what it says? I only ask because really am relying on you, Grim, for the translation.

Do you speak fluent Abedaziz-Da ba dee da ba di, Da ba dee da ba di, Da ba dee da ba di, Da ba dee da ba di, Da ba dee da ba di Da ba dee da ba di, Da ba dee da ba di? or are you using an online translator?

David said...

Oh, I forgot.

I have a hard time recalling a better movie about all this. Maybe someone else can.

As long as you can glide past those little details, and for me the fact Leslie didn't look like Leslie while the rest pretty much did or at least were close. It's a movie, not a docudrama or documentary.

I was personally impressed with the acting for what was not a $300m film and some of the attention to detail as noted by Jay. Leslie taking a shower at the LaBiancas, PK eating watermelon, I believe, with Watson in the kitchen. Having the bag of change. The fact they all in the flashback seemed to feel nothing for what they had done.

But the best scenes for me were at the end. The realization sinking in about what they had done.

My 2 cents.

frank said...

I hope it's worth the 4 bucks I paid for it off ebay.

tobiasragg said...

Four bucks ain't bad. It's streaming - somewhere - though, I just watched it that way.

BDRoper said...

Not filmed on Tarantino's set

BDRoper said...

Spahn Ranch scenes filmed at Bermite Facility

BDRoper said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tobiasragg said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
grimtraveller said...

David said...

You are probably right but are you sure that is what it says? I only ask because really am relying on you, Grim, for the translation

It's easy to understand and translate if you read it backwards in the mirror.
That's what I do anyway ! 🪞

G. Greene-Whyte said...

I dug it, Fayez. Keep going.

Fayez Abedaziz said...

"I was down a long time but now I don't care about anything
everythings up for me I don't worry anymore."
Susan Sadie- July 1969
I was wondering, 'where did they come from where did they go?'
Then,I declare, look at that- CieloDrive.com and RXSTR.com
heh, look at those faces.
Some people are experts some are asking honest questions.
Makes me wonder
Did our friends at Club Spahn (anyone remember Club Med? They're still around)
get together when someone showed up?
Did they get together like a welcoming committee?
What didn't we see? The gang checking a newcomers teeth like when you're checking out a horse you're thinking of buying?
When someone showed up with the geniuses Beausoleil with a knife on his belt, some hippie, yeah sure. Or, with Paul Watkins and his silly mustache?
The new kids wanted to 'belong' and see if this is the place it's gonna be found.
Soon, it was screw that, so long, bye.
Where did you all come from, now you're here
it seems some from far and some near
Sandy's from San Diego that's south of here, Amigo
Susan's from Los Banos
Lynette and Leslie and Patricia from the Los Angeles area.
Well, none of 'em came from too far at all and they even enjoyed not going very far
to their new homes, the addresses kindly provided to the Sheriffs' offices for free transport. The enjoyable sites of California's countrysides. Free laundry and a table for combs and makeup and stationary. Even pens!
See the points:
Spahn was not 'organized' as is said and strongly suggested by all the movies.
The documentaries were like that too and such production's- a few minutes here, then there and most people interviewed, for several seconds or for three minutes, want to impress the interviewer and/or their peers, there fellow whatevers. In these situations, their fellow Spahn livers.
And, this point-That's why I brought up where some of the girls came from- the movies, books and so on, say the same thing: 'she or he came from a middle class this and that family/town. She had a normal up-bringing. She, over there didn't because her father did this or left and this girl's mother went to the Lord and so on.
Can you dig where I'm going? They're describing several million and more, easily, the lives that were not really very unusual in American society.
I was a kid watching the scenes, just as I was growing up, from Michigan and thinking of seeing the new ways and changes. Look, the kids down the block have a
Hula Hoop. I said, what's that, hua whoop? heh Then Ed Sullivan and The Beatles and the Rolling Stones!
You realize, by now, don't you, even you ne'er do wells, that it was really Susan Sadie that did what the mop tops/fab four sang about her, don't you?
She "made a fool of everyone." From the Grand Jury in December '69, of course, to saying no, I take it back, to writing books and, hey Susan, we thought you were one of the very top ones that were loyal to Charlie and so you know, so on.
Charlie said something that is really perceptive and true and that would apply, too I say, in my opinion here, to those that praised, for example, the movie-Once Upon a time in Hollywood'
That, some liked the ending of the movie. Makes me wonder. It was wrong, bad, not good.
This is Charlie's quite brilliant obversation, in 1993, with Diane Sawyer, as I recall:
"There was a time when being crazy meant something. Now, everybody's crazy!"
So true, Brother Charlie, so true. Some of us hope that you found peace and truth as you left us and your soul went up there.
Yet, after writing this and other comments, I'm thinking of writing more comments to tell y'all how I really feel!
Good one, eh, Green-Whyte? How ya doin'?
How's it going for you these days in the wilds of the midwest, anyway?

Dan S said...

Warning or bonus? My friend is into that kind of thing

Jay said...

Thanks for the comments everyone. GW -appreciate being given the opportunity to post.
Fayez, love your comments as always, even though you didn’t like the film. I enjoy reading your stuff
David and Tobias- good comments. I did think this one was a cut above some of the schlockier films out there. Outside of someone coming up with a limited series or something of that length, I don’t think we will ever see a definitive dramatic account. I would love to see something with good production values and writing that is the length (or longer) of the Six Degrees of Helter Skelter documentary. There are so many personalities with crazy, interesting stories, it would make for a wild ride b
Unknown- I am guessing Clem was left out because his presence wasn’t really needed for any of the scenes. The hour snd fifty minute run time probably dictated the narrative. I’m thinking Clem wouldn’t move the story forward.


G. Greene-Whyte said...

I love the indie feel where the people don't look like the people. Makes me feel smarter. Keep writing, Jay. I thought I'd screen capped that movie but when I went to grab the photos for you, I was unable to find them. Oy vey.

G. Greene-Whyte said...

You guys gotta get stoned before reading Fayez. He's a poet. Stop the hate.

Dan S said...

I think a tex film would be the way to go to explain the murders. Like that movie Higher Education you'd have a dumb ass protagonist trying to impress his peer group all the time

Tony said...

And the biggest myths.. Charlie visiting the crime scene and Krenwinkel went down to Garretsons place leaving no blood trail just after helping Watson stab Abigail Folger to death... There are some people out there who believe this 😂

grimtraveller said...

GG-W said:

You guys gotta get stoned before reading Fayez

Hey, Fayez, GG-W's accusing you of promoting drug use in an age of health consciousness among the middle aged and elderly !

He's a poet

When I was at school, I had to study the metaphysical poets. I used to want to get physical with them, alright. But they were already in an altered state and too metaphysical for me !

Stop the hate

It wasn't hate. It was humour.
In order to comment on a piece of writing, one must first have read it. So it's a win~win for Fayez. And if one writes in a somewhat obscure manner at times, it goes with the territory and decision to write that way, that some people are going to have a little fun with it all. Sometimes.

Tony said:

And the biggest myths..and Krenwinkel went down to Garretsons place leaving no blood trail just after helping Watson stab Abigail Folger to death... There are some people out there who believe this

Well, if it is believed, it is only believed because it is what Pat herself said.
And as for blood trails, actually, there wasn't an abundance of blood trails. For example, even after her exploits, there's no Pat blood trail marking any part of her exit. So did she fly out of Cielo ?

Peter said...

Can't imagine anything more boring than a movie about Tex.

David said...

GG-W said: "You guys gotta get stoned before reading Fayez. He's a poet. Stop the hate."

As I read this, I was standing between the pines on the common green near that space that they, who dwell too deeply in reality and who are of smaller minds, label with that simple color.

She, with whom I had shared a bed these past three years, danced upon the green as the nocto-lobe became slowly ascendant over the one that had just a few moments ago once been the norm. No longer. The past was the past and should stay there despite our nostalgia for that brief time.

She gazed at me with those bright eyes while her rhythmic dance cast the cantrip which caused the sphere so precious to her to be seen racing far below the exosphere over and over again. Each time the one named by me after the shadows to free her from her first name, danced. Each time the circle appeared before me. Each time it flew away.

The wings of wisdom suddenly sounded their call and it followed as the night the day that my error had been to cast judgment. Oh, that weighty crown. Too many have used their judgments to cast judgment on judgments that do not fit nicely within their own judgments. I too had forsaken the one true rule. But found it at last in her dance. I must embrace the distraction.

At that moment I found peace.

She danced, again, under the moonlight.

“Spill the wine” was all I could think to say.

“It’s too late to fall in love with Sharon Tate”, she responded.

G. Greene-Whyte said...

1000 Green Points for the Jim Carroll line.

"...into a swamp where rise these purple days" is his line that went right thru my heart and lodged forever in my addled brain.

Doug said...

https://youtu.be/3i0DMbCKnAg

Dan S said...

Taciturn tex IS boring but there's hijink all around him, think mute peter sellars meets Higher Learning's Michael rappaport. It could stay with the girls getting a ride from dennis. All the craziness of spahn with Tex the outsider observing all of it. Crashing the ferrrari. Watchingthe orgy andfeeling left out, having to sleep on a way out outlaw shack, crashing the Ferrari with clem, watching the band campers caterwauling, plowing lvh and the new girl cosmically, finally wheedling into disdainful wizard leader's inner circle, he's so eager to please his poo brain goes through with what the wizard's diarreha mouth shits out. His dullness may be a foil for the family's excitement and Show the motivation begins it all

Tony said...

Was it Krenwinkel who said she turned the door handle but it was locked? And another time she said that she walked half way down to the guest house after being ordered by Watson to check it out and a feeling of guilt came over her and she waited a while and turned back, we'll never know the truth because Krenwinkel has told so many different stories about the events that night that no one will believe her if she did manage to recall what really happened

G. Greene-Whyte said...

Tony, imo Billy was hiding somewhere or beat it down those trails in the back. The question of how he'd be able to fall asleep after that makes me doubt my opinion however.

grimtraveller said...

Tony said:

we'll never know the truth because Krenwinkel has told so many different stories about the events that night that no one will believe her if she did manage to recall what really happened

I completely agree with you on that one.

GG-W said:

The question of how he'd be able to fall asleep after that makes me doubt my opinion however

Billy had a penchant for falling asleep during events that arguably, he should have been awake during ! 😩

David Lane said...

Watched it for free on theflixer.tv instead of some work I have to complete. Glad I popped into the blog and came across the film. OK, I know the story, so this different take worked for me, reasonable acting and a few snippets of new information were there to contemplate.

Ended up feeling sorry for the women at the close of the film and struggling to wonder if I'm allowed to do that after the pain they inflicted.

tobiasragg said...

"Ended up feeling sorry for the women at the close of the film and struggling to wonder if I'm allowed to do that after the pain they inflicted."

Oh well yeah, that is a completely valid response and it has been a very common one over the years. As the original trial was winding down decades ago, a lot of reporters covering the proceedings were sharing this very thought, that part of this whole tragedy is that these very young girls had become so misled and had given up their very lives (it was thought) to this very evil and misguided man.

For me, the true sympathy is reserved for the victims. But I do have empathy for the Manson followers who have remained incarcerated for all of these years.

Jay said...

I think feeling empathy for the girls at the end of the film is a testament to the great acting job done by the women who played Katie and Lulu. When it all sank in for them, the actresses really conveyed a sense of guilt and loss. When Lulu finally says ‘it was all for nothing,’ you really get a sense of how they wasted their lives as well. The scene where Lulu stabs Rosemary is also powerful due to the screams from Lulu and the look on her face. She made it look like part of herself died too.
Obviously, in real life, it was likely different, and the most horrible part of it all was what happened to the victims. I’m just commenting on how it looked and the effect that it had as a film scene. I think the acting elevated this one above a good bit of the other Manson films.

grimtraveller said...

David Lane said:

struggling to wonder if I'm allowed to do that after the pain they inflicted

You are if you're a human being.
Some people cannot see past the murders.Some cannot see past the way the women acted during their trial. There are many who feel they are on the side of 'right' and therefore justified in stopping time for all eternity at 1969/70/71.
For me, life is a continuum and while I have no problem with none of the perps ever leaving prison, neither do I have a problem with any of them ever leaving jail ~ if they are genuinely remorseful. That's the key for me, how have they presented themselves, thoughts and feelings and all, in the ensuing years. That is where any consideration of parole begins and that is where any assessment of any of them as people begins. And if they have come to realise, genuinely, the horror of their wrongdoing and can see how they were manipulated {even if it was with their free, uncoerced consent}, then why might not one have sympathy for them ? Is it really so hard to have sympathy for Bobby Beausoleil and Bruce Davis being raped as kids ? Is it so hard to feel some revulsion at the sexually deviant treatment Charles Manson was or at least may well have been subjected to by both inmates and their guardians ? Regardless of what Susan Atkins may have done, is it really with relish that one dismisses her being sexually abused by her own brother, his friends and possibly friends of her Dad's ? Is one being a stupid sucker to want to cry for Pat, feeling utterly ignored by her own family and feeling like a hairy monster that couldn't be loved and was paid less attention to than her heroin addict sister ? Does one plumb the depths of idiocy by feeling sorry for Leslie whose supposedly safe world {by early 60s American standards} was ripped apart by her parent's divorce and her subsequent enforced abortion ?
There is so often this implicit assumption that somehow trying to understand the mindset of some of the murderers equates to justifying what they did or angling for their parole. Those those feel that should grow up. Perhaps those are strong terms in which to put things, but honestly, it is easy to feel every bit as much sympathy for the killers within the confines of their own stories as it is for the victims as victims of wicked, brutal, disgusting murder, while still holding onto very strong views about whether or not they should remain in jail and coming down on either side..

David said...

Well said, Grim.

Doug said...

Excellent comment Grim. 100%

Jay said...

Great comment grim. The more you dig into this whole thing, the more complicated it gets regarding certain things.

David said...

Doug said: https://youtu.be/3i0DMbCKnAg

And this was a great post too. Been playing this since you put up the link.

War- a very under rated band..... IMO.

Matt said...

Agreed. I dug War as a teenager. Had the LP's and played them often.

Doug said...

🤘 David's correct...super players, super underrated

The World Is A Ghetto 🔥

Doug said...

Since some of us are talking music and the MF here, May I suggest giving THIS absolutely INCREDIBLE live, note-perfect recreation of the most pertinent 4 sides of MF worshipped music some of your closest attention.

Like the cast of "Charlie Says" this group of musicians from Holland (fun Fact- Holland is a Beach Boys album title in you didn't already know) does NOT attempt to VISUALLY REPLICATE THEIR SOURCE SUBJECTS...but rather, painstakingly recreate the complexities of their sources innermost soulfulness using the exact tools of the time in question.

These guys are, as another musician friend of mine was moved to say, "

"Yeah. That's phenomenal. Bang on with instruments also. It's not widely known Paul used a Fender throughout the recording of the White Album...Alot of the bass was also doubled with guitar to make it pop. While my Guitar Gently Weeps being a prime example. It sounds like they replicated that with EQ or maybe an octaver."

Enjoy!!!

https://youtu.be/dPiplYL897o

grimtraveller said...

Doug said:

The World Is A Ghetto

Funnily enough, I was listening to this, "Low rider" and "Summer" during the week.

David said...

Grim said: Doug said: The World Is A Ghetto

Strange ....after I wrote that silliness on the 12th and Doug sent the link this has been on the turntable on an doff ever since.

G. Greene-Whyte said...

The World is a Ghetto is an amazing album imo. I put it up there with Kind of Blue but for different reasons. Kind of Blue is more sentimental.

G. Greene-Whyte said...

Also, I just had a scoop of fresh Blueberry Pie frozen custard and it was freakin amazing.

David said...

I just spilled my wine.

G. Greene-Whyte said...

How did you catch herpes? Butt stuff?

Doug said...

Wrong post...lol

Doug said...

I've got 3 versions of The World is a Ghetto -

1. Original Canadian vinyl album

2. 180 Gram Renastered vinyl album

3. 24-Bit Expanded Remaster CD

But what I would REALLY love to do is be able to enjoy listening to this Original Quad Mix vinyl Test Pressing

*My birthday is on May 2nd folks ;-)

Lordy!

https://www.discogs.com/release/8542932-War-The-World-Is-A-Ghetto


David said...

Doug said: My birthday is on May 2nd folks ;-)

I admit to being tech-stupid (not challenged) but aside from the Mercedes ad on their I don't see a price.

Doug said...

None in circulation. Test Pressing.

Nine CLAIM to own a copy

I've heard many artists/albums in quad and 5.1 type mixes with the proper (read EXPENSIVE) but not this awesome recording.

You didn't miss the price...kinda unattainable my friend

Doug said...

*(read EXPENSIVE) gear

David said...

Ah, I see.

Doug said...

"Second Quad Test Pressing (Never Released)"

I'd wager that at the very least, 8 of those 9 people are fill of poop

Meez said...

I think Matt Smith was horribly miscast