PaulBettany displays simply towering talent in his portrayal here of serial killer Ted Kaczynski. Such examples of the following phenomenon are not without precedent, but they are rare fowl indeed. The Phenomenon: Bettany manages to be more Unabomber-esque than the Unabomber himself. Sure, it’s not possible; but this seems to pose little hindrance. Like G. Oldman as Stansfield, Olivier as Christian Szell, and Brando as Lee Clayton, Bettany simply has that much power to spare. It is rare indeed that a performance can truly be categorized as iconic…but the word applies fully in this situation. Incredible mastery. I find it haunting, in any number of ways, to this day. Indelible.
Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers perform their monster hit Why Do Fools Fall In Love live on the Frankie Laine Show in 1956. The 13 year old Lymon simply sizzles and electrifies the Nation with this performance; the prodigy already has a fully formed vocal delivery many talents never attain. Words have a different sound, and even meaning, coming from his mouth. Note the maestro-ism in his approach: rather than hitting the same nail with the selfsame hammer, he eschews the falsetto moments for a more Joe Williams-esque way forward. His stage presence is magnetic yet composed, and, oh, Lymon is a brilliant dancer, too. Other than that, well….but wait! He gives a calm, charming interview (of sorts) with host Laine. I suppose all that’s good enough. Good enough to massively influence generations of musicians, most conspicuously a certain One-Glovèd individual. To MJ‘s credit, he was quite open about this. That said, a wide swath was cut, and a vast-ish net was cast: heck, The Beach Boys have noted him as an inspiration.
Now, to give a bit of context to this groundbreaking performance. Frankie Lymon met and quickly joined a doo-wop ensemble featuring the doddering, shambling Methuselean figure Herman Santiago, checking in at a full 1 1/2 years older than Frankie L. He was 15 when all appeared on the Laine program. A tenor vocalist and the human being most likely to have actually composed Why Do Fools Fall In Love (it has been disputed for 2.3 epochs at last count…), Santiago functioned as the ensemble’s frontman until something became crystal clear: Lymon was The One. Santiago was the one (small case) scheduled to sing lead on Why during recording sessions until, for reasons which are different depending upon who(m) is asked (late arrival to session, sore throat, missing merkin collection and intensive, time-consuming search required to retrieve same…) (said collection remains at large to this very day), he was unable to do so. Lymon unhesitatingly filled the void, in the session, in our lives, and in human history. I have grown fatigued/verklempt.
The great vocalist/pianist/composer performs both solo and with his group Raspberries. The range and breadth of Mr. Carmen’s talent has really never been fully appreciated. And his voice is truly a thing of wonder.
Kings of the 2-minute and under weight-division, the Ramones pack quite the copious wallop of mordant wit into their creations. And Joey Ramone leaves no doubt in these masterful performances as to his total command of the vocal art. Remarkably inventive, powerful, sublime.
The Buzzcocks, founded in 1976 by Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto {who departed to pastures new in ’77}, are one of the preeminent punk bands to emerge from the UK. Extremely lyrical as well as hard-edged, they strung together many brilliant tunes, due mainly to the genius of composer and lead vocalist Shelley. Included here are a few from Pete’s solo career, as well as some particularly rewarding live group efforts.
The stunning talents of JeffLynne are here featured. Few are his peers. The braintrust of ElectricLightOrchestra, Lynne composed, arranged, and produced nearly all of the band’s material, while also contributing lead vocals and multi-instrumentalism. A musical polymath, and an immensely gifted artist.
Bideodromage 