The Eternal Swashbuckler

Spotted this DVD a while back and eventually added it to the old collection. “Swashbuckler” is a romantic adventure film from 1976 with Robert Shaw as Captain “Red” Ned Lynch, a pirate that is busy doing his thing in the waters of Jamaica in 1718. Falling in love with noblewoman Jane Barnet (portrayed by Geneviève Bujold) he gets involved in local politics and has a crack at a revolution to sway her his way. I have to say that I really enjoyed this yarn and Robert Shaw is doing an awful lot of swashbuckling for a man at 49. At this point, he had just done “Jaws”, so he was in demand. Sadly, he would pass away in 1978. Looking at his list of movies though, it is quite impressive. If anything, maybe he had a bit of fun with this one? After all, for him it was a revisit to old times.

And here is what I am talking about, a nice three DVD box with all the 39 episodes of the classic television series The Buccaneers (1956-1957). His name is Captain Dan Tempest in this one, and he is sailing the waters of the Caribbian as a reformed pirate, assisting the King in the war against Spain. I mean, I can see why it would be good fun to do this sort of thing again 20 years later, repeating the role as a gung ho pirate with a heart. If anything “Swashbuckler” has put me in the mood to check out The Buckaneers again. And I think I will.

(My shots of said DVDs)

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Live Legend 1999 1997 Apocalypse On Vinyl

Babymetal closed 2021 with the surprise release of all the official live DVDs on Limited Edition Vinyl in Japan, and “Live Legend 1999 1997 Apocalypse” is the first that I have added to the (not so) old collection now. What you get here is two concerts on four LPs, which is pretty cool. Of course, what you really need is the official DVD, but for collectors this is a very nice bonus. Expensive, but nice. I have always enjoyed the visual side of Babymetal DVDs and CDs, the art is always cool and I think that this release is indeed a good example of this. Looks great in LP format.

Recorded six months apart in 2013, these shows represents the meteoric rise of Babymetal in Japan. They were already moving into arenas on the back of singles, videos and live DVDs and by the time they released their first album in early 2014 they were headlining the Budokan on two consecutive nights. I mean, this is unheard of really and quite incredible on multiple levels. What happened there has not only sparked a wave of female rock acts to emerge out of Japan in recent days, it also opened the door to international interest. Not that anything can ever match Babymetal. They are still totally unique. For more information on the original release, check out the detailed DVD review on this blog (June 29 2017).

(My shots of said LP – Thank you Kalle for helping me secure this gem)

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Deep Purple Magazine 25 & 26

I published Deep Purple Magazine 25 and 26 back in 1982, so it has been 40 years now. Issue 25 was a promotional magazine that was printed in 1,000 copies early in the year and it was based on a Deep Purple story that had seen print in Swedish newspaper Helsingborgs Dagblad (written by me). Nice Ritchie Blackmore cover although who the photographer was escapes me at the moment (it has been a long time). Issue 26 saw print during the Spring of 1982 and by then Ian Gillan had performed with his outfit Gillan for the first time in Sweden, and he is posing with a copy of issue 25 on the cover (shot by Patrik Hökby). I was doing militrary service at the time and other interests were taking over. There would be two more magazines before it was all over, published over the next 10 months or so.

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Purple In Rock Candy 30

Not a big deal by any means, but there is a Deep Purple spread about the “Burn” album in UK publication Rock Candy (30, Kiss cover). Went straight into the old collection.

(My shot of said article)

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On Through The Night

I have always loved the cover of the first Def Leppard album “On Through The Night” (by artist Melvin Smith). I remember buying the LP when it came out (in 1980) as I was so happy that new bands were coming up at the time, and although they were really just kids they had youth and enthusiasm on their side. They also had the balls to dream big, illustrated by the song “Hello America” on this release (great track that actually made inroads on that very market right off the bat, resulting in sour grapes from certain quarters in the UK at the time). I still like that tune. They also nailed the logo of the band on their first cover, which is rare. Sadly, I sold my original LP in the 1990s but I just found a CD real cheap and figured it would have its place in the old collection. You can find a lot of 1980s stuff cheap now and I will add some to the old collection for sure.

(My shot of said release, and you can sing “Oh Canada” when you continue catching up on the blog…)

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April 15

Rainbow singer Ronnie Romero and Nazareth both have new albums out on April 15. As for Romero, he is easing into solo territory with an album of covers titled “Raised On Radio”. First promotional clip is a cover of Bad Company´s “No Smoke Without A Fire” (a song from the Brian Howe years of the band). As for Nazareth, “Surviving The Law” will be the first album to feature singer Carl Sentance on vocals. The only guy left from the early days is bass player Pete Agnew. His son Lee is playing the drums. This album will certainly test the loyalty of the old fan base. The first video is up, “Strange Days”.

(Covers seen here is from official platforms)

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Commando 5515-5518

Commando 5515-5518 is out today in the UK. Just search “Commando comics” should you want to subscribe.

(Covers courtesy of Commando)

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Nobody

I saw a trailer for this movie a couple of weeks ago (the bus scene) and I knew I had to see it. Bob Odenkirk stars in “Nobody” and I have to say that this could be the next big franchise. A seemingly ordinary guy (with a murky past) fails to protect his family. Then he has second thoughts and he decides to go back to his early life. Dead scumbags starts to pile up pretty fast. No shortages of bad guys in this one, as Hutch takes on the Russian mob in a big way. Christopher Lloyd (the mad professor in the “Back To The Future” franchise) plays his father and this adds to the joy of this film. The final shootout is spectacular. The viewer is left with the feeling that there may be a sequel and that would be much appreciated.

(My shot of said DVD)

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The Great Deception

Rapture Deception is a Black Metal duo from my neck of the woods (Jämtland County, Sweden). Formed in 2019, they (Amadeus and Brian) released their first Mini Album called “The Great Deception” in 2021. The near 25 minute long four track CD has a Limited Edition first run of 100 copies that is currently available (you can check them out at the Soundcloud platform). I quite enjoyed this CD, I think there could be a big audience for it. It certainly is a statement. Good luck chaps!

(My shot of said CD)

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Classic Alcatrazz Bootleg (Los Angeles 1984)

Here is another classic bootleg from the good old days, Alcatrazz and “Hiroshima Mon Amour”. Recorded at the Country Club in Los Angeles in March 1984, it was to be the final show with Yngwie Malmsteen on guitar before he left for his own thing. His stint in Alcatrazz was a bit of a Supernova going off, it was spectacular but it did not last very long. Yngwie was the hottest guitarist in town and Graham Bonnet and the guys were lucky to have him, as the partnership launched the band in a big way.

This recording was finally released for real on “The Official Bootleg Box Set 1983-1986” in 2021, so it is out there if you want it. If we are to believe the scarce information on the LP, it was printed in West Germany back in the day. Glad to own a copy. Pretty historic stuff.

(My shots of said LP)

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