Let it Roll: Songs by George Harrison

George Harrison, the so-called "Quiet Beatle", was out shined in that band by his more flamboyant cohorts but he added some great tunes to the Beatles catalog and he burst into solo stardom with the bright burst of pent-up creativity that he called All Things Must Pass.

George never quite hit that height again but he made a lot of fine records before his death. Enough fine records that it would be hard for a single disc compilation to really do it justice...but Let it Roll: Songs of George Harrison does a pretty fair job just the same.

The big hits..."My Sweet Lord", "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)", "Got my Mind Set on You", "Isn't it a Pity", "Blow Away"...are all here and they sound great on this collection.

George's tribute to John Lennon..."All Those Years Ago" (see below)...and his look back at Beatlemania..."When We Was Fab"...are also here as are lovely live versions of three of his Beatles tunes ("Something", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", and "Here Comes the Sun".)

As a brief, but potent, overview of George Harrison's musical legacy, the 19-track Let it Roll: Songs of George Harrison is, well, fab.

Bo Diddley : 1928-2008

The amazing Bo Diddley, one of the seminal figures in the history of rock and roll, died today. He was 79.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of '08

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced its newest group of inductees. The class of ’08 (artists become eligible 25 years after the release of their first single or album) is led by Madonna (see the "Borderline" video from back in the day below) and also features John Mellencamp, singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, instrumental rockers the Ventures (whose hits included the classic theme from the TV show Hawaii 5-0), and British invasion stalwarts the Dave Clark Five.

The induction ceremony will be held in New York on March 10, 2008.

Monster Mash

Happy Halloween from Bobby "Boris" Pickett and some classic movie monsters
(and your pal here at Neverending Rainbow :-)

The Zimmers - My Generation

Possibly the coolest Who cover ever! :-)

Somewhere Pete Townshend is smiling ruefully (or, hopefully, laughing his butt off :-)

Hit Me Baby One More Time

Okay let me start by being completely honest here: as much as I really liked "Tennessee", "Only the Lonely", and "My Sharona" when they hit the charts (and later classic rock radio), I really hadn't been spending a lot of time wondering what Arrested Development, The Motels, or The Knack were doing these days.

And I certainly didn't give much thought to the whereabouts of Loverboy, Tiffany, A Flock of Seagulls, Haddaway, or Vanilla Ice either.

But that said, this NBC show...recycling 80's and 90's pop stars (and/or one-hit wonders) into pop nostalgia (and possible comeback "kids") for the 21st Century...is curiously appealing and actually pretty entertaining (the smarmy host...whose name escapes me here...and unfortunate series name notwithstanding.)

The perfomers perform their greatest hit during the first half of the show and then cover a recent hit by other performers in the second half; the studio audience then decides who wins the prize of a $20,000 donation to their favorite charity. With CSI in reruns, it's a fun way to kill an hour on Thursday nights.

And with Sophie B. Hawkins and Cameo scheduled to perform next week, I'll certainly be watching. Word up! :-)