20 & 21 April 2013 (Days 110-1) – Work and Charro!

It was the weekend that wasn’t.  I worked on Saturday in circumstances that made listening to music impossible.  By the end of the day all I wanted to do was curl up in bed but “M” and I headed off for dinner at her sister’s.  I didn’t have much of an agenda for Sunday other than to spend it with “M”.  Fortunately, the AFL came to the party and scheduled The Bulldogs to play interstate.  So I took “M” off to town for church and an equally heavenly seafood platter for lunch.

Eventually we made our way home and I settled in to watch the game.  It became fairly obvious, fairly early that we were going to cop a hiding.  With “M” dozing off, I flicked stations and came across the last 30 minutes of the Elvis Presley flick Charro!

Ah! Entertainment at last!  My father’s love of the big E had ensured that I’d seen just about every Presley film in my youth.  I hadn’t seen Charro! probably because it was just about the only film of his in which he didn’t sing during his performance.  (He apparently sings the song that played over the opening credits.)  I watched the film through to its conclusion and felt none the wiser as to what I’d just seen.  The plot went something like this:

Elvis appears to be a Sheriff who has a dude locked up. The dude’s brother has a canon which his mates are firing on the town in a bid to have him released. I know this because the dude's brother is also in town making the same demand.  The townsfolk are also making the same demand unhappy their homes and businesses are being blown to smithereens. But Elvis doesn’t release the dude.  He also doesn’t arrest the brother who leaves town without being attacked by the townsfolk.  Elvis then takes the dude to the gang and cannon and, under the cover of darkness with only a split rock for cover, manages to kill off the rest of the gang except for the brother.  The dude, who Elvis had handcuffed to a bush, is killed by the runaway cannon, as you do.  The following morning, Elvis, the canon and the brother leave town together, waved off by grateful townsfolk and, it would appear, the town’s madame for whom Elvis will send. 

Afterwards I hit the net and found the plot of the movie.  Apart from being a deputised Sheriff, I find that my description holds up pretty well.  But I did discover the role Elvis played was originally meant for Clint Eastwood and was supposed to be an American version of a spaghetti western.  Armed with his chiselled good looks and block of wood acting style, Elvis would have been the perfect choice.  Unfortunately the script changed dramatically between signing up and the start of production with lots of violence and sex cut out.  It’s a pity.  Given that the movie was made around the same time as his 69 comeback special, I suspect he thought this was going to reclaim his image.  I think it was Peter Guralnick in his two volume bio who made the claim that the 69 Special was all Elvis' idea and had to fight his manager Colonel Tom Parker tooth and nail to get his way.   I wonder whether The Colonel was at work behind the scenes and used his influence to neuter the film.

Having confirmed that The Doggies had been embarrassed with Adelaide winning by 52 points and keeping us to a very small score, there was time to play a couple of albums by acts I’ll be seeing at the ATP gig in October:

(# 298) Sleep – Holy Mountain (1992)

Apparently this album is regarded as a landmark album in the development of the stoner rock movement.  It contains the mighty rhythm section of Al Cisneros and Chris Haikus who would go on to form acclaimed doom rockers Om augmented by the guitar work of Matt Pike.  Together they make an unholy racket underpinned by strong thick audible bass lines.  This is heard to great effect on the opener Dragonaut, the epic Evil Gypsy/Solomon’s Theme and the 10 minute From Beyond.  My version also contains a suitably heavy and respectful cover of Black Sabbath’s Snowblind.

(# 299) The Jesus Lizard – Show (1994)

Noise + rhythm + crazed frontman = The Jesus Lizard, a band from Texas that has produced some of the most enjoyable confrontational music ever produced.  The key is charismatic frontman David Yow whose unhinged stage persona is the perfect match for their similarly demented tunes.  The best way to experience and appreciate the band is live and Show, recorded at legendary CBGBs in New York, is an adequate document.  Essentially a best of set drawn from their first four albums, it commences with the memorable one-two punch of Glamorous and Deaf As A Bat delivered with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.  Later on, the crazed country number Nub gives way to Elegy – the closest thing they have to a tender moment on record – which Yow dedicates to his parents in the audience which is inappropriately followed up with a nice ol’ditty called Killer McHann.  The run home, Fly On The Wall with its sleazy bass line, Puss, Gladatior, Wheelchair Epidemic and Monkey Trask  is a white knuckle ride.  It’s just a shame they couldn’t fit in Destroy Before Reading.

By the end I get an idea.  David Yow as Elvis Presley in Charro!.  Now THAT's entertainment!