Customer Reviews

Hollywood Dream

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm among millions of music fans that were mesmerized by the song "Something In The Air". That led me to looking up the band Thunderclap Newman and getting a copy of Hollywood Dream. The CD starts out like something from a wonderful dream. Like a dream you wish you could go back to and continue dreaming. With enthusiastic interest as I listened to the rest of the CD, much of it seemed so anti-climactic as compared with the opening tune. Yet some of my favorite music of all time I did not like so much the first time I heard it. My favorite songs are ones I got to know in the same sort of way as when you meet someone that ultimately becomes your best friend. Had to get to know them a bit and then they came across as great. Hollywood Dream was like that to me. Something In The Air, one of the all time great songs, would have anyone buying Hollywood Dream thinking there must be some other great tunes on the CD. At first impression I thought many of the accompanying tracks were just so much fill to produce an album, but upon further listening, I began to discover other songs that began to impress me more as I got to know them. Hollywood Dream turned out to be quite a gem indeed. The musicianship is excellent. Andy Newman's piano playing tapped into childhood memories of my Grandmother teaching me piano in the basement. Andy inspires me to want to go back to the keyboard and play all day. Jimmy McCulloch (just a kid at the time and shortly thereafter with Paul McCartney's Wings) on guitar shows he was quite good at his craft. Hollywood Dream has some great psychadelics in a few tunes, humour in others. Though Thunderclap Newman could be rightly dubbed a One Album Wonder, Hollywood Dream proves they were much more than a One Hit Wonder. Songs like The Reason, Accidents, Hollywood #1, When I Think, I Don't Know and I See It All contain interesting lyrics and music. The tune Hollywood Dream is an Instrumental with Jimmy showing off some of his great guitar work. After getting to know the overall CD it turns out my favorite tune is the song Wild Country, which soars to the heights of Thunderclap Newman Psychadelics.
I rate Hollywood Dream as excellent. I read recently that Speedy Keene and Jimmy McCulloch are no longer with us. Maybe Andy Newman is still playing piano somewhere. At any rate, my copy of Thunderclap Newman's CD Hollywood Dream is kept among my all-time favorites. Thunderclap Newman seems to me to be a perfect example of the essence of life itself, i.e., most of us such as me, living ordinary lives: Here for a short time and barely noticed if noticed at all.
(To the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat):
Merrily Merrily Merrily Magicly, Life Is But A Dream. Dream On.

This is a brillant album that grows on you with each listening, and one of the few that stand out after years, (even decades, ya?) Being partial to stride piano, I LOVE the presence here of Andrew Newman, and will never forget hearing Something in the Air for the first time while driving to the dentist. That voice! That piano! compelled me to switch directions, and head immediately for my musical maven at the local music store. Despite my inept attempts to sing the lyrics, my friend at Mr B's for Music instantly identified Thunderclap Newman and sent me home with Hollywood Dream, toothache forgotten. Even with Something in the Air's anthem status, the rest of the album definitely holds up. Hollywood Dream is a solid musical experience which gets under your skin as the tunes roll along, with all the musicians contributing to *flow* and continuity. As its name suggests, this album conveys a reel Hollywood Story; one to be enjoyed repeatedly over time.
I don't know that Something in the Air was in Magic Christian, but it most assuredly was featured in the film Strawberry Statement, an OUTSTANDING soundtrack that is all but impossible to get these days. After seeing a used tape of it on Amazon for an amazing 89 bucks, I finally found my CD on eBay. Today, the SS CD is offered on Amazon at a pricey $49 bucks for a water damaged copy; $60 bucks for a decent one, and worth it! Both CDs are great and both are highly recommended.

Thunderclap Newman was probably the greatest one-off band in rock history. This, their only album, is the proverbial minor masterpiece. The three bandmates--a songwriter known only to Pete Townshend, a postal clerk turned jazz pianist, and a sixteen-year-old guitarist--caught some kind of British late-Sixties "zeitgeist", for this record is a perfect evocation of that time and place. Fire, charm, cleverness, and some downright silliness are compounded in this strange brew of...well, you'll just have to hear it.

Of particular interest is the interplay of child guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and jazz pianist Andy Newman. McCulloch's hot licks sizzle and steam against Newman's arch, hepcat piano figures, especially on the long track "Accidents". On the single, "Something In The Air", their roles are reversed, with Jimmy playing with an ethereal, barely-there tone, and Newman adding some pianistic force, as well as a great french horn figure. If you've heard Tom Petty's fine version of this song, you owe it to yourself to hear the original as well.

And it just keeps getting better! We're all tired of hipper-than-thou people who rave over some obscurity, to show off their own knowledge. But this gem really deserves all the praise that it gets. The two title tracks (yes, two), "Hollywood #1" and "Hollywood #2" are sly and rockin', respectively. The instrumental "Hollywood Dream" features some great slide guitar work. "Accidents" is a black comedy with an explosive climax. And, of all things, there's a lushly arranged singalong of "Open the Door, Homer", a Dylan song from the then-unreleased _Basement Tapes_.

Pete Townshend produced it, and also played bass, though he's uncredited. However, in the photo insert, you can see him sitting in his recording studio, wearing a coy smile, with Who bandmate John Entwistle's old lyre-body bass in the foreground. If you like "Something In The Air", don't settle for _The Magic Christian_ soundtrack! Take the time to seek this out. "Life is just a game; you fly a paper plane; there is no end..."

I had to order this as an Import from England and it took several months to get. But once it arrived it was highly appreciated. (Now lucky you can get it without the hassle direct from Amazon.) Jimmy McCullough's guitar sears with energy and he really lets it fly on several of these tracks like "Wild Country". The single appeared in 1969 "Something in the Air" and was a huge hit but the album didn't follow til a few years later. This version features everything they recorded including both the original single version of the hit and an album version. The bonus tracks are a real bunus in this case. The disc for some obscure reason has never been available in this country til now. Its not just a classic but a major classic and you will be highly impressed by the combination of quirky and offbeat piano and just plain scorching guitar jams. The personalities that make up this band (Pete Townsend included)are each very unique from the very young Jimmy McCullough to the middle aged Newman who is an accomplished pianist with a singular style performing interludes and flourishes accenting the rockers around him with his own kind of flair but all except Townsend were unknown which perhaps made them work at it all the harder. Jimmy eventually got snapped up by Paul McCartney and that may explain why only one album. McCartney fans will be surprised to hear what the kid could really do though. No offense to Paul but Jimmy was kind of wasted in WINGS because he's a player that can really stretch out when given permission to do so. And what better teacher for a guitar player than Pete Townsend. Anyway this record gets turned up dangerously loud when Newman sets Jimmy up for one of his jams(hearing Pete yelling with joy in the background just before one jam is something near sublime). There is an excellent balance throughout. Smart lyrics(and smart cover of a minor Dylan number) and songs structured in atypical ways. This is not simply another classic rock workout CD which I think can be a mind numbing category. This transcends any categorization, its music. I don't know if Pete hand picked every one but I imagine he did and he couldn't have picked a livelier and more interesting line-up. Probably a big relief to hang with these guys after doing the rounds with Roger his whole life. If you've heard Petes early solo stuff you know just how restless he was being trapped in a strictly rock outfit. That tight white jumpsuit he wears on the cover of Who Came First? is perhaps very telling. With this band he stretches out in to new subject matter and new sounds. This will immediately make your all time favorite list.

Mostly known for the hit single "Something In The Air," the Pete Townshend produced 1969 album "Hollywood Dream" by Thunderclap Newman is a power pop masterpiece. Thunderclap Newman features barrelhouse, saloon style pianist Andrew Newman, guitarist Andy McCollough (who would later join Wings) and vocalist, drummer James "Speedy" Keen (who wrote "Armenia, City In The Sky" for the Who in 1968 on their "Sell Out" album). Townshend, apart from producing, also contributes his fantastic bass work to this album which, despite Townshend's presence, actually resembles the early work of The Band or maybe even Alex Chilton's Big Star (I don't doubt that certainly these guys were an influence on Chilton)rather than the Who from that period. Your classic record collection is certainly incomplete without this classic album.

Thunderclap Newman's "Hollywood Dream" is a musical masterpiece, pure and simple. Regardless of Pete Townshend's contributions to the album, it does not sound anything like a Who or Townshend album, except for two small things: (1) this recording is every bit as multitextured, soaring and smart as the best Who and Townshend albums; (2) this recording sounds just as fresh 30 years later, just like the best (all?) Who and Townshend albums. The recording also stands as a testament to a particular slice of time: if you weren't there 30 years ago, just listen to "Something in the Air" and you will be transported back through time and space to a place where rock music actually matters, where rock music is a force destined to change the world -- I'm talkin' good ol' fashioned rock religion. And, yes, it was really like that.

Musically, this recording is rock -- not rock and roll, and not hard rock -- with a healthy dose of the same pop elements made famous, and rendered okay for rock audiences, by the Beatles. (Whaddaya want? It was 1970. Who do you think Townshend and everyone else had been listening to? And don't you know that one of the band members, Jimmy McCulloch, went on to play with Paul McCartney's Wings?) The lyrics are smart and are sung by true believers.

If you are a Townshend fanatic, this is an essential record. If you are a late-60's Brit-rock fanatic (Small Faces, Who, Kinks, etc.), this is an essential record. Either way, you too will find yourself in desire of that ephemeral second album, the lack of which being the only negative thing to be said about "Hollywood Dream."

thunderclap newman were a talented trio of musicians, whose sole album was produced by the who's pete townshend. speedy keen on drums and vocals, multi-instrumentalist andy newman (who played piano, saxophone, and evidentally about anything), and young guitar phenomenon jimmy mcculloch (who went on to play with paul mccartney's group wings), make a fine mix of talent on this album. keen's singing style is slightly reminiscent of pete townshend's, and it would seem that mr townshend had a heavy hand in things here, because this does feel something like a townshend solo record. the arrangements on these fine songs are fresh and inventive, very pleasing on the ears,and mcculloch's excellent guitar work has a rich tone to it that really stands out. "something in the air," is the song that most music fanatics will be familiar with; it is simply a classic anthem of its era. many fine songs here, though. "hollywood," "look around," and "wild country," are especially outstanding. i highly recommend this musical artifact from the early 70's.

Thunderclap Newman was a Pete Townshend production, featuring Andy Newman on keyboards, a very young Jimmy McCulloch (later of Wings) on guitar, and John "Speedy" Keen on drums and vocals. Keen also wrote almost all the tracks on the LP. Townshend produced and apparently played bass.

This reissue combines the 12 tracks from the original LP, plus all 6 sides of their three singles. All 18 tracks are really quite amazing. They capture the great qualities of their hit single, "Something in the Air," (presented here in both the LP and single versions--though the differences aren't obvious) without being repetitive or boring. Keen is an inventive songwriter, with a great gift for pop melody. Some of his songs are mindful of Chilton's Big Star era compositions, others of the Bonzo Dog Band or Paul McCartney. Jimmy McCulloch (with his brother) contribute a couple of tracks, as does Andy Newman. The lone cover is Dylan's "Open the Door, Homer."

The playing and production are similar to the Townshend/Lane "Rough Mix" album. There's electric and acoustic instruments intermixed, neither overpowering the others, and each adding their own edge to the whole. Choppy acoustic guitars compete with liquid electric guitar solos, with bluesy harmonica lines added on top.

The 1978 edition of the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock called this LP "absurdly underrated." I'd add "absurdly unknown."

One of the years best lp's of it's time.1969.
Production by Pete Townshend who also plays bass guitar under the name of Bijou Drains. This is a masterpiece!For Any advent collector. Check out Speedy Keens Previous convictions& You know what i mean Lp's or cd's If you can find them.

For me the song something in the air is one of my all time favourites. If your a fan of the summer of love then this album is a must, and no I'm not writing for amazon to sell the product.