I really haven't had the chance to do much blogging lately, but when my talented friend Mary Edwards sent me the link to her new album, Eastern/Central & Mountain/Pacific, I knew I just had to tell the world about it. This musical trip through time sounds and feel like it was made just for me - and I know some (if not all) of my readers will feel the same way. Let's take a look at it song by song.
The opening track, Time and I just sweeps you away to a luscious stoned soul picnic where echoes of The Fifth Dimension and Swing Out Sister drown out all the noise of the surrounding madworld and set the tone for the rest of the addictive playlist.
The Girl Who KnewTomorrow is the theme from that lost Susan Dey ABC Movie of the Week she did after The Partridge Family, but before L.A. Law. You know the one where she's a college student with ESP who falls for a married professor played by Ted Bessell? Set the dvr for that one.
Bouleversant invokes a warm spring day at an outdoor cafe, where everything should be perfect, but something is very wrong. Melancholia sets in as memories of a love lost overwhelm the mood, but not enough to spoil the day.
Eventual World is, of course, the theme song from Karen Valentine's Room 222 spin-off that follows Alice Johnson to San Francisco as she takes a job as an legal assistant at a Union Square-based law firm. Co-starring David Hartman, Barbara McNair and a young Robert Urich. God, I loved that show. All 13 episodes.
Neil Simon's Daydream Window was a TV-move that adapted his little-known play and starred Barbara Harris as a disillusioned divorcee and Jack Klugman as her TV-producer ex-husband. Turns out Jack was creating a sitcom based on their divorce, and Barbara hires lawyer Tony Roberts to stop him! Look for Robert Guillaume in a breakout performance as Roberts' best friend.
Low Soft Shoulder takes me away to a sultry Southern night, minus the Glen Campbell, thank you.
Close Up brings back visions of Burt Bacharach and Angie Dickinson sipping Martini & Rossi on the rocks. Say "yes".
And lastly, Something in the Sunshine is the gorgeous closing theme to the Dusty Springfield Variety Hour with this week's guests The Carpenters, Laura Nyro, Herb Alpert and Mary Edwards.
I hope these images help you feel the way I do about Mary and her beautiful music. Visit Ms. Edwards on Facebook as well.
But they did have an absolutely groovy collection of drink mix guides for some reason. Maybe one day they 
Maybe they wanted to be like the people in those drink recipe books.
Young, sexy, hip with not a care in the world. That would have been nice.
On a similar note, I used to fantasize that my parents were really Burt Bacharach and Angie Dickinson.
Burt & Angie would pour each other glasses of Martini & Rossi and lounge around our Malibu home on the shag carpet and cuddle in front of the crackling fireplace on a chilly autumn evening.
I finally did get to see LOST HORIZON this past weekend and all I can say is "wow". Bad movie Shangri-La. A Bacharach-David musical starring Peter Finch, Michael York, Sally Kellerman, George Kennedy, Olivia Hussey, Bobby Van and the aforementioned Ms. Ullman. With the legendary John Gielgud and Charles Boyer playing Asians. There are many unbelievably crazy moments, mostly featuring musical numbers with actors who cannot sing or dance. Hermes Pan must have been pulling his hair out when asked to choreograph this magnificent mess. I could go on for days about it, but I'll opt to just show you my favorite clip.
In addition there will be a "More Is More" fashion show/competition on August 13th and book signings each night! Here's the amazing line-up:
KITTEN WITH A WHIP, (1964, Universal, 83 min.) Starring sassy Ann-Margret and John Forsythe. Directed by veteran TV helmer Douglas Heyes (THE TWILIGHT ZONE) from his screenplay based on a novel by Wade Miller, KITTEN WITH A WHIP is jam-packed with fake Beat Generation dialogue, a jazzy score, and an over-the-top performane by Ann-Margret at her snarly, vampy best.
THE LONELY LADY (1983, Universal, 92 min.) Camp superstar Pia Zadora plays a would-be screenwriter who gets abused by every man she encounters. Look for Ray Liotta and Lloyd Bochner in this ludicrous adaptation of Harold Robbins' trashy bestseller. Directed by Peter Sasdy (TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA), this 80s classic was a multiple winner at the Razzie Awards, which in 2005 nominated it as one of the worst dramas ever made.
XANADU (1980, Universal, 93 min.) Director Robert Greenwald misguides Olivia Newton-John, Michael Beck and Gene Kelly through a romp that melds 1940s MGM musicals with the roller-disco fad of the late 70s. One of my favorite films of all time. You can read more about 
STAYING ALIVE (1983, Paramount, 96 min.) John Travolta returns to SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER territory in this ridiculous sequel. Tony Manero is now Broadway bound under the direction of Sylvester Stallone. Bob Mackie costumes, bad choregraphy and dumb dialogue make this one a laugh-out-loud winner. With soap star Finola Hughes and Cynthia Rhodes.
