I own several CD collections that collect a band’s singles so I decided to listen to a couple of them last week. The Pretenders: The Singles (1987) includes the singles released before the mid-1980s. “Brass in Pocket,” “Talk of the Town,” and “Back On the Chain Gang” still sound great. Surprisingly, I had not heard the version of “I Got You Babe” with Chrissie Hynde and UB40. Chrissie Hynde sparkles in the Official Music Video on Youtube!

The Police: Every Breath You Take: The Singles (1986) includes the hit singles that made The Police an international rock band. “Roxanne,” “Message in a Bottle,” “Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” “Every Breath You Take,” and “Wrapped Around Your Finger” dominated the early part of the 1980s.

The Police’s final studio album, Synchronicity (1983), was No. 1 in the UK, Canada, Australia, Italy and the US, selling over 8 million copies in the US. Its lead single, “Every Breath You Take”, became their fifth UK Number One hit, and their only US Number One. Of course, Sting had a dozen Top 40 hits as a solo artist. Sting, with the assistance of Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart, hit Number One with 1994’s “All for Love” from the movie The Three Musketeers. Do you remember these singles? Any favorites? GRADE: A (for both)

TRACK LIST:

TRACK LIST:

Kevin Wilson’s short story collection features a wide array of characters and situations. My favorite story in Baby, You’re Gonna Be Mine (2018) is “Wildfire Johnny” where the main character has an item that allows him to go back in time 24 hours. How he uses that power will surprise you.

The title story, “Baby, You’re Gonna Be Mine,” opens with a phone call to Gina from her son, Adam, her only son. “All of our equipment got stolen, Mom.” Adam is in a struggling band and now he’s coming home to live with his mother. Very awkward.

Kevin Wilson can also creep the reader out with a story like “A Signal to the Faithful” where a young boy, Edwin, passes out during his role as altar boy during a Mass. Edwin is approached by Father Naylon to assist at the funeral mass for his beloved Aunt at a rural town in Kentucky. The priest convinces Edwin’s mother to allow Edwin to travel with him. Despite his fainting problem, Edwin accompanies Father Naylon on the overnight journey with some dire consequences.

Kevin Wilson writes quirky stories that explore the strange aspects of Life and Love. If you’re in the mood for some bizarre stories full of dark humor and surprises, give Baby, You’re Gonna Be Mine a try. GRADE: B

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Scroll through the weapons — 1

Housewarming — 21

Wildfire Johnny — 39

A visit — 83

A signal to the faithful — 109

Sanders for a night — 147

No joke, this is going to be painful — 165

Baby, you’re gonna be mine — 183

The horror we made — 217

The lost baby — 235

Acknowledgements — 271

Mrs. Doubtfire: The Musical takes the concept of a male actor pretending to be a woman and blends it with a dysfunctional family. Forget the movie version of Mrs. Doubtfire if you go to see this musical.

“Mrs. Doubtfire is a musical based on the 1993 film of the same name, which in turn is based on the 1987 novel Alias Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine, with music and lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick and a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell. The musical is set in the city of San Francisco, California.”

Rob McClure reprises his Tony-nominated Broadway performance on tour alongside co-star (and real wife!) Maggie Lakis in this musical. MRS. DOUBTFIRE tells the story of an out-of-work actor whose antics lead to his wife divorcing him. He transforms himself into a female nanny persona so he can be with his kids every day. Plenty of silliness and slapstick humor results. Set the bar low and you’ll enjoy this energetic musical. GRADE: B+

MUSICAL NUMBERS:

I’ve enjoyed Julie Schumacher’s clever and snarky novels about the English Department at Payne University (where students wear T-shirts with PAYNE U: WHERE EDUCATION HURTS). Schumacher captures the chaos and wackiness of the current academic scene. Dear Committee Members (you can read my review here), where the English Department is in turmoil, and The Shakespeare Requirement (you can read my review here), where the English Department is under siege by the Machiavellian head of the wealthy Economics Department, Roland Gladwell. Gladwell plans to gut the English Department and take over their offices and conference rooms. Typical academic turf war!

I once took a trip to New York City with two other faculty members and a dozen students to visit Wall Street and other sites with business connections. It was a nightmare. One student stayed out all night and showed up in the morning dazed and confused from the alcohol and drugs he enjoyed during his binge. We had to sober him up and I had to put him on a train back to Buffalo.

Beleaguered head of the English Department, Professor Jason Fitger, gets pressured by the Dean (or face budget cuts) to accompany a group of students for a three-week tour of England. The students all have issues: one young woman has never been away from her cat before. There’s a student with a juvenile detention record. A pair of artistic twins. A couple who have broken up and remain unreconciled with the predictable awkwardness of the situation. And, of course, the student who thought he was going to the Caribbean and only packed T-shirts, shorts, and sun screen.

It doesn’t help that Fitger hates England. Fitger’s ex-wife (and her possible lover, Thor) cause Fitger to reevaluate his decisions about his life. For a rollicking adventure in England with plenty of laughs, give The English Experience a try. GRADE: B+

The 1-1 Buffalo Bills travel to Washington, D.C. to take on the 2-0 Commanders and Tropical Storm Ophelia. The Bills are favored by 6 1/2 points but the wind and the rain may affect the game. How will your favorite NFL team do today?

If you’re a fan of the John Wick series, you’re going to be disappointed with this prequel to the saga where we’re supposed to learn more about the history of The Continental hotel for assassins.

This 3-episode series is in the 1970s during the middle of a labor strike that leaves New York City overflowing with garbage–an apt metaphor for these shallow and sordid 90-minute duds. The Continental starts with story of how a young Winston Scott (Colin Woodell) winds up fighting for his life after his brother Frankie (Ben Robson) steals something valuable from assassin hotel.

Despite featuring some High Table villains like the masked Adjudicator (Katie McGrath) and eerie sharpshooters Hansel (Mark Musashi) and Gretel (Marina Mazepa), The Continental’s big villain is the disappointing Mel Gibson as Cormac, the New York hotel’s manager. Sure, the body count is high, but this series just doesn’t have class of the institution it’s supposed to be about. GRADE: C-

Mary Kelly (no relation) is best known for her Inspector Brett Nightingale and Hedley Nicholson series of mysteries. But as Martin Edwards points out in his informative Introduction, Mary Kelly was a dynamic writer for decades. She won the Golden Dagger Award for The Spoilt Kill in 1961.

Due to a Death (1962) features a blood-covered narrator named Agnes who is trapped in a loveless marriage, flashbacks that influence the investigation of the murder of a young girl, and a mysterious stranger new to the quaint English village where a murderer lurks.

Classic British Library Crime Classics deserves praise for reprinting this innovative and suspenseful mystery novel. GRADE: B+

Last week I was listening to these collaborative CDs. The Chieftains and a bunch of their friends–Sting, Jagger, Sinead O’Connor, Van Morrison, Mark Knopfler, Ry Cooder, Marianne Faithfull, Tom Jones, and The Rolling Stones–produced a satisfying album back in 1995.

I hadn’t heard Mick Jagger’s version of “The Long Black Veil” before and it’s pretty good. Rod Stewart had a hit with his version of Van Morrison’s “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?” but this rendition is pleasing, too.

Sadly, we won’t have any more music from Sinead O’Connor. The two songs she sings on this CD reminds you of how wonderful her voice was. On the other hand, Marianne Faithfull’s voice is raspy. GRADE: B+

I’ve had Better Together: The Duet Album since it came out in 1991 and only got around to listening to it last week. Johnny Mathis gets played every year at Christmas time. Diane loves his Christmas albums! Mathis and his friends–Patti Austin, Regina Belle, Angela Bofill, Jane Oliver, Take 6, Dionne Warwick, and Deniese Williams–deliver a very listenable album of love songs. Mathis and Deniese Williams had a hit with “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late.”

I really liked “It’s All In the Game” and “In the Still of the Night” with Mathis and Take 6. I’m a big fan of Regina Belle’s voice and she’s stellar on her cut: “Better Together.” If you’re in the mood for some wonderful music, check out Better Together: The Duet Album. Do you remember these songs? GRADE: A-

TRACK LIST:

TRACK LIST:

Perfect Summer reading! That’s what Fourth Planet from the Sun (2005) turned out to be for me. Gordon Van Gelder collects some of the best Mars stories first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and provides catchy introductions.

What would a Mars anthology be without a Ray Bradbury story? Or an Arthur C. Clarke story? And, who could resist Leigh Brackett’s “Purple Priestess of the Mad Moon”?

Roger Zelazny’s “A Rose for Ecclesiastes” was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1964. John Varley’s “In the Hall of the Martian Kings” was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1977. “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” morphed in the Arnold Schwarzenegger hit, Total Recall.

I also got a kick out of Van Gelder putting Robert F. Young’s “The First Mars Mission” next to Michael Casutt’s “The Last Mars Trip.” All together, Fourth Planet from the Sun delivers a dozen stories that will delight you! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION — xi

Loosely based on Robert Jordon’s best selling Fantasy series, The Wheel of Time, Season 2 continues the storylines set up in Season 1. In this new season, Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski) and his friends are separated and under attack by the evil Dark One and his minions. Meanwhile, Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike) and her Warder, Lan Mandragoran (Daniel Henney), are trying to protect Rand and company despite losing their special abilities.

I’m most interested any segment of The Wheel of Time with Rosamund Pike in it. As in Season 1, Season 2 has eight episodes full of conflict and magic. A third Season has been approved. Mildly entertaining. GRADE: B