Roald Dahl’s classic book, Matilda, the story of a brilliant young girl who is mistreated by her narcissistic parents, transforms into a high-energy play in Matilda, The Musical. I was impressed with the performance of little Gabby Gutierrez as Matilda. She delivers a spunky rendition of a brave girl trying to overcome the cruel forces around her. Matilda’s parents send her to a wretched school run by the imperious Agatha Trunchbull who rules her students by force. Bryce Ryness is terrific as the hideous Head Master. My main complaint about Matilda, The Musical is the music. Yes, it’s loud and energetic, but not very memorable. I’d recommend this play for the story, but it needs better music. GRADE: B

I’m very tempted by the new 6-CD deluxe box set of The Cutting Edge but until I actually order it, this “Best of” 2-CD set will do nicely. These discs are full of alternate takes of classic Bob Dylan songs from the recording sessions of Dylan’s Bringing It All back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. The sound is great and the accompanying booklet provides plenty of facts about the songs and the recording sessions. If you’re a Bob Dylan fan, this is a must-buy. Check out the interview with Al Kooper on recording “Like a Rolling Stone” below. GRADE: A
SET LIST:
Disc: 1
1. Love Minus Zero/No Limit – Take 2 (1/13/1965) acoustic
2. I ll Keep It with Mine – Take 1 (1/13/1965) piano demo
3. Bob Dylan s 115th Dream – Take 2 (1/13/1965) solo acoustic
4. She Belongs to Me – Take 1 (1/13/1965) solo acoustic
5. Subterranean Homesick Blues – Take 1 (1/14/1965) alternate take
6. Outlaw Blues – Take 2 (1/13/1965) alternate take
7. On the Road Again – Take 4 (1/14/1965) alternate take
8. Farewell, Angelina – Take 1 (1/13/1965) solo acoustic
9. If You Gotta Go, Go Now – Take 2 (1/15/1965) alternate take
10. You Don t Have to Do That – Take 1 (1/13/1965) solo acoustic
11. California – Take 1 (1/13/1965) solo acoustic
12. Mr. Tambourine Man – Take 3 (1/15/1965) with band, incomplete
13. It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry – Take 8 (6/15/1965) alternate take
14. Like a Rolling Stone – Take 5 (6/15/1965) rehearsal
15. Like a Rolling Stone – Take 11 (6/16/1965) alternate take
16. Sitting on a Barbed Wire Fence – Take 2 (6/15/1965) unreleased take
17. Medicine Sunday – Take 1 (10/5/1965) early version of Temporary Like Achilles
18. Desolation Row – Take 2 (8/4/1965) piano demo
19. Desolation Row – Take 1 (8/4/1965) alternate take

Disc: 2
1. Tombstone Blues – Take 1 (7/29/1965) alternate take
2. Positively 4th Street – Take 5 (7/29/1965) alternate take
3. Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window – Take 1 (7/30/1965) alternate take
4. Just Like Tom Thumb s Blues – Take 3 (8/2/1965) rehearsal
5. Highway 61 Revisited – Take 3 (8/2/1965) alternate take
6. Queen Jane Approximately – Take 5 (8/2/1965) alternate take
7. Visions of Johanna – Take 5 (11/30/1965) rehearsal
8. She s Your Lover Now – Take 6 (1/21/1966) rehearsal
9. Lunatic Princess – Take 1 (1/27/1966)
10. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat – Take 8 (2/14/1966) alternate take
11. One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later) – Take 19 (1/25/1966) alternate take
12. Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again – Take 13 (2/17/1966) alternate take
13. Absolutely Sweet Marie – Take 1 (3/7/1966) alternate take
14. Just Like a Woman – Take 4 (3/8/1966) alternate take
15. Pledging My Time – Take 1 (3/8/1966) alternate take
16. I Want You – Take 4 (3/10/1966) alternate take
17. Highway 61 Revisited Take 7 (8/2/1965) false start

The Bills are coming off a bye and still reeling from the debacle in London. Miama fired their Head Coach and now looks a little more dangerous. This game could go either way today although the Bills are 3-point favorites. How will your favorite NFL team do today?

Spectre kicks off with the patented James Bond chase scene. Loved it. What I didn’t love was Bond getting holes drilled into his head (with no obvious ill effects) and a weak ending. In between the cool chase scene and the lame ending, Spectre follows the Bond template: Bond finds trouble and explosions result. This is the 50th Anniversary of the first Bond movie. But at 2 hours and 28 minutes, Spectre is a tad long. When Bond “borrows” the Aston Martin DB 10 (that’s the car Daniel Craig is leaning against in the photo above) you expect some wild special effects. But not so much happens. Disappointing. So despite these quibbles, I liked Spectre. I just didn’t like it a lot. GRADE: B

I’m a big fan of the Library of America series (I own most of the volumes) so I was looking forward to reading this latest release: Women Crime Writers: Four Suspense Novels of the 1940s. I had seen the Otto Preminger movie of Laura starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, and Clifton Webb. The novel plays a lot of games with multiple narrators. The movie is better than the book. I’ve had a copy of The Horizontal Man for decades. It’s set in an academic setting. I enjoyed the usual college politics in the novel, but figured out what was going on very early in the novel.

Dorothy B. Hughes’s In a Lonely Place focuses on a series of strangulations. The best novel in this collection is Elixabeth Sanxay Holding’s The Blank Wall. A woman whose husband is fighting in World War II finds her family under siege from blackmailers. A couple murders and plot twists keep the action moving at a break-neck pace.

I’m glad women suspense writers are getting the attention they deserve. Next week for FFB I’ll be reviewing the companion volume: Women Crime writers: Four Suspense Writers: Four Novels of the 1950s.

The Gate at Lake Drive is another one of those “scary” books I read last week to get into the Halloween spirit. Dillon is a monster hunter. He “protects” Northern Ontario in Canada against creatures from another dimension. When a stripper named Rouge Hills hires Dillon, a new and more sinister plot unfolds. If you’re a fan of Jim Butcher’s “Dresden Files” series, you’ll enjoy this off-beat urban fantasy. GRADE: B-

With the run-up to Halloween, I read a bunch of “scary” stories. The Case Against Satan by Ray Russell was published in 1962. Penguin Books just released this new edition with an introduction by Laird Barron. The Case Against Satan anticipates two much more famous books (and movies): Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist. A teenage girl and her father show up at a small town church asking for help. After a series of events, the priests begin to suspect the girl is “possessed” by Satan. There’s plenty of room for doubt in this position. Could the girl have psychological problems? Could the priests be wrong? This story will stay with you long after you finish reading it. GRADE: B+

BBC America broadcasted this series back in June 2015. Now it’s available on DVD and Blu-ray. The TV version follows Susanna Clarke’s novel about two magicians in England. Mr. Norrell is the scholar of magic who takes Jonathan Strange as a student. But, soon, the student seems to have surpassed the teacher. Strange assists the British Army against Napoleon at Waterloo using magic to turn the tide of the battle. Like the novel, the story takes a while to get going. But the final magical fireworks are impressive. If you’re looking for something different, you might give Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell a try. GRADE: B+

S. M. Stirling has been writing a series of science fiction novels that are set in a future where the electrical grid stops working. Civilization as we know it ends. Internal combustion engines don’t work, either. In The Change Stirling and a number of other writers contribute stories set in this post-apocalyptic world. I liked “The Venetian Dialectic” by Walter Jon Williams and “The Soul Remembers Uncouth Noises” by John Barnes best. If you’re int the mood for some savvy survivalist fiction, give The Change a try. GRADE: B
Table of Contents:
The Change as setting and secondary world / S.M. Stirling
Hot night at the Hopping Toad / S.M. Stirling
Rate of exchange / A.M Dellamonica
Tight spot / Kier Salmon
Against the wind / Lauren C. Teffeau
The demons of Witmer Hall / M.T. Reiten Bernie,
lord of the apes / John Jos. Miller
The seeker : a poison in the blood / Victor Milán
Grandpa’s gift / Terry D. England
Fortune and glory / John Birmingham
The Venetian dialectic / Walter Jon Williams
The soul remembers uncouth noises / John Barnes
Topanga and the Chatsworth Lancers / Harry Turtledove
The hermit and the jackalopes / Jane Lindskold
The new normal / Jody Lynn Nye
A missed connection / Emily Mah Deor / Diana Paxson