Bookazine Book Review: Chang and Eng
By Poppy I was impressed with what turned out to be a well-written, well-directed L.A. cop thriller and I must say that both actors played their roles very well. Denzel Washington, especially, feasts upon this role and creates a tragic monster. Ethan Hawke is Jake Hoyt, an ambitious L.A. cop who wants to make detective. He’s got one day with Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington); either he impresses him or he doesn’t. Alonzo is a character that has spent many years of his life putting away the scum of the earth and in doing so, he has in fact become what he detests the most. At first, things don’t go well - Alonzo scoffs at Jake’s by-the-book attitude. Alonzo tells Jake that a good narcotics officer has to have narcotics in his blood. Jake also learns that in order to catch a wolf, you have to be a wolf. Alonzo is so clearly a wolf. He breaks laws to put people away and he seems to have his own ideas on what being a police officer is. So Jake goes through this first day literally head first, learning what it is to be a cop and what makes a psycho with a badge. The movie moves at a satisfyingly quick pace and keeps you hooked right until the very end. If you’re looking for a way to spend two hours without having to think too hard then see Training Day. Directed by Antoine Fuqua Cast: Denzel Washington ... Alonzo Harris
Yes - Magnification by Mott the Dog Like an old ex-heavyweight boxing champion brought out of retirement for one last fight, “Yes” have dusted down the lumbering body with it’s flabby limbs for one more go. Don’t get me wrong, “Yes” used to be one of the greats with a sharp jab that could keep all opposition away over a double album (“Tales From Topographic Oceans”) or a thundering left hook that could floor anything and redeem even some of their more mundane albums (“Roundabout” from “Fragile”). However, all you “Yes” fans that were disappointed with “Yes’s” last two albums, “Open Your Eyes” and “The Ladder”, will be tearing your hearts out at this feeble display.
How this group of musicians can still carry themselves under the moniker of “Yes” is beyond this mutt anyway. Chris Squire, the bass player, has been with the band since their transition from “Mabel Greers Toy Shop” in 1968, but he is the only continuous original member. Jon Anderson was an original member but left due to musical differences in 1980, scuttling back after several years when solo success never followed. Drummer Alan White only joined the band after their initial success, and is in constant danger of being kicked out if original drummer Bill Bruford ever wishes to rejoin. Steve Howe joined the band in 1970 replacing original guitarist Peter Banks, and has been copying his licks ever since. He, too, was not in the band during the eighties as he went on to form “Asia” with John Wetton and Carl Palmer. As for the keyboard position, here we really delve into Spinal Tap territory. The keyboard position has been held by a roll call of ivory twinklers that reads like a who’s who of the rock world’s classically inclined keyboardists: Tony Kaye (twice), Rick Wakeman (three times and still waiting in the wings), Patrick Moraz, Billy Sherwood, Geoff Downes (he of “Bugles” fame and also in “Asia”), and Igor Khorosev. To solve this problem “Yes” have not bothered with a keyboard player this time out, but employed a whole orchestra to fill the role and employed the services of Emmy-Awarding-Winning television and movie score composer Larry Groupe (apparently his real name). Hereby lies the most obvious problem with these songs, Groupe’s cinematic orchestrations, dancing flutes, rubbing cellos, James Bond style theme brass, and tsunami-like strings lend the whole thing the sound of a very boring Russian movie score. Not one song stands out and they range from the ho-hum “Dreamtime”, an over long attempt at a prog-rock epic, to the plainly awful “Don’t Go”, “We Agree”, and “In The Presence Of”. They go on for over 10 minutes each, aimlessly plodding away without even a guitar solo or obviously a keyboard solo to lighten up the monotony. Such is Howe’s small contribution to this album, one wonders how many of the recording sessions he actually turned up to. I could only find one ten second solo on the whole collection.
Being a dutiful little reviewer I did make myself listen to this album from start to finish, but kept on having to check that I hadn’t accidentally pushed the repeat button by accident. The tracks sound pretty much the same, making it difficult to tell one from the other, and it seems to go on forever. Like the over the hill boxer, “Yes” should now be put out to pasture and live out their twilight years basking in reflected glories of former years. Not having to be paraded round to their own embarrassment and everyone else’s amusement. If you want to hear “Yes” at their heavyweight best, get yourself a copy of “Yes” from 1969 or “Close To The Edge” from 1972, or go the whole hog and get the triple live album “Yes Songs” from 1973. The cover of magnification does not deserve to shine the boots of the aforementioned albums. Avoid at all costs. Musicians Jon Anderson - Vocals Steve Howe - Guitar Track Listing 1. Magnification
Updated every Friday Updated by
Chinnaporn Sangwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk. |
However,
he has done an excellent job at imagining just how life must have been
like for the twins, joined by a tough “ligament” which unfortunately
contained common organs, making it such that each were dependant upon the
other, and in fact, when Chang died, Eng also did the same very shortly
afterwards. The epilogue is very poignant. Chang has died in his sleep
and, “he (Eng) draws his brother closer to him. Eng takes his twin in
his arms: This is the image Sarah keeps of her husband for the rest of her
life. Eng dies.” That they had lived conjoined for 63 years remains an
amazing feat.
Mott’s CD review:
A
good old Roger Dean Yes album cover
A
Yes album cover that doesn’t need magnification