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It was the epic we had to see. GLADIATOR II is reviewed follow the link (with not too many plot spoilers).

Review added of THE UNTHANKS IN WINTER 2024 tour at Poole Lighthouse. One of our favourite groups gave yet another beautiful concert with impeccable sound. Follow the link to the review. The new album has it all.

Latest on AROUND AND AROUND:
RCA (post-1968)
The era of late Elvis, David Bowie, Lou Reed, The Kinks, Hall & Oates, Dolly Parton, Betty Wright, The Sweet, Eurythmics and Take That. Highly illustrated article on British RCA.

Link to the National Theatre production of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (linked). It’s a surprise to see the British classic theatre repertoire at the National. This is a sumptous, hilarious production featuring Ncuti “Dr Who” Gatwa, Sharon D. Clarke and Hugh Skinner. You have never seen a Lady Bracknell like this, and it’s marvellous. The play comes across as if the lines are freshly-minted. Unmissable.

Soap Opera – The Kinks. (FOLLOW LINK) At Around & Around, ‘Reviled! The albums critics love to hate’ has been one of the most popular sections on the site. I haven’t added to it for ages, and there’s already a lot there. The new addition is Soap Opera by The Kinks from 1975. The album is re-appraised. It was a turning point for them.

Premium Album formats, or how we are persuaded to buy favourite albums again and again with the promise of ever better sound. The trail runs from half-speed mastered LPs, Direct Metal Mastering, Direct to Disc recording, DBX encoded, 45 rpm LPs, Digitally recorded LPs, 24Kt Gold CDs, SMB CDs, DVD-Audio, SACD, Blu-ray. In the end, does the song remain the same?

A review of ALL THE KING’S MEN (linked). First there was the 1946 novel, then the 1949 film and finally the 2006 film with a stellar cast … Sean Penn, JudeLaw, Anthony Hopkins, Mark Ruffalo, Kate Winslet, Patricia Clarkson, James Gandolfini. It’s my third viewing over the years. I somehow thought the tale of a corrupt populist American demagogue having crowds chant violently resonated with the current era.

A new section under The Art of The LP at Around and Around: SLEEVE PARODIES. Follow the link. Thee would be room for dozens more.

A fifth in the series. MATHS IN BRITAIN PAST. (follow this link) More grumbling reminiscences of 1960s schooldays at Bournemouth School. This time, a subject I know little of.

Review of Eleanor McEvoy at The Forest Arts Centre in New Milton, Hampshire. What can I say, except it’s the best musical evening of any kind in the last year. It’s solo: acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, violin and percussion. She’s a great singer, songwriter and what was new, seeing her for the first time, a marvellous narrator too. See the tour. Seventeen dates to go. Really try and get to one.