Books - Movies

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Book Review: Smiles of Deceit

by Lang Reid

Another ‘local’ Thai yarn on the bookshelves this week. Smiles of Deceit (ISBN 974-272-692-2) is written by Jim Cornick and published this year by Bangkok Book House.
Cornick is now resident in Thailand, joining the growing band of expat authors. In his own bio he is credited with having been a writer for Warner Brothers in the US and a columnist for “Liberty Press”. Since he is obviously an adherent of the policy of writing about that which you know, the hero of the novel, Mike James, also wrote for the motion picture industry and was a columnist for the alternative viewpoint newspapers. This of course makes one wonder if Jim Cornick also experienced all the rest of the escapades that Mike James gets into between the front and back covers, let alone between the sheets.

Yes, this is a romp, written around a thriller framework, with the hero being roped into the clutches of a courier network, whose members are disparate and various, and whose aims are similar. It is written against a background of Thai intrigue and the ways of getting ahead through Thai society. Who you know, rather than what you know, taken to the extremes. Money also helps.

The plot skips skilfully between Thailand and the USA, where the man who pulls the strings lives in exile. His brother-in-law runs the show on Thai soil, but is in danger of being usurped by foreigners who are happy to deal in dirty money, with the laundering being done by use of couriers. Enter our hero, Mike James!

Mike makes the usual mistakes of all new arrivals. No concept of what is the going rate for anything from the cab from Don Muang airport to tipping the reception clerk or even for the services of a lady with whom he finds himself in bed, on his very first night. He also makes the mistake of falling in love with such an angel of the evening. Action, crocodiles, bombs, sex, traffic, nuns and country girls - they’re all there!

The review copy was made available by Bookazine and has an RRP of B. 395. To allow a book to go through to final print run with literals such as World Wild instead of World Wide or country instead of county, expect instead of except, crouch instead of crutch (and this is by page 40!), blunt instead of butt or even a waitress replying Krup instead of Kha (and not a Katoey either, a term which Cornick spells as “Ga theuy”). We are all painfully aware of the problems of transliteration from Thai to English, but I did find some of Cornick’s, from his list at the front of the book, at variance from the accepted norm in this country. A “wai” being spelled as “yai” and “to like” being spelled as “choop” rather than “chawp” or “chop” for example.

As one of its genre, this book makes for an interesting read, and the final page takes a most surprising twist. It would make a reasonable short-haul airport novel, but spoiled by the lack of good proofreading.

Movie Review: Jeepers Creepers 2

By Poppy
These days I find horror films uninspiring and usually full of blood and gore, not really scary at all. This movie is set in a cornfield and as with all the best suspense films, the opening sequence is played out almost entirely in silence, and is all the more effective for it.
Its 23 years later and time for the Creeper (Jonathan Breck) to make another appearance.

Next to a cornfield, on a deserted road, a bus stops, inside are a group of basketball players and cheerleaders. In the field you can just make out a scarecrow on a stand, or is it a scarecrow? It could be “Worzel Gummidge”.

The youngsters become trapped in the bus and the film is taken up with the Creepers attempts to kill them. There is a girl that has dreams on the bus about what happened before, the dreaming girl reminds us every 5 minutes that the creeper cannot die.

The sub plot revolves around a farmer who is on a personal mission to hunt down and kill the Creeper because it took his son.

You do need to use your imagination in much of the movie; otherwise parts of it could be classed as quite amusing. This is a horror movie that has little or no blood whatsoever.

Directed by Victor Salva
Cast:
Ray Wise ... Jack Taggart
Jonathan Breck ... The Creeper
Travis Schiffner ... Izzy Bohen
Nicki Lynn Aycox ... Minxie Hayes
Drew Tyler Bell ... Jonny Young
Billy Aaron Brown ... Andy ‘Bucky’ Buck
Kasan Butcher ... Kimball Ward
Lena Cardwell ... Chelsea Farmer
Diane Delano
Marieh Delfino ... Rhonda Truitt
Luke Edwards ... Jack Taggart Jr.
Thom Gossom Jr. ... Coach Charlie Hannah
Stephanie Denise Griffin ... Girl
Josh Hammond ... Jake Spencer
Garikayi Mutambirwa ... Deundre ‘Double D’ Davis
Eric Nenninger ... Scott Braddock
Bob Pappenbrook ... Dad (as Bob Pappenbrook)
Al Santos ... Dante Belasco
Tom Tarantini ... Coach Dwayne Barnes

Mott’s CD review: Atomic Rooster Death Walks Behind You

by Mott the Dog
re-mastered By Ella Crew

5 Stars *****
Just the name alone conjures up thoughts of Demonic Early Seventies Heavy Metal Progressive Rock. You almost feel by natural instinct that if that is your kettle of fish then Atomic Rooster is going to be your bag. Before anyone gets confused by the name we are talking about Atomic Rooster here, not Atomic Kitten.

Atomic Rooster came out with a couple of very powerful early seventies albums. They sounded great, but unless denim, leather, Afghan coats, long lanky hair, mutton chop sideburns, and droopy moustaches are your thing, they probably aren’t the best looking band in the world. Not when compared to the three little girls in Atomic Kitten. However, the music... well, it probably will not stand the test of time as well as this incredible collection of songs do. The music, not the mutton chop sideburns as in the pictures of Atomic Kitten, will still look good. In thirty years these guys now look a little dated, but then this Dog has been waiting years for the shaggy dog look to come back.

So who and what were “Atomic Rooster”? They were formed in mid 1969 by keyboard wizard Vincent Crane and Carl Palmer, one of the most bombastic drummers on the planet, after the collapse of “The Crazy World of Arthur Brown” and in the middle of an American tour. (Arthur Brown had one hit which was a number one “Fire”, but that was it. Brown went on to lead Kingdom Come and released three very weird albums in the mid-seventies. He still makes a living to this day as a celebrity, hosting parties and festivals whilst singing the odd verse of “Fire”.)

Adding Nick Greenwood on bass, an album was recorded and released with the confusing title of “Atomic Ro-O-oster”. After a period on the road they had built a strong cult following, but then started a revolving door of musicians coming and going. (Mostly going in the early days. John Paul Jones was asked to join, but wisely took the offer of Jimmy Page’s to join ‘Led Zeppelin’. Jack Bruce decided to stick with his solo career, although fellow Cream band mate Ginger Baker turned up in “Atomic Rooster” in the eighties. Rick Grech was also asked, but he had just joined Ginger Baker along with Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood in “Blind Faith”. Most bizarrely a meeting was set up between the Rooster boys and Brian Jones, who had just left the Rolling Stones. He was found drowned in his swimming pool the day before the meeting was set for.)

First to abandon ship was bass player Nick Greenwood. He was replaced by guitarist Paul Ducann, whilst Crane took up bass duties using the bass pedals of his trusty Hammond organ. Then prior to going into the studio to record the all important second album, Carl Palmer was lured away from the Rooster to be the “P” in E.L.P. Are we talking Spinal Tap here or what? To any other band this would have been the death knell, but not to the Rooster. Vincent Crane simply recruited gangly powerhouse drummer Paul Hammond (possibly influenced by his surname), dived into the studio, and came out with this classic slab of awe-inspiring music. One of the forerunners to form the music that is now called Heavy Metal. Although it was really Crane’s band and the sound of the keyboards is dominant in the same way as, say, Jon Lord was in Deep Purple or Ken Hensley in Uriah Heep, there was still room for the other two to shine. In fact, Ducann wrote three songs on the album as well as getting a credit for the title song. Paul Hammond got to show his spurs on final track “Gershatzer”, a number written specially for him by Crane with a fine three minute drum solo, still today probably one of the best drum solos recorded specifically in the studio by a Rock ‘n’ Roll drummer.

Opener and title track “Death Walks Behind You” has a haunting spaced out piano intro before breaking into its sledgehammer riff and demonic vocals. It also features the first of musical jousting between guitar and keyboards, again drawing comparisons to Deep Purple. Second in is “Vug”, a studio jam that was fortunate to be played whilst the tapes were rolling, so caught in all its fresh excitement. Next up was the much desired hit single “Tomorrow Night”, a catchy little number played here to its frantic climax, whereas for the single the record company had faded out to make it a round little three minutes for radio play. The three Ducann songs follow, giving beautiful light and shade to the album whilst retaining Rooster’s hard edge, before returning for two more Crane numbers with “Nobody Else” being as close to a ballad as Rooster were ever likely to get. Then “Gershatzer” brings us to a rousing conclusion.

“Death Walks Behind You” reached the top twenty in England, putting the Rooster alongside Black Sabbath and the Rolling Stones. Peter French was then recruited as vocalist for the next album, “In The Hearing Of”, which also charted “Tomorrow Night” peeking at no 11 and follow up single “Devils Answer”, charging past that to reach no 4. The table seemed laid for world domination, but no, in true Strange Fruit style, they even managed to bodge it up from there. Within twelve months of recording this classic, French, Ducann, and Hammond left claiming Crane’s impossibly high standards as impossible to live up to. In the eighties Crane was quoted as, “I always demand a band that’s got a pretty A-plus standard every night”. Crane recruited new guys and carried on, but the magic was gone. They reformed in the mid eighties, but the timing was wrong and they ended up being little more than a nostalgia act with Ducann and Crane being the only stable part of the line-up.

Tragically Vincent Crane, who had always suffered from bouts of manic depression, took his own life on Valentine’s Day in 1989. A sad story of “If Only”...

But when the Roosters strutted their stuff, they were magnificent. Enjoy a bit of Atomic energy, but leave the Kittens alone.

Musicians

Vincent Crane - Keyboards
John Ducann - Guitar and Vocals
Paul Hammond - Drums

Songs

Death Walks Behind You
Vug
Tomorrow Night
Seven Streets
Sleeping for Years
I can’t Take No More
Nobody Else
Gershatzer

To contact Mott the Dog email: [email protected]