Ryan's Reviews

The classic story of "Wuthering Heights", the one and only novel completed by Emily Brontë and published in the year 1847, has been the inspiration for a whole slew of different adaptations over the years. Among them is the classic 1939 film version with Merle Oberon as Catherine opposite Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff. In 2003, an updated version based on the coast of Northern California emerged from MTV starring Erika Christensen, Mike Vogel and Christopher Masterson. Directing was Suri Krishnamma with a score by Stephen Trask (author of the rock musical "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"), executive produced and with music produced by none other than Jim Steinman of Wagnerian rock. I've covered his work before, including his hit albums with Meat Loaf "Bat out of Hell" and "Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell", his musicals "Tanz der Vampire" and "Whistle down the Wind", his work with Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion, Air Supply, Barbr

By 1976, the Divine Miss M was having a spectacular run. Her debut album "The Divine Miss M" had been released in late 1972 on Atlantic Records, producing some of her most beloved classics "Do You Want to Dance?", "Chapel of Love", "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "Friends". It had also scored Bette the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1973. The follow-up followed that same year, with the eponymous "Bette Midler", another classic consolidating the excitement, fun and emotion of her debut offering. By 1974, Bette had won a Special Tony Award for her production of "Clams on the Half Shell Revue", which had played at New York's Minskoff Theater (later home to such musicals as Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Sunset Boulevard", "Dance of the Vampires", "Fiddler on the Roof" and Disney's "The Lion King".) She had also done animation work as Woody the Spoon in the American educatio

Billy Joel had been making solo albums since 1971, including "Cold Spring Harbor", "Piano Man", "Streetlife Serenade", "Turnstiles", "The Stranger", "52nd Street" and the most recent "Glass Houses". The last three were a huge success. Billy also won a Grammy Award on each of them. Of the first four, "Piano Man" had yielded him the biggest single, but in 1981 these would become the basis of his first live album "Songs in the Attic". For, you see, songs like "She's Got a Way" and "Everybody Loves You Now", taken from "Cold Spring Harbor", and "You're My Home", "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" and "Captain Jack" from "Piano Man", followed up by "Streetlife Serenader", "Los Angelenos", "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" , "Summer, Highland Falls", "I've Loved These Days" and "M

Singer, songwriter, musician extraordinaire William Martin Joel began the decade of the 80s with a musical bang, with his seventh album: "Glass Houses". Of course, it comes from the saying: "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." I wonder if they have any nylon curtains, which leads us into the next album. For now however, let's look at this one. On 12 March 1980 on the heels of "The Stranger" and the follow-up "52nd Street", "Glass Houses" was released. But just like "52nd Street" before it, this wasn't a continuation of the previous album. No. According to Uncle Wiki this was made in response to the Punk and new wave movements that were going on at the time. As a result, this makes it one of Billy's rockiest albums. It certainly doesn't repeat the jazzier sound of "52nd Street". Again, "Glass Houses" is produced by stalwart Phil Ramone, and according to Uncle Wiki again (I'