Tim Curry Does The Rock

Many might know him from Rocky Horror Picture Show, others from other movie rolls like his unforgettable turn in Clue, or his work on the stage, like in the production of Monty Python's Spamalot. I talked about Rocky Horror Monday night in preparation for last night's episode of GLEE. As the episode hits, I thought it might be fun to do a post about the music Tim Curry did away from the musical. There are also the lucky ones who came to know Tim's work as a recording artist. I purchased the 1979 release Fearless as a record - that's right, on vinyl - and love it! It is a 12-song collection, and from the first rocker, Right On The Money, Curry had me in the palm of his hand. He wrote the lyrics to the song. In fact, Curry had written the lyrics on 9 out of 12 of the songs.



Smart, funny and sassy are just a few of the ways to describe the song I Do The Rock. The tongue-in-cheek named-dropping just slays me. Here is a clip of a live performance, and he sounds incredible.



Curry also wrote the lyrics for the next song, Charge It. Once again, the innate charm and comedic timing to deliver lines like 'Charge it, where do I sign? Charge it, show me the dotted line' just fills me up with joy and laughter.



One of the songs he recorded that he didn't write was Cold Blue Steel, from the 1972 release For The Roses. Not surprisingly, Curry's take on the song is radically different than Joni's, so I hope even Joni fans can appreciated it.



Again, Curry wrote the lyrics to the final video I will post, Paradise Garage.



I tried to find a link to purchase the Fearless album, but I couldn't. Well, I found that you could buy used copies on Amazon, but that is not something I could recommend. So enjoy the clips, and think good thoughts of the sexy Tim Curry while you do!

Str8 Boys Need Love Too - Wes Carr

Wes Carr won Australian Idol last fall, and I didn't hear one thing about him until this past spring, when I ran across the video for one of his songs. And unlike the 2008 winner of American Idol, I really like Wes' style. His music was fun and sexy, and seemed like it was more about enjoyment than showing the world how damn clever he was [that is addressed to far too many rock musicians these days].



He was 26 when he won Idol, and seemed to have a clue about what he wanted because the CD is rather good. The Way The World Looks is a strong pop/rock effort, with Carr's strong bluesy vocals pulling most of the weight. The lead single was You, the winner's single from Idol. It charted very well, hitting number 1 in Australia. It was released on November 23, 2008. It is kinda sassy and sexy. That is the first one I saw. Click here to see it. That was followed by It Feels Like Woah [above] and Fearless, below. Of course, there is a bit of nonsense with the CD, including some covers of U2's Desire, the Beatle's Get Back, and a truly misplaced If I Were A Carpenter, all of which he apparently performed on the show.



Now, what is surprising is without ever seeing a single episode of Australian Idol, I now have 2 of those contestants I really enjoy - Wes Carr and the golden-voiced Anthony Callea. Now, they couldn't be more different, with rocker Wes and his throaty blues and Anthony, a young man with a gorgeous voice who could make me enjoy a recorded version of an Ikea manual. No matter, I like 'em, and hope there is more to come from both!



You can find out more about Wes Carr on his MySpace page. To give Anthony Callea another listen, see my post here.