Intro:
Hey
y’all! I’m super excited for this blog. It’s something I’ve thought about for a
while to help express all my pent up geekiness. I thought it only fitting for
my first post to be about a person I consider a geek/scifi icon. After all he
played the best, stuffiest, British Watcher in the world (not to mention many
other fabulous roles). That’s right, I’m talking about Anthony Stewart Head.
Now there are a TON of things I could say about this extremely talented and versatile
actor (which I will, in future posts) but today I’m going to be reviewing his newest
album that was released in September. I had too many thoughts and praises to
tweet them all (Anthony is very active on Twitter) so I decided to finally
create this blog in order to say all I needed/wanted to say. If I’m lucky,
maybe this will get back to Anthony and he will read this. Oh my gosh I would
die! He has responded to two of my tweets and I was floating on air all day. I’m
not some crazy person but I admire him and love all his work so when little ‘ol
me gets a tweet, I geek out.
Side
note: Is it just me or does it feel weird calling a celeb, or anyone you don’t
know, by their first name? I feel “Mr Head” is too formal but “Anthony” is too
casual. I know some people call him “Tony” but I believe that’s only close
friends and family. Gggrrrr. I think I’ll stick with Anthony and hope, if he
reads this, he won’t have a problem with it.
Anyway,
his album, Staring at the Sun, came
out in September and only recently become available on iTunes. The CD is still
only available on his website and comes from the UK so US people be prepared to
pay extra bucks for the shipping and money exchange rate. If you’re broke, like
me, you can listen to his entire
CD for FREE on Spotify. (Don’t worry guys. I’ll post links to everything.)
Since I can’t afford it yet and have been dropping not-so-subtle hints
to my parents as to what my Christmas present should be, I am reviewing based on
my listening on Spotify.
At the
top is an overall review. Below that I have given my opinions and notes about
each song. (If you don’t want to read the whole thing at least check out the
review for The Way you Look Tonight.)
Enjoy, post your thoughts in the comments and check out his CD! (Links are at
the very bottom of the page.)
Overall opinion:
This
CD is a mix of covers and original songs. I think it’s a good mix. The overall
feel is very mellow, due to the beautiful piano and Anthony’s smooth voice.
There aren’t any songs you can really jam out too but it is very relaxing. I
have been listening to it when stressed or at night before bed. If you’ve seen
Buffy the Vampire Slayer then you already know he can sing. Remember that
awesome acoustic version of Behind Blue
Eyes* he sang in season four? Well he has included it in this CD and amped
it up a bit. (See below for more)
There
is one beautifully sung acoustic version of Highway,
Highway as a “hidden track” after The
Way you Look Tonight so keep listening. It may be my favorite of the album.
I wish there had been more songs like this one. Just simple, pure. Just Anthony
and his guitar. The acoustic Highway
has a nice intimate feel and would love to have more of that.
Anthony’s
musical choices are brilliant. He knows exactly when to pause, where to
crescendo, where to add emotion, when to use a low voice and when to go higher.
Even his instrument choices were spot on.
Anthony
has always been good with using emotions in his songs to really bring them to
life**. This is a hard thing to do
properly. Anthony makes it look easy. I wanted to cry during Behind Blue Eyes, got shivers at the end
of Under My Skin and swooned at The Way you Look Tonight. (See below for
more)
There
is no denying Anthony Head has a beautiful voice, speaking or singing, and I
wish he would have pushed himself vocally a little more. Would like to have
heard more long, loud notes; really showing where he can go. I understand,
however, that it wouldn’t have fit well with the feel he was going for. (I feel
one of the best songs to show off his vocal ability is Legal Assassin from Repo: The Genetic Opera.) I still very much
enjoyed his soothing voice.
I
found the album on Spotify three or four days ago and have listened to it, on
repeat, since then. I now know just about all the words to every song and find
myself humming it as I go about my daily activities.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed it immensely. (I
almost never give 5 stars to anything, FYI.) I definitely will, and have,
recommend this album to my friends.
Oh and
this CD also gets the stamp of approval from my Little One. She may only be 6
but when it comes to music she knows exactly what she likes and doesn’t and she has no problem telling
you she doesn’t like it. When I asked her if she liked it her exact response
was “I love it. I love it. I want some more of it!”
*Season
4, episode 18 “Where the Wild Things Are”, 30:25 in. Yep. I am that detail oriented.
**
Watch his Rocky Horror performance and Repo: The Genetic Opera. This is why he
is my favorite of all the Frank n Furters in Rocky Horror. I felt like Tim
Curry was just singing words. When Anthony sang, it was a performance. Frank
was a real person with real emotions. You could feel it. (links below)
Opinions of Each Song:
1. World
so Cold
I first heard this on Anthony’s website, before it was available
elsewhere. I think this was a good pick to represent his album. This is one of
the few songs I do not listen to at
bedtime. The tempo makes it too fast when I am going for slow and relaxing.
Anthony has also made his own notes about this song on his website.
2. Another
Hero Died Tonight
This one is sad. I envisioned a military tribute video. Love
the guitar. I really like what he does to “dry” when singing “my mouth is dry”.
Anthony holds a nice, long note about three minutes in that’s terrific.
3. Behind
Blue Eyes
Talk about using emotion in a song! You can really feel his
pain, especially about three minutes in, so basically the end of the song. I wanted
to cry. Expressing those emotions with only your voice and getting others to
feel it is a difficult task that Anthony nailed. Perhaps it’s because of his skills
as an actor.
I was disappointed it wasn’t acoustic like in Buffy but I
love this version too. One of my favorite songs on the album.
4.
Staring
at the Sun
This song is an example of knowing what octave to use. He
sings very high and it works. About halfway through it starts to fade out and then
comes back with a pump of energy. Perfect.
5. Winter
Wind
Really like this one. I find myself humming/singing this one
a lot. Hey ho! The subtle maraca is great. I didn’t notice it at first but it
really adds something.
6. Under
My Skin
I don’t know if this was planned or not, but this song was a
bit creepy. Mostly, it was the last line of the song. It made me shiver, the
way he says “skin”, the perfectly timed drums, and how his voice is very low and
gravelly. Loved it. I like how he takes a well-known classic, adds his
twist and yet keeps the charm of the original.
At two minutes in, I can’t tell if that is whistling or an
instrument. I’m pretty sure it’s whistling. If it is, I wonder if that’s
Anthony whistling. I would think so.
7.
Knock
me Down
I can’t get this one out of my head. It’s very catchy. I don’t
know what to say. I just really like it. Apparently, Anthony wrote the music for
this one. Read about it on his website. Dang, he is one talented guy. Is there
anything he can’t do?
8. Highway,
Highway
This is a beautiful song. Piano and voice flow together flawlessly.
I love to close my eyes and just get wrapped up in it.
9.
Don’t
Mess with Magic
When I first heard this I immediately thought of Giles and
Willow. I envisioned Giles lecturing Willow on the dangers of magic. Telling
her “You might think you stand a chance. Try to fight it, that you can win the
powers of darkness to your side”. Didn’t Giles say almost exactly that in
Buffy? Heck, I could quote every line in
this song and it would be applicable to the Giles and Willow relationship, especially
in season 6.
10.
The
Way you Look Tonight (and hidden tracks – Acoustic Highway, Highway)
This song is a classic and Anthony doesn’t disappoint. The
first thing to pop into my head when hearing this was a vision of Anthony tenderly
holding his partner, Sarah, as they dance around their kitchen. All the while,
Anthony is lovingly singing this song into her ear. You can feel that love. Yet
another great example of how he can inject emotions into his singing.
If you listen very carefully, at about 1:45 Anthony chuckles
when saying “and that laugh that wrinkles your nose”. Brilliant.
In my top three of the album.
A terrific surprise awaits anyone who sticks around after the
song ends. Approximately, 35 seconds after the song, an acoustic version of Highway, Highway comes on. I can not express
how much I love it. It feels raw and intimate. I found myself cheering along with the others
when it ended, even before I knew there was cheering.
But wait, there’s more! That’s right. More. Roughly two
minutes after Highway ends (10:25) we get an interesting clip of animal noises.
There are birds, sheep and another one that I can’t put my finger on. I assume
this is at Anthony and Sarah’s farm in the UK (Tilley Farm). Cool little
listen.
Links:
Anthonyheadmusic.com – Download album or buy the CD.
USA folks will end up paying about $23 for the CD because of shipping and
exchange rates. Check out Anthony’s Track Notes.
Amazon MP3 – This is only $8.99 http://www.amazon.com/Staring-at-Sun-Anthony-Head/dp/B00OV3HPDW/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1415434314&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=anthoyn+head
iTunes – Search for “Anthony Head”. Do
not use his middle name. When I did that I could only find his first CD Music for Elevators and Repo: The Genetic Opera soundtrack. By
the way, Repo is SO worth it. If you haven’t seen it yet, do it now. Right now. Put down your bowl of Cocoa
Puffs and get on YouTube. You can get most of the movie, in clips, on there. Or
buy it from Amazon for $6.
Amazon Repo DVD - http://www.amazon.com/Repo-Genetic-Opera-Paul-Sorvino/dp/B001MT7ZEW/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1415435210&sr=1-1&keywords=repo+genetic+opera
Legal Assassin (From Repo) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9He9WlFDXqw&index=3&list=PL_0385mRacTiguaBr-oLXjVBtA1FjoIEl
Rocky Horror Live show – Unfortunately the quality is
bad but it’s the only show I can find with Anthony. He’s still great. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2GiDWLQFt4&list=FLznXkuCoyadG20f2CGa0WjA&index=1
Rocky Horror Tribute Show – Someone clipped Anthony’s
parts out so you don’t have to watch the show. Possibly my favorite performance
of his Sweet Transvestite. Skip to
about a minute in.
Tilley Farm – http://www.tilleyfarm.co.uk/ - This is Anthony and Sarah’s farm. Sarah
Fisher does a lot of work with animals, seems to be mostly horses and dogs. She
uses TTouch. Very interesting stuff. Sarah gives classes. They do great things
for many animals. Definitely worth checking out. If you are viewing this on a
mobile device, not all the pages work. For example, I am unable to see the
drop-down menu on the Tilley Farm tab.
Fun
Fact: The horse, pasture, and house shown in the beginning of season 7 of Buffy
are Anthony’s. It’s his farm.
Cool to be Kind – http://www.cooltobekind.org.uk/ - Anthony started this “to help
promote, encourage and acknowledge acts of kindness to animals.” As the website
says “Cool to be Kind was launched on January 1st 2014 for the sole purpose of
promoting the message that it is Cool to be Kind to animals.” Wrist bands and
tote bags are available for sale to help spread the word.
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