The Hold Steady - Heaven Is Whenever

The Hold Steady
Heaven Is Whenever
2010 Vagrant

The Hold Steady’s new album, Heaven Is Whenever, follows their unrightfully slagged 2008 album Stay Positive (review here, and yes, it’s becoming weird that this site has been around long enough to review multiple new albums from bands), which stands as one of their strongest efforts. Since Stay Positive, keyboardist Franz Nicolay left the band to focus on something called Guignol, which, according to Wikipedia, is his new “gypsy-klemzer troupe”. Listening to Heaven Is Whenever, it’s hard to say that Nicolay’s departure has hurt the band; they’re still great songwriters. Some of the little flourishes his piano work provided, however, helped those older Hold Steady albums reach heights that Heaven Is Whenever can’t quite get to. Though the band soldiers on admirably without Nicolay, Heaven Is Whenever does give off the feeling that something is missing.

We begin with a soft and thoughtful opener, “The Sweet Part of the City”, which does a really nice job of beginning things, even though it’s followed by several rockers in a row. Its bittersweet, mournful tone opens the door to a cavalcade of straight-on rock tunes (four in a row and five of the next six).

Heaven Is Whenever finds the Hold Steady all-business, rarely taking detours or introducing contrasting pieces or movements within songs. This lends the album a very streamlined feel, which works well while actually listening to it. The sequence of “Soft in the Center”/”The Weekenders”/”The Smidge”/”Rock Problems”, tracks two through five, steamrolls over the first half of the record without letting up or slowing down. This speed hurts the album when considering it as a whole, however, because it feels like it’s over before it even begins.

Even though the band’s previous albums have comparable lengths, those albums each had an epic feel that made them sound bigger and more important. Heaven Is Whenever lacks that staying power, rocking out for forty or so minutes before disappearing. True standout moments are few and far between. “Hurricane J” provides a blistering three-minute romp, and “Our Whole Lives”, with its matter-of-fact, unapologetic chorus, helps carry the album strongly to its conclusion.

Heaven Is Whenever is a very good rock record, but it rarely reaches the transcendental heights of the band’s previous efforts. Heaven Is Whenever may be a victim of the Holy Steady having spoiled us in the past. If any of the songs went beyond merely the very good, this might stand as one of their best.

B

John Lacey

Ronnie James Dio (1942-2010)

As a kid growing up in the grunge era, I had always assumed Ronnie James Dio was a bit of a joke. My only memories of him as a kid were from music videos where he pranced around on rooftops and sang about rainbows and holy divers while wielding swords and shields. For a long time, I could not get past the silly image of this 5’4” (and I’m being generous) man with a receding hairline and crooked teeth, as he sang about “circles and rings” and “dragons and kings.”

When I turned 18, however, that all changed, when I bought Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell on a whim one day. Some of the song titles turned me off initially – “Neon Knights,” “Lady Evil,” “Wishing Well,” – but, I figured, it’s Sabbath, it can’t be that bad. I had been a huge Ozzy-era Sabbath fan, with the exception of Never Say Die!, their last release with Osbourne fronting the band. Tony Iommi had long been one of my guitar idols, and I’d read how Dio really gave new life to the band and resurrected their career in the 1980s, but I was still reluctant. I’m glad I put my fears aside, as Heaven and Hell pretty much blew me away from the start. “Neon Knights,” as silly as the lyrics may have been on the page, sounded completely genuine and honest coming from the convincing, powerful pipes of Ronnie James Dio. Damn, I thought, I was wrong about him all along.

I had the pleasure of seeing Dio (the band) open for Iron Maiden in the summer of 2003. I had avoided most of Dio’s (the band, again) recorded output due to those cheesy music videos I referenced before, but seeing the band live really made them connect with me a lot more. Hearing the classics like “Holy Diver” and “Stand Up and Shout” in person made them seem a lot less cheesy, and a lot more ass-kicking. When the band busted into “Heaven and Hell” and Rainbow’s “Stargazer” (another classic from Dio’s pre-Sabbath supergroup, also featuring Richie Blackmore of Deep Purple fame), I was simply blown away.

For whatever reason, I listened to Heaven and Hell a lot in the summer and fall of 2002, and many times in the years that followed, yet I didn’t pick up it’s follow-up, Mob Rules, until about 2006. Maybe I held Heaven and Hell in such high regard that I didn’t want to be disappointed with what came after it. Either way, I regretted doing so, as Mob Rules is a classic follow-up, still very worthy of the Black Sabbath name. Around the time I got that album, rumors of the Heaven and Hell line-up of Sabbath reuniting for a tour began to surface. It ended up being the Mob Rules line-up, but a part of me realized I had to see them at some point. Luckily, that wish came true in the summer of 2008 when I saw the band co-headline at the Mohegan Sun arena with Judas Priest.

Dio was 65 at the time of this show, but you would not be able to tell judging by his energy and the power and intonation of his voice. Hearing the classic Sabbath mark II tracks in person with the guys who recorded them originally was just awesome. It also seemed that the public perception of Dio changed around this time, as he was no longer a cheesy laughingstock of metal, but a stalwart, pioneer and visionary of the genre. It seemed like the reunion with Sabbath, then re-named Heaven & Hell, really legitimized Dio for a lot of the mainstream rock and roll and metal press. The band capitalized on such good fortune and recorded a brand new album in 2009, The Devil You Know, which was met with great critical and fan reaction. The band was supposed to tour this summer, despite Dio announcing that he’d be undergoing medical treatments throughout the year. Unfortunately, that tour was cancelled just weeks ago.

I’m not going to deny that a large portion of Dio’s lyrical output is fantastical garbage, but that’s not the issue here. The issue is that one of metal’s most influential voices and pioneers has sadly passed away, after battling stomach cancer, at the age of 67. Every reaction I’ve read to the news has said what a humble, kind, funny and genuine spirit Dio was, which makes it all the more of a shame. I wish I could have gotten to see Heaven & Hell perform live one more time, as they really put on one of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen. R.I.P. Dio.

Matt Steele

The Random Ten #17

John #1) Masta Ace – “Last Rights” – Disposable Arts (2001)

“Last Rights” is the penultimate track from Masta Ace’s absolutely magnificent Disposable Arts album. This song is really a skit, serving to wrap up the story of the album (Ace leaves the tough streets behind and goes to rap college, or something). Nothing happens in this “song”, but everything that precedes it is terrific. Masta Ace is unlike most rappers I’ve heard. He still boasts and brags, but he’s coming from a place of bitterness and anger because he’s not famous or rich but considers himself much better than his contemporaries. He may have a point. There’s angst in his songs, towards the record industry, other rappers, and himself. It’s a fascinating and sometimes transcendent listen, and a much different take on the “look how much money I have” style of hip-hop.

Matt #1) Metallica - "The Call Of Ktulu" - Live: Cleveland, OH, 12/18/83 (not an official release; the song originally appeared on Ride The Lightning [1984])

This is one of the earliest live performances of this classic Metallica instrumental, although I find it weird that they played it live at all. An 8-minute instrumental of epic proportions, this didn't exactly fit in with the Kill 'Em All tunes the band was playing at the time. Regardless, this was an early sign that Metallica were not ever going to try to live up to expectations, and they would continue to progress and do whatever the fuck they wanted, when they wanted. Cliff Burton's bass acrobatics are more prominent in the mix on this bootleg than on Ride the Lightning, so it's great to hear the late bass legend tear it up on this one.

John #2) Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – “Games” – Jacksonville City Nights (2005)

Jacksonville City Nights represents one of my favorite album titles, if that counts for anything. “Games” is a standard light and airy Adams tune. It’s compact and brief, with a memorable harmonious chorus and some nice slide guitar work throughout. It’s a nice song, but it’s not long enough to develop into much.

Matt #2) Bruce Dickinson - "I Will Not Accept the Truth" - Skunkworks (1996)

An underrated solo album that's often unfairly labeled as Dickinson's attempt at grunge, Skunkworks really is a fine piece of work. "I Will Not Accept the Truth" is a fine hard rock song, with Dickinson's ear for melody and catchy hooks very apparent throughout. Much different than Iron Maiden, sure, but still a great performance from one of metal and rock's greatest vocalists ever.

John #3) Drive-By Truckers – “Moved” – Southern Rock Opera (2001)

“Moved” is culled from DBT’s two-disc concept album, Southern Rock Opera, about a Lynyrd Skynyrd-type rock band and their formation, trials, tribulations, and disintegration. Southern Rock Opera is much more ambitious and sprawling than it might initially let on, and its completion and subsequent success helped to put the band on the map. “Moved” features sparse instrumentation, with rough and tinny vocal accompaniment. “Moved” is truthfully not one of the band’s finest moments, but it’s meant more to move along the story of the album than to rock out. It’s just kind of a grungy country song.

Matt #3) Probot - "Dictatosaurs" - Probot (2004)

Probot was Dave Grohl's metal side project that featured vocalists from King Diamond to Cronos (Venom) to Lemmy, to even Jack Black on a secret track. "Dictatosaurus" features Snake, of Voivod fame, and not surprisingly, it sounds a little like Voivod. I was a huge fan of the Probot project when it was first released, as it contained Max Cavalera's best song since his appearance on Deftones' "Headup," "Red War," and also featured some great riffs and songs throughout. "Dictatosaurus" is a good tune if you're a fan of Snake's unique vocals, which I am.

John #4) The Flaming Lips – “She Don’t Use Jelly” – Transmissions From The Satellite Heart (1993)

Though the Flaming Lips had already been around for about ten years releasing a multitude of albums prior to this, “She Don’t Use Jelly” was their first pseudo-hit and the first true nationwide exposure for the band. According to the Flaming Lips documentary Fearless Freaks, without “She Don’t Use Jelly” the band either would have been dropped by Warner Bros. or would not have been given the artistic freedom to blossom on their subsequent releases.

The song is also fucking awesome. The lyrics are simple, but fun and charmingly bizarre; weird but inviting. A raucous guitar part enters with the chorus and really makes it difficult not to like the song. “She Don’t Use Jelly” is a staple of lo-fi indie/garage rock, and a song worthy of notice.

Matt #4) Brutal Truth - "Everflow" - Kill Trend Suicide (1996)

I'm normally not a huge grindcore fan, as most songs sound the same and are just blasting away for 30 seconds before the next track, but Brutal Truth are pioneers that know how to write an actual song, even if it's only 45-seconds long. "Everflow" is a punishing track that gets right to the point and leaves you feeling beaten and abused, like most good grindcore should.

John #5) The Black Crowes – “Oh Josephine” – Warpaint (2008)

This is timely! The band recently announced that they’re breaking up yet again at the conclusion of this calendar year. They had broken up once before, in 2002, and returned a few years later with this album.

I have traditionally been a huge Black Crowes fan, but Warpaint struck me as banal Americana/country from a band that was rusty and relying on their old bag of tricks to get by. I haven’t listened to the record since, but “Oh Josephine” is not a bad song. Banal Americana/country can still sound pretty, but this isn’t particularly memorable or exciting, and probably doesn’t need to be 6 ½ minutes. There’s no urgency, and the indelible Black Crowes stamp is not here. It’s a song I’ve heard a thousand times, often done better. A really nice cascading ending helps things, but it’s a bit of “too little, too late”.

Matt #5) The Rolling Stones - "Miss You" - Forty Licks (2002; song originally released on Some Girls [1978])

The "woo-hoo-hoo-ooh-hoo-hoo" vocal hook of this song will now be in my head all day. Thanks a lot, Mick. One of the Stones' most instantly-recognizable tracks, this is one of their bluesier, soulful numbers, that is catchy as hell. Great song from a legendary band.

John #6) R.E.M. – “Wendell Gee” – Fables Of The Reconstruction (1985)

Early R.E.M. is often either frantic or sonically strange and powerful, which is why “Wendell Gee” was quite startling to me. It’s a straightforward slow-paced tune with banjo accompaniment, and the type of song that’s perfectly suited to gazing out of a train window (which is what I’m doing as I write this). Perhaps that low-key contemplativeness is appropriate for the album with lead single “Driver 8”, about a tireless, lonesome engineer. This is a really nice song.

Matt #6) Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - "A Kiss Before I Go" - Live: Boston, MA 9/7/08 (not an official release; the song originally appeared on Jacksonville City Nights [2005])

Sound quality isn't top-notch on the bootleg I have from this show, but this is a great song, nonetheless. Firmly located on the country side of the country/rock spectrum that Adams so frequently resides in, "A Kiss..." combines two of his favorite lyrical topics -- lost love, and alcohol. A catchy tune and a great performance from a show I attended a couple years back.

John #7) Neil Young – “Bite The Bullet” – American Stars ‘N Bars (1977)

“Bite The Bullet” is a criminally underrated track from Young’s American Stars ‘N Bars album. It features tremendous guitar work and structure, strongly foreshadowing Young’s grungier tendencies over the last twenty or so years. It doesn’t deviate from the mean too much; there’s no fifteen minute feedback section here like there are on so many of Young’s 1990s albums. “Bite the Bullet” is just a seldom heard, kick-ass rock song.

Matt #7) Rage Against The Machine - "Testify" - The Battle Of Los Angeles (1999)

The opening track from Rage Against the Machine's last original studio album, "Testify" was also a rock radio staple of the early 2000s. A great opener for the album, as it just builds up on Tom Morello's muted picking while the drums and bass increase in volume, the main riff and chorus are undoubtedly catch and heavy, something that all of the best RATM songs are.

John #8) Ben Folds – “Zak And Sara” – Ben Folds Live (2002; the song was originally released on Rockin’ The Suburbs [2001])

I cannot seem to stop writing about this guy. Anyway, this is a live performance of a song that had initially appeared on his solo breakout album, Rockin’ The Suburbs. The crowd is amped up for this and sings along with it, which sounds great. On the original, “Zak And Sara” features full instrumentation, and the song works much better there than here, where Folds is alone with a piano. Certain pieces scream for a snare hit or bass fill, and though this is a faithful and strong rendition, I’d recommend tracking down the studio version.

Matt #8) In Flames - "Murders in the Rue Morgue" - Subterranean (1994)

A bonus track from the re-issue of In Flames' Subterranean EP, this Iron Maiden cover sounds great, musically, but Mikael Stanne's vocals don't do the original justice. Still, an energetic cover from a band that would not have existed were it not for Iron Maiden, so it's nice to hear them pay respect where it's due. If you're a fan of Iron Maiden but not too big into death vocals, this cover might not do the trick for you, but if you want something on the heavier side, this is a good cover.

John #9) Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Here Comes My Girl” – Greatest Hits (1993; song was originally released on Damn The Torpedoes [1979])

Ever since a friend of mine referred to Tom Petty as “darts music” (aka you should only listen to him when drinking and playing darts), I have a hard time taking the man seriously. His Greatest Hits album is fun (it’s probably the quintessential greatest hits album from any artist ever), and I love his Wildflowers record, but there is something about him that, while not quite cheesy, is very simplistic. In ways, he strikes me as a much better Stone Temple Pilots, another singles machine whose entire body of work can largely be summed up by a greatest hits album with no need for further exploration (again, save for Wildflowers).

“Here Comes My Girl” is a nice song, just like everything else on his Greatest Hits compilation. I’m all ears for an older album from Petty I really need to listen to, so please share, but for now I’ll have to stick with this compilation whenever I feel the need to listen to some Petty, or play darts.

Matt #9) Dave Matthews Band - "Fool To Think" - Everyday (2001)

This album got shit on by hardcore DMB fans upon its release. Personally, I like a lot of tracks from this album, as they're short, to-the-point, and pretty catchy overall. Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of "Fool to Think." It's not awful, it's just not that catchy, and the timing of the riff and beat just seems a little off, but not in a good way. I had to skip ahead to the next track, I'll be honest.

John #10) Sufjan Stevens – “Come On! Feel The Illinoise!” – Illinois (2005)

I’d describe much of what Sufjan Stevens does as a sonic collage, one I truly like and appreciate. He just sounds so different, and yet so inviting. That’s a winning combination.

We have that here with “Come On! Feel The Illinoise!” Horns, backing vocals that play off each other, and Stevens with his strange song structure and strange timing. Often times bands or artists strive to be different and end up creating something off-putting or unlistenable. Stevens has largely avoided that pitfall, and in the process has created some strong, memorable music. Kudos to him.

Matt #10) Anthrax - "Time" - Persistence Of Time (1990)

...and I'm glad I skipped to the next track, because this is one of my favorite Anthrax songs. The opening track from 1990's Persistence of Time, "Time" is an epic, mid-paced thrash song that builds and builds one great riff after another. Even the usually-effeminate Joey Belladonna sounds monstrous on this one, and the lyrics are pretty great. Dan Spitz's solos could be very hit-or-miss at times, but he nails the one on this track. Great song from Anthrax's last album with Belladonna (well, until he rejoined the band AGAIN just a week or so ago, and is apparently recording an album with them now. Color me indifferent.)

Matt Steele/John Lacey

The Dailies 5/5/10: Moons Over London (And Washington, Sicily and the Confederate South)

Moon (2009)
Director: Duncan Jones
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey

In the last Dailies column, I expressed my fondness for Westerns, explaining that I’m a sucker for the genre as a whole and hence my opinions on Western films might want to be taken with a grain of salt. Another genre of films that I’m particularly taken with is well-thought out futuristic science-fiction in the vein of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Moon, the debut feature film of Duncan Jones (alternately known as Zowie Bowie, son of rock star David Bowie), is a spiritual sister to 2001 and a terrific film whether you’re a fan of science-fiction or not.

It’s the future, and man has progressed to the point of conducting mining operations on the moon. Sam Rockwell (Matchstick Men, Frost/Nixon) is a lone human living on the moon, making sure that the mining is carried out successfully. Small changes begin affecting him as they had not before; he sees visions and starts becoming easily distracted. Eventually, these visions manifest themselves into something much larger; a full-blown conspiracy featuring clones, false memories, and even a creepy semi-sentient robot. It’s hard to describe too much of Moon without giving things away, though the film eventually does relay what’s happening long before its conclusion.

This may sound fantastical and ridiculous, but Moon is not “science-fiction” in the way that Avatar or even Star Wars fits that description. Moon is sparse, thoughtful, and deals with fundamental truths in a unique setting and way. It nails the loneliness and isolation, the grayness and bleakness of the moon and space, so much so that they embed themselves into Rockwell’s character and we cannot view him without thinking of his surroundings. It’s a taut, psychological thriller with a heart, all while set on the moon, which strikes me as a tremendous achievement. A-.

Eastern Promises (2007)
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel
Academy Awards: Nominated (Actor – Mortensen)

David Cronenberg is a very talented director, but he has a tendency to submarine his own films with absolutely jarring and insane plot twists that betray the viewer and the time they spent watching to that point. His previous feature before Eastern Promises, A History of Violence (2005), contained one of the most foolish, inconsiderate and plain bad plot twists I had seen in any movie this side of Mystery Science Theater, so I went into Eastern Promises with some trepidation.

I’m happy to report that Cronenberg was largely able to resist the temptation to crazy up Eastern Promises, largely letting the story play out logically and satisfyingly. Viggo Mortensen plays Nikolai, a low-level Russian Mafia member slowly working his way up the ranks of the London organization. Mortensen is tremendous in the role, and sufficiently menacing; his empty glare and eerie calm throughout the proceedings build him as someone to be reckoned with, but also someone above or beyond all of the ramshackle bloodshed that accompanies the Russian mob. Nikolai is expertly handled by Mortensen and screenwriter Steven Knight. He does bad things, but then he does things that aren’t so bad, or things that could be considered thoughtful and empathetic. Why?

The use of realistic Russian Mafia imagery, such as their tattoos, is highly prevalent in Eastern Promises. A making-of featurette included on the DVD described the painstaking process the makers of the film endured to make sure all of the tattoos were legitimate and truthful. It’s a nice touch, and perhaps was indicative that Cronenberg and his crew were too busy researching for the film to add on a jarring ending. B+.

The General (1928)
Director: Clyde Bruckman/Buster Keaton
Starring: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack

Enough of these “talkies”! The General is perhaps the most famous silent film this side of Charlie Chaplin, and rightfully so. Its technological achievements, including some of the most captivating train scenes I’ve ever seen in any movie, are enough to make it special. Adding the madcap goofiness and charm of Buster Keaton, a superstar of silent films, is enough to make it legendary.

Keaton plays Johnnie Gray, a locomotive engineer who is madly in love with his fiancée, Annabelle Lee (Mack). The Civil War has broken out, and Lee’s whole male family has joined the war to fight for the rebellion. Gray desperately attempts to join, but is rebuked because he is too valuable as an engineer. When Lee is captured by Union officers, Gray springs into action, resulting in a really long and really entertaining train chase scene.

The ingenuity of The General is what makes it so great. Without sound, it’s obviously more difficult to convey emotion, but Keaton is a master of the medium. He’s the king of the long face, but he’s never licked. He’s forever manic, running to and fro in an often-misguided attempt to take action, and his good-natured, innocent idiocy is hard not to get behind. He’s also very funny; his train is chasing the Union train, and at one point he attempts to fire at it with a cannonball. The cannon hits a bump, however, and soon it’s pointed directly at Keaton and his own train. It’s Keaton’s expression, a “that’s not supposed to happen” type puzzlement, that makes much of the film work. The General might be old and silent, but its quality of filmmaking and its universal story make it timeless. A-.

Catch-22 (1970)
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin

The most impressive thing about Catch-22 is its ensemble cast, a who’s who of both film and comedy stars that make Catch-22 the It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World of war spoofs. Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Anthony Perkins, Art Garfunkel, Charles Grodin, Jon Voight, Bob Newhart, Martin Sheen, and even Orson Welles make appearances in Catch-22, and the enjoyment of watching such a talented cast work together saves the film from being a total stinkbomb.

Catch-22 is too goofy and esoteric for its own good. Scenes oscillate from being genuinely funny to head-scratchingly absurd, to the point where the film’s message (“Look how insane war is! It makes no sense!”) becomes muddled because much of the film makes no sense also. Individually humorous scenes bleed into hypothetical, abstract discussions of war and its meaning, adding little and serving largely to derail the film.

A bright spot is Jon Voight, who is tremendous as Milo Minderbinder, a soldier/prudent capitalist who sells the unit’s supplies to the Germans in exchange for chocolate and other nonessential goods. The rest of the cast performs admirably, but it’s what they’re performing that causes the film’s problems. C-.

(I am aware that Catch-22 is a famous novel originally written by Joseph Heller, but I’ve never read that book and can only comment on the film itself.)

The Leopard (aka Il Gattopardo) (1963)
Director: Luchino Visconti
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon
Academy Awards: Nominated (Costume Design – Color)

The Leopard is a three-hour Italian epic film detailing the later life of Don Fabrizio Salina, the prince of a principality of 1860’s Sicily. He represents the old guard in the time of Garibaldi and Italian unification, and the film looks at the changes to the country and the aristocracy through his eyes. The prince is played perfectly by Burt Lancaster, an expert American actor who contributes a strong balance of royalty, humanity and an understanding that his way is the old way, and he’ll soon be useless.

The film follows his family and the dalliances and loves of its members; much of The Leopard could be considered the stuff of soap opera or the romance novel. These scenes can be forgiven by the strong acting and the beauty of the film. Director Visconti treats every frame like a painting, playing the natural beauty of the Sicilian landscape against the man-made ornateness of the regal homes and buildings the characters frequent.

The real reason the film is a winner is Lancaster, the prince who sees his princedom and way of life crumbling around him, but who understands that this represents the natural order of things. He isn’t stupid or stubborn; he knows change is coming, and he’s had his time at the top. In a final ballroom gala scene (which lasts forty-five minutes), we can see through Lancaster how ridiculous their way of life is. He’s distant and separate from the huge mansion, the beautiful women, the handshakes and pats on the back. Why are they celebrating when they simply happened to be born into royalty? What’s the point of their parties, their loves, their existences, especially now that the writing is on the wall? We may not get answers to these questions, but we get a feeling the prince does. B+.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Director: Frank Capra
Starring: Jimmy Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold
Academy Awards: Won (Writing – Original Story). Nominated (Actor – Stewart, Supporting Actor – Harry Carey, Supporting Actor – Rains, Art Direction, Director, Film Editing, Music – Scoring, Picture, Sound – Recording, Writing – Screenplay).

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a famous film about corruption in politics, a topic that seems commonplace now but for the time drew a furor from the US government. The plot: Jefferson Smith (Stewart) a hapless, good-hearted rube from an unnamed state, is appointed to be an interim senator. Much of the first half of the film deals with Smith’s foreignness in relation to the politics of Washington, the duties of being a senator, etc. He’s trained in these areas by Saunders (Arthur), his secretary, who essentially acts as a mother figure to Smith and helps him get adjusted to his new position.

Smith is just a patsy put in place by the senior senator of the state and family friend Senator Payne (Rains), who is terrific in the role. Payne works with powerful people and has those people to thank for his position of power in the senate. When Smith begins investigating Payne’s relationships with his benefactors and threatens to unravel their schemes, Payne and his associates set out to destroy him.

This is a classic Jimmy Stewart role, where he stumbles and murmurs and acts nervous and unsure of himself. His demeanor is now iconic, but it fit the role of Jefferson Smith quite well. Rains and Arthur both contribute tremendously, as does Senate President Harry Carey, who was nominated for an Oscar for his performance.

Things in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington fly together quickly, however, in an often unbelievable fashion. This was made in a different era, but I expected a little more complexity and intrigue in the storyline. Spoilers: Payne and his friends want to force through a shady deal to build a dam, and Smith just happens to want to build a boy scout camp in the same place. In an earlier scene, the press misquotes Smith during his initial news conference, so he goes around Washington punching members of the press and anyone he sees reading a newspaper. These scenes struck me as more than a little absurd.

The ending of the film is as good as advertised, however, with Smith desperately attempting a filibuster in order to clear his name against ridiculous odds. It’s the film’s saving grace, and one of the most famous scenes in cinema history. B.

John Lacey