Posts Tagged ‘Zeus’

Death by Power Ballad: Robin Zander, “Time Will Let You Know”

Wouldn’t it be cool to be Cheap Trick’s Robin “The Voice” Zander?  I mean, the guy’s, like, 85 years old and looks the same as he did on the cover of Heaven Tonight; he can probably still woo any chick he wants from his nightly audience; and, even though he’s probably tired of singing “I Want You to Want Me” every night, he gets to sing “I Want You to Want Me” every night and hear the wildly appreciative applause of the dozens of people (or thousands, if he’s opening for Journey) who’ve come to hear him sing “I Want You to Want Me.”

But Robin Zander has a sensitive side, too. Exhibit A: “The Flame.” I absolutely love “The Flame.”  There is nobody else—and I mean nobody else—who could take a line as bad as “Whenever you need someone to lay your heart and head upon” and make it sound like a bolt from Zeus himself. Cheap Trick take a lot of shit for recording it, but if there is shit to be taken, it should be Bob Mitchell and Nick Graham, who wrote the thing, partaking of said excrement. Cheap Trick turned their slow dance-by-numbers ditty into a towering achievement in the power ballad arts.

In 1993, Zander released a guest-heavy solo album, which did about as well as Cheap Trick’s studio output of the era (Woke Up with a Montster, anyone?). Amid the poppy hooks and all star cameos (Maria McKee, Dr. John, Stevie Nicks, and most of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers), Zander placed “Time Will Let You Know,” a Big Statement treatise on taking the great leap of faith and allowing oneself to fall in love. Composed by Zander and someone named Billy O. Who (gotta be a pseudonym, like Prince on those Apollonia 6 and Martika albums—put your guesses in the Comments section), “Time” bundles hope, longing, and resignation to the fates in one massive lighter-worthy package.

The track starts quietly—just Zander and a piano, addressing the object of his affection in hushed exasperation:

Look at you and look at me
Now what are we supposed to be
We’re so afraid of something new
You know it’s true

You turn around and then it’s gone
You can’t be sure if it’s the same old song
We’re so afraid of everyone
Afraid of the sun
(more…)

DVD Review: “Wonder Woman”

Wonder Woman (2009, Warner Home Video)
purchase this movie from Amazon: DVD | Blu-ray

I’ve always been wary of many of the direct-to-DVD animated superhero films, from both Marvel and DC. I wasn’t that impressed with Justice League: The New Frontier, nor was I bowled over by Ultimate Avengers. I thought The Next Avengers sucked, and that Batman: Gotham Knight was extremely overrated.

So perhaps it makes sense that it would take the DVD introduction of Wonder Woman–the first and greatest of all female superheroes–to break the mold and deliver one of the best animated adventures ever.

Created by William Moulton Marston in 1941 as the female-empowering answer to Superman and Batman (based on a suggestion from his wife, Elizabeth), Wonder Woman was very nearly an instant smash success, whose powers of flight, near invulnerability, super strength, lasso of truth, powerful wisdom, indestructible bullet deflecting bracelets and bombshell beauty have always stayed nearly unchanging, even though the character herself has undergone various iterations brought on by different writers throughout her publishing history.

The new Wonder Woman direct-to-DVD adventure stays true to her origins in Graeco-Roman mythology, while also borrowing from artist/writer George Perez’ excellent updating of the Amazon’s story in his 1980s run on the title, following DC’s 1985 continuity-revamping epic Crisis On Infinite Earths.

The story begins centuries ago, during a brutal encounter between Amazon forces led by Queen Hippolyta (voice of Virginia Madsen) against Ares (voice of Alfred Molina), the god of war. Hippolyta is enraged that Ares has “forced a child” upon her (the implication is that Ares raped her, much in the way Hercules did in George Perez’ run on the comic), and she’s out for vengeance. Part of that vengeance comes when Hippolyta actually kills the young demi-god, surprising Ares with her will to carry out the act. She then manages to get the upper hand on him and is about to follow suit, until the intervention of Zeus (voice of David McCallum), the king of the gods, who demands Ares be spared. Zeus’ wife Hera (voice of Marg Helgenberger) tempers Hippolyta’s need for payback by setting a pair of power draining bracelets upon Ares, rendering him helpless until and unless those bracelets are removed by another god. By way of atonement for Hippolyta’s misuse by Ares, Hera provides a secluded island for her and the Amazons, where they will remain immortal forever. (more…)