E. Doctor Smith's Blog

One of the most popular and my personal favorite of the entire "Law & Order" television franchise, "Criminal Intent" comes to a close this Sunday night after a 10 year run; 7 years on NBC and 3 years on the USA network. Starring the incredible Vincent D'Onofrio as the complex Detective Robert "Bobby" Goren and his partner, Detective Alexandra Eames, portrayed by the equally talented Kathryn Erbe, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" chronicled the exploits of the NYPD's "Major Case Squad". Goren's skill as a brilliant criminal profiler, coupled with the snarky wit of Eames and a bevy of great guest stars helped make the show one of the best police dramas ever written for television. Fans of the show fell in love with Goren's idiosyncracies; the way he would bend his body and lean over suspects to interrogate them; his now legendary, long running battle with serial killer Nicole Wallace, played by Olivia D'Abo; his ...

Peter Gabriel has earned a worldwide reputation for his innovative work as a musician, writer and video maker. When at school he co-founded the group Genesis, which he left in 1975. His albums, live performance and videos since then have won him a succession of awards. Tonight, the legendary Gabriel kicks off a new tour at the Greek in Berkeley with his critically acclaimed "New Blood Orchestra and wrapping up on June 29 at the Marcus Amphitheatre in Milwaukee. Following the tour, Gabriel plans to release an album with his New Blood Orchestra, conducted by Ben Foster, featuring his repertoire remixed. Gabriel did a similar thing like this last year, but with all cover tunes. Peter co-founded the group Genesis in 1966 at school; he would go on to make 7 albums with them. He left in 1975, but returned to music a year later, and has subsequently made 11 solo albums. His film soundtrack works include Birdy (1984); The Last Temptation of Christ (1989); Rabbit Proof Fence (2002...

The gypsy-flavored, trance-fueled group known as the Druid Sisters Tea Party, return with their third album, "MoonJuju". Land of the Blind's vocalist Cyoakha Grace and former Jain/SF Mime Troupe drummer Claudia Paige continue to be the Sisters' mainstays, along with Kathy Buys on violin and Jan Martinelli on bass. I'll confess, I ran into Paige in Hawaii last December, when she gave me a sneak preview of the album. Pleasantly motoring around the island, I happily found "MoonJuju" to be another seamless blend of Paige's crisp, world beat polyrhythms, Grace's beautifully crafted vocals and LOTB's Krystov, ably lending his didgeridoo-driven ambiance. Following on the heels of "Gypsy Love Caravan", "MoonJuju brings together a magical weave of tribal jungle drums, big fat funk bass grooves, touches of traditional Irish fiddle tunes overlaid with sweet cello, dreamy trance vocals, Aussie Didgeridoo & African guitar, all spirited ...

As many of you gentle readers know, I've been a long time fan of singer songwriter Allen Clapp and bassist Jill Pries' pop-driven, outfit from Sunnyvale, "The Orange Peels". Their anthemic hits, "Back in San Francisco", co-penned by former guitarist Larry Winther of the Mummies, and "Jane Lane" are among my favorites. The Peels have seen a few changes over the years and with departure of Winther, Bob Vickers and "Ocean Blue's" Oed Ronnie, songwriter, guitarist/drummer John Moremen moved to over to lead guitar full time and added the talented Gabriel Coan on drums. Like the previous album "20/20", Clapp and Pries have continued to steer the Peels toward their pop-rock side. Moremen, better known as a guitarist and having had the benefit of drumming behind the various Peels line-ups for some time, has been free put his indelible stamp on their sound. Their newest single, "Aether Tide" on the MintyFresh label, is a un...

The Flecktones have re-emerged with a new album, on a new label, (eOne records) and announcing that for "the first time since 1991, pianist/ harmonica player Howard Levy has returned to the fold alongside bassist Victor Wooten, percussionist/Drumitarist Roy “Futureman” Wooten and banjoist bandleader Fleck to create some of the most forward-thinking music of their long, storied career. While all manners of genres come into play – from classical and jazz to bluegrass and African music to electric blues and Eastern European folk dances – the result is an impossible to pigeonhole sound all their own, a meeting of musical minds that remains, as ever, utterly indescribable. Simply put, it is The Flecktones, the music made only when these four individuals come together." Longtime followers of Fleck recall that he took up the banjo at an early age, growing up in Manhattan of all places, eventually migrating to Nashville. Once there, he aligned himself with the now legendary "Ne...

Well, it's time to head back to the theater gentle readers. For the comic book fans, there are a ton of superhero films due out this summer, Marvel rolls out "Captain America", "X-Men: First Class" and DC brings the classic 1960's Hal Jordan in "Green Lantern". Readers of my previous columns know that I have a love-hate relationship with these hi-or-miss films. "Spiderman", "Iron Man" and the previous "X-Men" films have stayed with the spirit of the original comics and characters. We won't dwell on the ones not in their league, we know who they are. Today, we turn our attention to one of Marvel's best known and loved heroes, the mighty Thor. It didn't hurt having Kenneth Branagh directing Anthony Hopkins as "Odin", Natalie Portman as "Jane Foster" and the newcomer Chris Hemsworth in the title role as "Thor/Dr. Donald Blake". Branagh successfully weaved the classic c...

Composer John Barry was perhaps best known for composing 11 James Bond soundtracks and was hugely influential on the musical style of the 007 series, along with the general feeling of the films. I'll never forget seeing Shirley Bassey of "Goldfinger" fame, belt out that theme at New York's Carnegie Hall, as well as "Moonraker" and "Diamonds are Forever". Barry's music was so influential to me personally, that I actually recorded two of my favorites, "Walkabout" and "Zulu". In a career spanning almost 50 years, Barry received numerous awards for his work, including five Academy Awards; two for Born Free, and one each for The Lion in Winter (for which he also won a BAFTA Award), Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves (for which he also won a Grammy Award) and Somewhere in Time (1980) (Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Score - Motion Picture). Barry passed away in January, but his musical legacy will liv...