The Beatles - With The Beatles

With The Beatles

The Beatles' second album, released in November 1963, featured eight original compositions (including the first from George) and six favourite covers of Motown and R&B hits.

The album contained no singles, which was virtually unheard of for that time. And yet it stayed in the top of the chart for 21 weeks, displacing their first album Please Please me. The Beatles were hogging the chart for 51 weeks consecutvely! This album became the first-ever million selling album by a group in UK.

1. It Won't Be Long (Lennon-McCartney): John is on lead vocal with Paul and George doing the harmonies. George provides a 6-note repetitive guitar riff throughout the song.

2. All I've Got To Do (Lennon-McCartney): Althougt this song is absent from any Beatles retrospective album, it has John at his raw and direct best; Paul supplies harmonies in this simple but likeable song.

3. All My Loving (Lennon-McCartney): This is one of Paul's first classic, and one of my favourite Bealtes songs. Paul's lead vocal is supported by John and George on harmonies. George also provides a country and western guitar playing during the instrument break.

4. Don't Bother Me (Harrison): This is the first George Harrison song to appear on a Beatles' album. In addition to the usual instrumentation, George's solo vocal is backed by Paul beating on claves, John on tambourine, and Ringo on loose-skinned Arabian bongo.

5. Little Child (Lennon-McCartney): John's blues harmonica leads into this rhythm and blues song. The lead vocal is a duet between John and Paul, but John predominates. Paul also overdubs on this track with piano.

6. Till There Was You (Wilson): Taken from Meredith Wilson's broadway musical, The Music Man, this melodic ballad has Paul in fine form with John and George playing acoustic guitars and Ringo beating gently on bongos. Paul is also on electric bass.

7. Please Mister Postman (Holland): This is one of my favourite Beatles covers. (This Brian Holland's song was a No. 1 hit song for US Motown girl group the Marvelettes in 1961. It was a top hit for The Carpenters, too, in 1975.) It features John on lead vocals with Paul and George adding some interesting backing vocals.

8. Roll Over Beethoven (Berry): This rendition of Chuck Berry's rock 'n' roll classic has George in solo vocal. This song will have everybody swaying to the chugging rhythm guitar and funky bass from John and Paul, and the guitar riffs from George.

9. Hold Me Tight (Lennon-McCartney): Paul is on lead vocal, with John and George adding backing vocals and joining in on chorus.

10. You Really Got To Hold On Me (Robinson): Originally recorded by US group the Miracles, this Smokey Robinson song has John and George (and not Paul) in lead vocals. George Martin sits in on piano.

11. I Wanna Be Your Man (Lennon-McCartney): With its simple lyrics and melody, I would consider this the weakest track on the album. Ringo handles the lead vocal with a helping hand from John and Paul in the chorus. The instrumentation is supplemented by John on Hammond Organ and Ringo on Maraccas. (The Rolling Stones subsequently made a minor hit with their cover on this song.)

12. Devil In Her Heart (Drapkin): George takes over the lead vocals for the third time in the album on this Richard P. Drapkin song, originally recorded by US girl group the Donays. John and Paul add in the harmonies and backing vocals. Ringo is on drums and maraccas on this breezy samba-beat number.

13. Not A Second Time (Lennon-McCartney): The song features a double-tracked vocal from John with George Martin on piano. With only John on acoustic guitar and Ringo on drum, the other two Beatles were not present on this song.

14. Money (Bradford-Gordy): The album closes with a showstopping moment from John tearing through a Janie Bradford and Berry Gordy (Motown Rocords' boss) song, originally a hit single for US artiste Barrett Strong. Paul and George provide the backing vocals. George Martin's piano is featured predominantly on this powerful rendition of Money.

With The Beatles still remains fun and fresh after all these years.

(p.s. The album sleeve photo by Robert Freeman is arguably the most iconic of The Beatles ever taken.)

The Beatles - Please Please Me

Please Please Me

This is The Beatles' first UK album released in 1963; it consists of 14 songs with a short running time of less than 32 minutes, which was a norm in those days with the vinyl albums . Eight of the songs here are written by Lennon-McCartney while the remaining 6 tracks are some of The Beatles' favourite songs.

Prior to the release of this album, the British chart were dominated with sound-track albums, recordings of Broadway musicals, with the exception of Elvis Presley and other easy-listening US artistes. The only UK acts before the Beatles who had some success in the chart were Cliff Richard and The Shadows.

This album started the ball rolling and prompted bands like The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, The Hollies to write and play their own materials, rather than doing covers of songs from the US artistes.

Please Please Me hit the UK album chart in May 1963 and remained there for 30 weeks.

1. I Saw Her Standing There (Lennon-McCartney): The album's opener, with Paul in lead vocal and John in harmonies, features some of the Beatles' early trademarks - handclapping and "oooo"ing. And Paul plays some mean rock 'n' roll bass line in this bright number.

2. Misery (Lennon-McCartney): This up-tempo ballad is a close harmony duet between John and Paul, with John singing solo in some verses. Producer George Martin overdubbed in some piano into the track.

3. Anna (Go To Him) (Alexander): John is the lead vocal on this Arthur Alexander hit song. (The late Alexander was an American country soul singer who had another big hit, You Better Move On, which was covered by The Rolling Stones.)

4. Chains (Goffin-King): The vocals are a three-part harmony between John, Paul and George, with George doing solo between the chorus line that dominates the song. This Gerry Goffin and Carole King's song also introduces, for the first time in the album, the harmonica played by John.
5. B0ys (Dixon-Farrel): The rock 'n' roll song, written by Luther Dixon and Wes Farrel, gives Ringo his first appearance as the lead vocalist. The rest of the band supply the backing vocals.

6. Ask Me Why (Lennon-McCartney): It features John on lead vocal with some pleasant harmonies from Paul and George. Another Beatles' early trademarks, falsetto, can be heard on this song, which is also the B-side to the Beatles second single, Please Please Me.

7. Please Please Me (Lennon-McCartney): The title track, which is the Beatles' second single, has John in lead vocal with tight harmonised backing from Paul and George. The song is interspersed with some harmonica from John.

8. Love Me Do (Lennon-McCartney): This was initially the A-side of the Beatles' first single for Parlophone. The song features strongly the harmonica playing from John, with dueting lead vocals from John and Paul. George plays the acoustic guitar and also does the harmony, too. The album version has session musician Andy White playing drums with Ringo on tambourine. The reason was that after Ringo replaced Pete Best (the original drummer before the Beatles became famous), George Martin, who had not heard Ringo play before, brought in Andy just in case Ringo did not match up to expectations.

9. P.S. I Love You (Lennon-McCartney): Previously released as the B-side to Love Me Do, this pleasant song has John and Paul singing lead vocals. Again, Andy White sits in on drums while Ringo shakes the maraccas.

10. Baby It's You (David-Williams-Bacharach): This easy listening ballad has John doing the lead vocal and is accompanied by Paul and George who supply the 'sha, la, la, la' backing.

11. Do You Want To Know The Secret (Lennon-McCartney): George sings the lead vocal while John and Paul provide the 'do da do' backing vocals. (The song was later recorded by Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas and hit the No. 1 spot in the UK chart.)

12. A Taste Of Honey (Marlow Scott): Before the Beatles recorded this very popular hit in the early 60s has been covered by many other artistes. The song is a good vehicle for Paul's voice. John and George provide the harmonies.

13. There's A Place (Lennon-McCartney): The tight harmony of John and Paul, with John singing solos at times. It also features the soulful and wailing harmonica from John.

14. Twist And Shout (Medley-Russel): The album closes with this rock 'n' roll track, originally recorded by The Isley Brothers in 1962. This Phil Medly and Bert Russel song was the song most people would remember at the Beatles' early concerts in The Cavern Club and Hamburg. John's leathery and hoarse vocal, with Paul and George doing the backing, makes this one of the strongest tracks of the album.

46 years later, Please Please Me still sounds fresh and engrossing, despite the fact that it was a rush-release album to cash in on the Beatles earlier two singles.

And so it's time to bring out this album and enjoy the great sound of The Beatles once more.

The Beatles

The Beatles:
John Lennon - 9.10.40 - 8.12.1980 (rhythm guitar - lead vocals)
Paul McCartney - 18.6.42 - (bass - lead vocals)
George Harrison - 24.2.43 - 29.11.2001 (lead guitar - vocals)
Ringo Starr - 7.7.40 - (drums - vocals)

Like many teenagers in the 60s, I grew up listening to the music of The Beatles - undoubtedly the world's most commercially successful and critically acclaimed band.

John, Paul, George and Ringo were four talented guys from Liverpool who create the most astounding phenomemon the world has ever seen, or is ever likely to see.

The rise of The Beatles in 1963 was the most significant event in pop music. Within a year, they had surpassed the fame and success of premier idol Elvis Presley, and thrusted British pop to worldwide attention.

In the eight years between their first chart toppers to their split, the band changed the course of Pop and Rock, leaving a body of recorded work rarely rivalled for quality, originality and - as subsequent generations discovered - durability. Their influence on 60s was incalculable and until now, their legacy was still undiminished and continuing to inspire musicians of every genre.

The Beatles sold more than 1 billion records internationally. In the UK, they released more than 40 different singles, albums and EPs that reached No1, earning more number one albums (15) than any other group in the UK chart history. Rolling Stone magazine ranked them number one on its list of 100 Greatest Artistes Of All Time.

Though disbanded in 1971, their music continues to delight and entertain millions of of music lovers throughout the world wherever and whenever it is heard.

As a fan of The Beatles, I bought all their albums (in vinyl/cassette/CD formats) which I still listen to at home or while driving.

During the period from 1963 to 1970, The Beatles released 13 studio albums (from UK):

Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles For Sale
Help!
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Magical Mystery Tour
The Beatles (While Album)
Yellow Submarine
Abbey Road
Let It Be

and there were also many basement tapes (The Decca Tapes, etc), compilations (The Beatles 1962-1966 Red Album, The Beatles 1967-1970 Blue Album, The Beatles No. 1s, etc), unreleased materials from vaults (Live At The BBC, The Beatles Anthology, etc) released during and after that period.

I also own a few Beatles books as well, which I treasured and among them are:

The Beatles Anthology
The Beatles: The Authorised Biogrphy - Hunter Davis
The Beatles Albums File and Complete Discography - Jeff Russel
The Complete Beatles recording sessions - Mark Lewisohn
The Beatles Song Book - 124 song with chords and lyrics
The Beatles (Band of the Century) - Q magazine

(I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my cousin CK Leong who, whenever he travelled overseas, would bring back a book or two on The Beatles or on JPGR for me. Not forgetting my friend JE, too, who has also bought me a couple of Beatles books from UK.)

Woodstock (1969)

Yes, Woodstock just celebrated its 40th Anniversary last month! Billed as "3 Days of Peace & Music", Woodstock was a music festival held at a 600-acre dairy farm in the town of Bethel, in upstate New York, USA, from Aug 15 to Aug 18, 1969. It was not the first of its kind. But Woodstock reigns supreme in most people's memory as the rock festival, being the most chronicled and quoted example of its genre.

It started, as most music business events do, as a relatively simple plan to make some money. A site was found - a land near Bethel, owned by farmer Max Yasgur. And a date was set. Work began on assembling the biggest and best list of top acts, and on putting together the stage and other infrastructure for the fans.

What the organisers certainly did not expect was the complete chaos the festival would cause in the surrounding countryside as about 500,000 people tried to make it to the farm. There was traffic jam of 20 or more miles all round. Ticket booths and entrances were swamped so quickly and comprehensively that the gates were simply thrown open and the festival was designated 'free' eventually.

Among the 32 acts who played in the outdoor festival were The Who, Crosby,Still, Nash & Young, Credence Clearwater Revival, The Grateful Dead, Sly & The Family Stone, Joe Cocker, Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix, Santana (yes, Carlo Santana has been in the music scene for more than 4 decades now!). Alvin Lee became a superstar via his performance with Ten Years After. Ravi Shankar was there too with his sitar.

Joni Mitchell wrote a song "Woodstock" to commemorate this counterculture and it became a major hit for Crosby, Still, Nash & Young.

There are a lot of "Woodstock" related albums available in the internet. But the best album should be "Woodstock 40 years on: Back to Yasgur's Farm". It contains 77 songs (and that's only about 20% of what went down at the festival) with almost eight hours of music and chatters across 6 CDs.

The event was captured in the successful 1970 documentary movie titled "Woodstock". I remember watching the almost 3-hour long film at Ipoh's Lido Cinema in 1970. It was a censored version, of course, as there were many scenes of the fans taking baths, walking and standing naked in the rain and mud, hippies or the flower people getting high with marijuana and smoking pots. The bulk of the film consists of footage of selected musicians who played at the festival. There are some great split-scene sequences.

I re-watched the un-cut version from the internet recently and the music still mesmerises me. Right from the first set from Richie Havens to the last song "Hey Joe" from Jimi Hendrix, it is a musical trip unparalleled. It is still fascinating to watch a young Santana with his guitar solos on "Soul Sacrifice", the wild acts of The Who and Ten Years After. It is enlightening to watch Joe Cocker air-guitaring while performing Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friend". Sha-na-na's "At The Hop" however is, to me, out of place among the acts. My personal favourite goes to Crosby, Still and Nash's rendition of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes".

Woodstock was truly a party to celebrate popular music, the pivotal momemt that changed the history of rock 'n' roll. No rock festival would ever be the same again.

Limericks

Limericks are, in short, 5-lined poems. It must always be written in exactly the same way - 5 lines and two rhymes. The first, second and fifth lines rhyme, and the third and fourth lines must rhyme, too.

Limericks, unlike other forms of poems, are not too popular with literature readers and, thus, not many people, especially the younger generations, know anything about limericks. But do they know that when they were young and in their nurseries, one of the first rhymes most of us ever learn is a perfect limerick. I'm talking about :

Hickory, dickory, dock!
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one -
The mouse ran down.
Hickory, dickory, dock!

One of my personal favourite limericks runs like this:

A dozen, a gross, and a score,
Plus three times the square root of four,
If divided by seven,
Plus five times eleven,
Yields nine squared and not a bit more.

Try this mathematical limerick out, you'll get 12+144+20+(3x2) = 182; 182/7 = 26; 26 + (5x11)=81. And 81 is of course equal to nine to the power of two.

Limericks are simple, and yet they can be funny, serious, nonsensical, silly and erotic! In limericks, one will encounter peoples of all nations often caught in ribald and bawdy situations. Some of my erotic limericks would go like:

There was a young girl in Berlin
Who was fucked by an elderly Finn.
Though he did his best,
And fucked her with zest,
She kept asking, "Hey, Pop, is it in?"

A young woman got married at Chester,
Her mother she kissed and she blessed her.
Says she, "you're in luck,
He's a stunning good fuck,
For I've had him myself down in Leicester."

There was a young lady of Exeter,
So pretty, that men craned their necks at her.
One was even so brave
As to take out and wave
The distinguishing mark of his sex at her.

There was a young girl from Hong Kong
Who said, "You are utterly wrong
To say my virgina
Is the largest in China,
Just because of your mean little dong."

Some of the above classic limericks in erotic stanza written in the 40s, were considered shocking in theme and langguage at the time. But they were definitely more enlightening (in my opinion, of course) than those literature poetries forced down our throats in school by our teachers.

I would sometimes make up a few limericks for fun just to tease my friends and I hope you'll be inspired to make up one of your own, too.

Peter Sellers

Peter Sellers (1925 - 1980)

Often credited as one of the greatest comedians of all time, Peter Sellers was best known for his portrayal of Inspector Clouseau in Blake Edwards' Pink Panther series.

He first burst into prominence on the British radio comedy programme "The Goon Show" (1951-1960), making his debut in films in 1951, before making it big as one of the criminals in "The Lady Killers" (1955). He got his first big break in "I'm All Right Jack" (1959). The film's success led to more starring roles into the 60s that showed off his extreme comic talents to its fullest. Apart from the first two Pink Panther films, he went on to star in many films (most of them were low-budget movies, see below) during that period. Sellers' trademarks were his ability to change his voice and appearance and he often played multiple characters, including his comical portrayals of Asian characters.


Dr Strangelove Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (1964) : A cult movie filmed in black and white by the famous director Stanley Kubrick. This black comedy masterpiece is about the absurdities of the nuclear arm race. Great performace from an all-star cast with Sellers in three roles, George C. Scott, Slim Pickens and James Earl Jones in his first movie role.


What's New Pussycat? (1965): Inspite of a strong cast, this dated comedy has few laughs and is panned by critics as a silly movie. It stars Peter O'Toole as a fashion editor who can't stop becoming romantically involved with his models. Sellers is his psychoanalyst who can't help O'Toole either since he (Sellers) is busy courting his patients who in turns long for O'Toole. A catastrophe appears on the horizon as all characters check into a hotel for the weekend not knowing of each other's presence. It co-star Woody Allen (in his first movie role), Ursula Andress and Capucine. And yes, Tom Jone sang the theme song, of course.


After The Fox (1966) : Sellers plays The Fox, one of the greatest criminals of the world and master of disguise. He schemes to move $3 million worth of gold bullion from Cairo to Rome. To cover his tracks, he pretends to be an Italian director shooting a movie at the coastal village where the gold will come in. With Neil Simon as screenwriter, the movie definitely has its moments and manages a few belly laughs. Brit Ekland, Mrs Sellers at the time, plays his movie-struck sister. Victor Mature, who plays a Hollywood has-been, steals a few screens. I can't help laughing out loud watching the village policeman who always tries to put himself in front of the camera. Neil Simon is the screenwriter while The Hollies (with Peter Sellers) sing the theme song.

The Bobo (1967): A bumbling matador (Peter Sellers) has to seduce a high-priced courtesan (Brit Ekland again) in order to get employmen as a singer. Forgetable.

The Party (1968): After the disastrous Bobo, this is a better effort from the comedian. This is the closest Sellers ever came to doing a one-man show on film. He plays an actor from India who mistakenly gets invited to a plush Hollywood party, where he falls all over himself and causes plenty of mishaps and pratfalls. The party is spoiled, of course, with water and bubbles everywhere, and yes, an elephant, too. Personally, I chose the first 10 minutes of the film (before the party) where Sellers playing an movie extra who refuses to die.

There are only a couple of Sellers films in the 70s worth watching after his relative failure in some low grade movies.

Murder By Death (1976): Mystery buffs will get a big kick out of this spoof of the genre, penned by Neil Simon. Sellers, Peter Falk, David Niven, Maggie Smith, James Coco play thinly disguised spoofs of famed fictional detectives who are invited to the house of Truman Capote to solve a baffling murder. Included are a blind butler (Alec Guinness), a deaf-mute maid (Nancy Walk), screams, secret passages, spinning rooms, false identities, plot turns and twists to keep viewers engrossed.

Being There (1979): This sublimely funy and biting satiric comedy proves to a last hurray for Sellers. His portrayal as a simple-minded gardener - who knows only what he sees on television yet rises to great political heights - is a classic. The movie earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination. Shirley MacLaine is also excellent in this memorable film.

His last movie, The Fiendish Plot of Dr Fu Manchu (1980), completed just before his death, proved to be another flop.

Some trivia on Peter Sellers:

• Duet with Sopia Loren, the song "Goodness Gracious Me" was released in 1960 and reachded the top four on the UK chart.
• A cover of The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" released in 1965 reached 14 in UK chart.
• Sellers was the first male to appear on the cover of Playboy Magazine, in April 1964.
• He was one of the favourite actors of Elvis Presley who always had the Pink Panther films with him on the airplane while he was on tour.
• Prince Charles has been a fan of Sellers since "The Goon Show".

The Pink Panther

The Pink Panther Movies

The Pink Panther is a series of comedy films featuring the bumbling French police inspector Jacques Clouseau. The role was originated by and is most closely associated with Peter Sellers. Most of the films were directed and co-written by Blake Edwards, with the famous Pink Panther (da dum, da dum...) theme music composed by Henry Mancini.

Despite its use in the titles of most of the films of the series, The Pink Panther is not Inspector Clouseau but a large and valuable fictitious diamond.

The Pink Panther (1963)

In the first Pink Panther movie, the main focus was on David Niven's role as Sir Charles Lytton, a jewel thief nicknamed "The Phantom", and his plan to steal the Pink Panther diamond. Peter Seller plays a supporting role as the inept detective hard on Lytton's trail and provides comic relief to the movie. But the popularity of Clouseau caused him to become the main character in subsequent Pink Panther films. The movie also co-stars Capucine, Claudia Cardinale and Robert Wagner (best known as Jonathan Hart of TV's "Hart to Hart").

A Shot In The Dark (1964)

This is the only film in the series that does not feature the distinctive animated Pink Panther in the opening credits and endings. Many critics regard this film as the best in the series. In this slapstick delight, Clouseau attemps to discover whether or not a woman (Elke Sommer) is guilty of murdering her lover. This also marks the first appearance of both Herbert Lom's Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Clouseau's boss) and Burt Kwouk's Cato (the kungfu housekeeper).

The Return Of The Pink Panther (1975)

There are many funny scenes as Clouseau tries to track down the Phantom (this time played by Christopher Plummer) while making life intolerable for the chief inspector (Herbert Lom).

The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)

Former Chief Inspector Dreyfus' insanity reaches a pinnacle, as he hires a team of international killers to do away with Clouseau and he also tries to destroy the world with a superlaser. One of the killers turn out to be the beautiful Lesley Ann Down who falls in love with Clouseau.

Revenge Of The Pink Panther (1978)

This is one of the better of the slapstick series and seen by some as an alternative follow-up of Return. It pits Clouseau against the French Connection with Dyan Cannon playing the lady lead. This is the last film for which Sellers played Clouseau; he died shortly after its completion.

Trail Of The Pink Panther (1982)

Through the magic of editing, the late Peter Sellers "stars" again as Clouseau using unused materials from previous films. David Niven, Capucine and Rober Wagner reappear in reprises of their original roles of the first movie. This was intended as a tribute to Sellers, but after its release, Sellers' widow successfully sued the studio for tarnishing her late husband's memory. And with this disappointing movie, I have reservations watching the following two Pink Panther movies .

Curse of The Pink Pather (1983)

This movie stars Ted Wass as a bumbling American detective, Clifton Sleigh, searching for the still-mssing Clouseau and the diamond. The film's dismal box office performace and critical drubbing led to a Panther hibernation for the next decade.

Son of the Pink Panther (1993)

Robert Benigni tries to revive the series by playing Clouseau's illegitimate son by Maria Gambrelli (the murder suspect from A Shot In The Dark). Once again, many former Panther co-stars return. Writer director Edward should quit while he's behind. This movie loses its appeal after Bobby McFerrin's quirky rendition of Mancini's Pink Panther theme. This marks the final episode of Blake Edwards' original Panther series.

The Pink Panther (2006) and The Pink Panther 2 (2009)

These are the two new Pink Panther movies that star Steve Martin as Clouseau. They are not re-makes and intend to form a new starting point for a contemporary series.

For me, I'll stick to the inimitable Peter Sellers' earlier Pink Panther movies.

Sam Peckinpah

Sam Peckinpah (1925-1984)

The films Peckinpah (nicknamed Bloody Sam) directed were notorious for their extreme violent and bloody action sequences and climaxes.

And here are some his movies:

The Wild Bunch (1969) - The success of this film has rejuvenated his career. It is truly a classic Western. Peckinpah created a whole new approach to violence in this landmark film about men making a last stand. You can relish the depth of the characters and feel their desperation as the west they once knew has now become a distant memory. William Holden and Ernest Borgnine are the leaders of the bunch. The first rate cast also includes Robert Ryan, Ben Johnson and Warren Oates. The movie is captivating right from the savage gunfight in the beginning, where lots of innocent people are killed, to the massacre at the Mexican fort at the end of the movie. This is definitely Peckinnpah's best movie.

Straw Dogs (1971) - Another violent and controversial shocker from Peckinpah. It stars a brilliant Dustin Hoffman as an American mathematician who takes his wife (Susan George) to her ancestral village on the coast of England. She taunts her former boyfriends with her wealth and power and soon she is viciously gang raped. The mild-mannered Hoffman is driven into a corner and has to resort to gruesome violence to protect himself and his wife from the hooligans.

The Getaway (1772) - Top-notch adventure and excitement occur when convicted bank robber Steve McQueen has his wife (Ali MacGraw) seduce the Texan Parole Board Chairman (Ben Johnson) in exchange for his early freedom. A bank robbery is subsequently planned. After the deal is consummated, McQueen kills the chairman, setting off a shotgun-charge chase. It also stars Sally Struthers, best known for her character as Gloria Bunker in the sitcom, All In The Family.

Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) - Considered by many as one of Peckinpah's worst, it stars Warren Oates as a piano player in Mexico who becomes mix-up with vicious bounty hunters. Only hardcore Peckinpah fans will appreciate this one more than the casual viewers. It also co-star a young Kris Kristofferson.

Other noteworthty Peckingpah films include Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) that stars Jame Coburn and Kris Kristofferson as Pat and Billy, respectively. And yes, this western is the movie debut of the legendary folk singer, Bob Dylan. Also check out Cross of Iron (1977) if you are a true Peckinpah fan like me.