Books Sacred Locomotive Sacred Locomotive Flies among other things. And, through a by Richard Lupoff series of interesting test questions, Beagle Boxer Science Fiction 95(! Lupoff gives us some idea of how the Sacred Locomotive Flies is neither a screwed up world of the future came horse disease nor the answer to the from the screwed up world of today. $64,000 question. What it is is funny, Trivia fans, rock fans, SF fans, and highly readable literary work. Since other assorted fanatics and nuts will SLF doesn't quite fit into the definition enjoy the book for the wonderful of novel, being a partial reader's amount of <usually) successful punning choice, true and false test, and a that goes on through the entire book, description of the travels and ad­ 'along with genuine comments on ventures of Freddie Fong Fine, secret various current rock and roll groups, agent and boy hijacker, we'll simply songs, and ideas. call it a beautifully satiric book. There's a lot here, if you want good If you are a particularly vulnerable reading but aren't afraid of sex, person, by no means should you read punning, satire, and laughing along this book. But then, with Lupoff with the book. Read it, twice. writing, maybe everybody is --Steve Miller vulnerable, so read it anyway. Lupoff doesn't restrict his wit and spike to such things as the government of the US, also poking fun at groupies, Music rock groups, the culture, the counter R undgren runs rampant culture, airlines, air line pilots, and you and me, the readers. The book begins with a little Hello By now I'm sure you've heard a little two years ago by producing their Gene Dmwiddie. from Richard Lupoff, moves into the bit about the phenomenom known as latest album "Straight Up." The album as a whole, is quite hijacking of a Boeing 3707 by Freddie Todd Rundgren. You know, the self Now, to further amaze the world he tightly knit, featuring a wall of sound Fine, meets the Sacred Locomotive taught producer and engineer who has presented us a specially priced two that would plow down Phil Spector. All (which or who happens to be a rock makes music and writes like no one record set called "Something of the 22 songs he wrote are pleasing group), meets Mavis Montreal, and else in the business. Anything"? <Bearsville) Incredible. and different in some way. The single then takes off for one of the wildest How did this kid evolve? Well, he Trying to describe Rundgren's sound he has out "I Saw The Light" is a good series of adventures since "What's started out with a group called Nazz is the fun part. The best way I can choice and should help the album. New Pussycat." How did this kid evolve? Well, he describe it is that it is a pleasing The kid's got balls too. Writing a song Throughout, Lupoff juggles his started out wih a group called Nazz combination of Carole King, The Beach about V.D. called "You Left Me Sore" characters between the believable and ("Hello It's Me") then moved on to Boys, The Beatles and Badfinger. and a song about a girl with "soggy the incredible and his action from the Runt ("We Gotta Get You A Woman") Rundgren seemingly does it all on this thighs and baggy eyes" called "Slut," mundane to the extraordinary, all with and then he decided he wanted to two record offering, overdubbing his not to mention a song about the gross a sense of being slightly hig. become famous. It was then that he voice for harmony and background, out kings of his high school called " Piss In between the hijacking of the 3707 taught himself to be a recording writing 22 out of 23 songs, and playing Aaron". and its departure for Mars (yes, the engineer and record producer. most of the instruments, not to mention The kid's so versatile he can really planet), Freddie and various members As a matter of fact, he taught himself producing the whole thing. sing a pretty ballad but rock as good as of the Sacred Locomotive survive an so good that the Band and Paul But­ What few instruments he doesn't Jagger. attack on an Israei operated, Unionized terfield wanted him. But Todd wouldn't play are taken care of quite well by When Rundgren makes an entrance, sut>marine, meet and beat up an settle for chickenfeed, so he stole former Johnny Winter protegee, Rick he makes an entrance. As far as I'm Argentine Facsist Pig (its all in the Badfinger right out from under George Derringer, ex-Blood, Sweat and Tear concerned, Steve Winwood has just lost book), see an air battle between Harrison and brought them the Randy Brecker, ex-Mother Billy Mundi his title as "Boy Wonder." Africaaner and African aircraft, recognition they should have received and Butterfield Blues Band member --Neal McGarity Taken from the crypt =- The Horror Cinema .. .it's the only The intended provacation by the EC Diabolo" in Torture Garden. etc. genre that can turn the Cubasch medium could especially be in­ The "All Through the Night" episode paroxysms of Sheridan Lefanu into terpreted by an director with a offers a homicidal Santa Claus and a lethargy, the only genre that can turn precipitous ego and enjoys doing murder committed while Christmas H.P. Lovecraft's Chthulu Mythos into a hyperbolical imitations of himself, carols are warbled over the radio, come back vehicle for Sanda Dee, the sometimes with carnage, e.g. Stanley images of reciprocal ironies reminding only genre that can subdue the Angst Kubrick (anybody see his uncut print of us of Fellini's Toby Dammit where eroticism of Edgar Allan Poe's Spartacus?), Herschell G. Lewis, etc. Satan was personified in the form of a "Murders in the Rue Morgue" and One of the film's episodes, "Wish You little girl with a ball. •finally interpret it as a sort of pilot for Were Here", offers Richard Greene as' • The "Poetic Justice" episode offers "The Rondo Hatton Comedy a living corpse, whose limbs are Peter Cushing as a kindly old gar­ Hour" ... you would think after three re­ gruesomely separated from his body, bageman whose repressed hostilities makes, they would learn. though each entrail has life. of its own are finally motivated beyond the as Greene's severed hand crawls up his grave, sustaining credence in a sort of The Horror Cinema is full of sur­ mutilated body. The violence is Freudian Death Wish, and carrying out prises .. .it makes stars of Steve miminal, though this sophistication his retribution in the most effective McQueen, Clint Eastwood, Oliver and a badly-directed exchange of make-up Roy Ashton has designed Reed, Michael Landon, and Merv dialogue that contrives some sort of since his syphilitic werewolf in Curse of Griffin from their antics in The Blob, assertion for the proceedings the very the Werewolf. Revenge of the Creature, Curse of the antithesis of the EC identy. Cushing, incidentally, deviates from Werewolf, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, his "Baron Frankenstein" image, and and Murders in the Rue Morgue Nevertheless, director Freddie offers further conviction to his ver­ respectively. Francis offers us some of the charm satality, but the ambiguous ethics in that he utilized in Torture Garden, and his character do not stipulate to the The genre's most recent surprise is avoids some of the gimmickry in prior morality to which the film subscribes. Tales from the Crypt. Its a surprise· mistakes, e.g. Trog. because it works. But its Cushing's best since his "Robert The film's expository footage is Knox" in Mania. The Amicus production emulates substantial Gothic imagery as the The "Blind Alleys" episode offers prior imagery, but removes pragmatic camera pans through Highgate Patrick Magee, finally liberated from attitudes that were especially Cemetery while the soundtrack bursts the anachronisms of Bowery Boys and detrimental in Night of the Living with an organ recital of a Bach fugue, pratfalls of Clockwork Orange, as a Dead, subsequently transcending the homage to similar ideas form man who is blind to everything but conventional approbation of cliches. Mamoulian <Doctor Jekyll and Mr. impulsive facism and finally ex­ Tales adapts five EC comic stories, Hyde and The Black Cat). terminates it in customary grisly practially panel- for-panel, retaining The framework of the tales if formed fashion. the allegorical intensity of by the Crypt Keeper (Sir Ralph Yes Virginia, good horror movies do gratuitousness, e.g. poetry (bad Richardson), the EC host and another exist. And after suffering from self­ poetry) is written in blood and wrapped linking device from the Francis conscious directors and "great" in the parchment is a bleeding heart, repetory, what with "Dr. Shreck" in movies, the air in the Crypt isn't bad. 1 TODD RU~DGREN Doctor Terror's House of Horrors, " Dr. -Bill George pumping and pulsating, even though i~ t .