Into episode two...

of Ruby & the Rockits and David Gallagher still has no detectable redeeming qualities.

David Cassidy, on the other hand, has proven once again that he has no fears about playing the butt of the joke to get a laugh.

Ruby & The Rockits

Diehard DC fans have been waiting with bated breath for the show's premiere for months now. If you're remotely interested in David Cassidy (and you must be if you're reading my blog), you know this show was created by his half-brother, Shaun Cassidy, and co-stars another half-brother, Patrick Cassidy. The other Cassidy half-brother, Ryan, is the set dresser. Oh, and Shirley Jones, David's TV mom and real-life mom to aforementioned half-brothers IS scheduled to guest star.

I saw it on YouTube. It had some awkward moments but that's to be expected in a pilot (they try to cram in so much back story in so little time) but it made me laugh out loud more than once and I thought it was cute. Patrick Cassidy is one heckuva good-looking fellow and seemed at ease in his role. David is unrecognizable. As I've been re-discovering his career, I HAVE come across his more recent stuff and do know that he's aged in the last ten years but honestly? Something's wrong. His speech is different. Is it really due to a tight facelift as some critics have not so subtly suggested? Way too much Botox? It's just so hard to reconcile his look today and that of yesteryear when he was one of the most beautiful men ever on TV.

He's more than his looks though. He's a very good actor with great comic timing - I hope that this show will allow him to shine in these respects. I don't think he ever got his proper due in those early days and perhaps critics today will admit how damning their teen idol branding was. I also hope that a younger generation will wonder what all the hoopla about David was and check out his early stuff and realize "Yowza, our generation never got this good an idol". (That said, I understand the whole Jonas Brothers mania - they're very good looking, charismatic and have catchy tunes.)

What did you think of the show?

"I'm Into Something Good"

Taste is subjective and all that but I really don't understand how anyone can prefer Herman's Hermits' version to The Partridge Family one. Peter Noone sounds like a whiny teenager on helium while David Cassidy croons in one of the sultriest voices EVER.

I've heard a few versions on YouTube and the only other one that's quite easy on the ears is Vikki Carr's big-band style serenade to Peter Noone. No bubblegum to it whatsoever. There's also a version from Marianne Faithfull. Don't go there. Brian Wilson's is scary as well (funnily enough, it's a duet with Carole King who co-wrote the song with Gerry Goffin). Bobby Sherman's version is cute as is Donny Osmond's but neither compel. The 1964 original by Earl-Jean McCrae is as innocent as it is boring.

David Cassidy's slower interpretation is all winks and double-entendres and enables The Partridge Family to turn this chaste teenage ditty into a sophisticated adult song. Ironic since The Partridge Family's target audience was pre-pubescent. As bubblegum as The Partridge Family were supposed to be, David's vocals were nowhere close and that's why I can listen to the songs today without cringing.

A Chameleon

A lot has been said about David Cassidy's looks and hotness (and really, who can blame us?!?) but what strikes me the most when I see old pictures and footage of him is how DIFFERENT he looks as himself and as "Keith". Henry Diltz is the photographer who took pictures of David every day on the set of the PF. Even when David is dressed as Keith, you can tell in the picture if he's in character or not.


Keith




Where's Keith?

He even SOUNDS different in his UK-based interviews vs his US-based interviews. Much more soft-spoken in his UK interviews and you can even detect a hint of a British accent in some clips. David Cassidy performing as Keith Partridge bears NO resemblance to David Cassidy, performing as himself, the highest-paid solo performer at the time. Keith Partridge's performances are all low-key puppy-love emotion; David Cassidy's are raw sexual energy.

I think it's a testament to his talent as an actor that from the get go, he appeared so comfortable performing as Keith Partridge (barring that first deer-caught-in-the-headlights pilot performance, of course). This is an actor who had no previous professional experience as a singer. He had his own band as a teenager but I don't think he performed much. His recording of "ITILY" was his first professional studio recording and he nailed it on the first shot.



David, without a doubt. Keith's under-eye baggage was less noticeable ;)


Need to ask?

"Oh, The Places You'll Go"

Every time I read this Dr. Seuss book to my daughter, I think of David Cassidy and his career. You know the story, right? It's about the ups and downs of life.

"Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don’t.
Because, sometimes, they won’t.
I’m afraid that some times
you’ll play lonely games too."

I looked it up on YouTube to see if there was a good reading of it and found a most disappointing one by Harrison Ford.

I'd love to hear David read this story. He could put so much heart into it - it would be a classic in no time. I have the Billy & Blaze recorded stories and think they're all fabulous. Mind you, I'd listen to the man read a menu or a phone book. What personality in that voice!

This is one of my favourite YouTube comments about his voice: "David Cassidy's voice is, hands down, one of the most able and personality-filled voices in recent memory -- he's an incredible talent." Well said, Bub4055, well said! If you want to know, I'll happily tell you which video clip of a young David sparked that comment. Here's hoping it's still innocuously posted on YT...