This compilation includes several juicy scenes from Al Parker's Surge Studio days (the production company Al founded in 1980 with his lover at the time, porn star Steve Taylor). While we feel that his best work was from earlier periods (the work he did in early Falcon and COLT silent loops), these early-to-mid-1980s bits are a real trip down memory lane. The opening credit music is a popular techno song (we think it was by Pete Shelley); boy, does that take us back.
The first scene is from "Better Than Ever." This was the Surge Studios scene that most stood out in the Emperor's memory, but for years afterward we could never remember where we saw it. Why did it stand out? Well, in the mid-1980s it could be hard to find macho muscle-guys in gay porn, dominated as it was by the young twinks of Matt Sterling and Falcon, and there's no shortage of macho here. We have both Cades (who at the time were promoted as cousins, but we kind of doubt they're actually related). Joe was about as built a porn performer as you could find at that time, and stands up against the best of today's beef. His erstwhile cousin Justin had a big fat uncut dick, and blond, mustached Bryan Adams was among the more macho of 1980s performers, despite his poofy hair. They're joined by Mike Dean, Matthew Parks, and Ken Harmon for an orgy scene where we hear and see Al in director mode. One of these three is another blond guy with poofy hair; another is a plain-looking brunet who doesn't see much action. The third, who does bottoming duties, is quite cute, with dark hair and eyes, but a really slender body. For a moment we thought (seeing the name Matthew Parks) that this might be an early incarnation of the late-1980s hunk Michael Parks. But probably not. (Although you never know in porn.) Most of the action is oral, and there's just limited fucking, and only of Michael. We don't discern a lot of actual direction or even camera angles -- in fact, you don't even get good views of everyone's dick. It's almost like a gonzo feature. But the guys are interesting looking, and it's great to see the Cades in action (although we'd like to see more of them).
Scene No. 2 is another orgy scene taken from "A Night Alone with Al Parker" in which Al whacks off on his bed while watching himself on TV do it with two other big-dicked studs: Latino Juan and our friend Justin Cade. There's also another, uncredited, kielbasa-sized dick in the scene as well, but you never see the guy's face. The unifying theme is huge uncut cocks, and there's periodic penis-pumping action going on (how do you like that alliteration?), although the scene is dominated by Al's servicing the other big cocks. Back in his bedroom, observer Al does his famous "balls-in-the-hole" trick -- to himself! He sticks his own balls into his asshole and fucks himself with them.
In a scene from "Very Receptive" hunky, muscular Brad Phillips is the cable guy installing for mustached Jack Knight. Brad was one of the few mature-looking muscle guys to be found during the era, and we remember him fondly. After some silly banter about working out that gives Jack an excuse to grope Brad's smooth chest, they get down to business and Jack sucks Brad, then Brad fucks him on the floor of Jack's very 1980s-style apartment. Al returns in the next scene, where he worships James Williams's freakishly huge genitals, clearly expanded due to extensive pumping. They have that big, fleshy look, and Al spends a lot of time trying to get his mouth around the puffy cock and playing with the foreskin. Skinny, black James has a hairdo that's almost as big as his cock and balls (which is saying a lot). It's a potential case of Jeri-Curl abuse, we're afraid. Surprisingly, he bottoms for Al, but since Al's not too hard it's not so much of an accomplishment. James does shoot a big load in his own mouth, and the next scene is follows a similar line: a self-suck by shaggy-haired, bearded Dixson Hardy. Since his dick isn't all that big, it's really quite a feat, and ends with another load in the mouth.
Nick Fabrini and Pierce Daniels, in another scene from "Better Than Ever," do it in a blue bathroom -- the same blue bathroom seen in Al Parker's classic "One in a Billion" (Surge, circa 1984), for those of you into porn trivia. Nick has a big brush mustache and receding hairline, and was one of the few forty-ish looking performers seen in the 1980s. He has a big fat dick, but unfortunately his fucking of grizzled, long-haired Pierce seems to be stunted by someone else. It's a really short scene with kind of jumpy editing and few establishing shots (leading to that conclusion that the fucking was stunted).
"The New Improved Al Parker" is the title of the final scene, and it seems to refer to Al's foreskin restoration. We should have expected this, seeing how throughout his career he was always into playing with other guys' foreskin. It's a solo scene focusing primarily on -- you guessed it -- his new foreskin.
Except for the Fabrini-Daniels fucking, the performers use condoms -- Al was a little ahead of the curve in this regard. However, you may be wondering, given our criticism of various aspects of the production, why it's still recommended. Well, Al himself, even when not at his best, still embodies a lot of sexual charisma. Furthermore, some of the cast is pretty hot, often in an offbeat kind of way. But mostly, it's a great historical record of Al Parker and his interests, and a good introduction to his later work for those unfamiliar with it.
DVD features: Chapter selections and no regional coding (playable worldwide). There aren't a lot of extras, just four trailers, and there are only four awkwardly placed chapter divisions.
A DVD Review by The Porn Emperor