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Sweet Simplicity – John Carey – A Review

Sweet Simplicity – John Carey – A Review

Sweet Simplicity – John Carey – A Review

Rick Carruth

John Carey and BIGBLINDMEDIA present Sweet Simplicity, a collection of mostly self-working card tricks for those of us who enjoy such indulgences.. The Ad Copy reads:

John Carey has built an international reputation for his streamlined approach to card magic. Simplicity of method and great routining equals great magic that is EASY to do BUT still utterly fooling! On Sweet Simplicity you’ll find ten self working or super easy to do card tricks that will slay any audience. Simple to perform they may be – but the effect on your audience will be KNOCKOUT!

FEATURING:

1 in 52 – Carey’s self working streamlined imaginary deck routine is a total worker.

The trick that can be explained – Carey’s spin on a Dai Vernon classic. Devious!

Technicolor Reset – Four blue backed Jokers transpose in slow motion with four red backed Jokers in an exceptionally clean manner and then immediately transpose back in a flash!

Five Oh?! – Semi automatic card magic on steroids, where you get five effects from practically nothing. Super strong and so much fun!

The Perception Shuffle – A self working false shuffle. Yes, you read that right!

Spectator Star – Make your spectator the star as they shuffle, cut and turn over the aces. Boom!

Somewhere over the rainbow – John’s rainbow deck is a thing of beauty. No sleights, just pure subtlety.

Don’t Make Me Cross – Carey’s ungaffed Brainwave effect where the card they think of is the only odd back card – so cheeky and yet SO strong!

Entrapment – A really cool, self working slow motion sandwich effect that you will love using.

One thought One Spell – A very subtle spelling effect you will want to add straight to your repertoire.

My Thoughts…

The vogue seems to be self-working card tricks. I can understand. There are many out there who do not have the time, or dexterity, to devote to endless hours of practice… yet, they want to be a part of the magic revolution.

The next-to-last time i saw the amazing Daryl was at a magic convention in the South. He spent all his dedicated time for the lecture to performing and teaching several self-working card tricks. You might expect more from such a talented magician, but Daryl understood his audience. When he finished and said..”What I performed is available in a set of lecture notes at my table just off the front of the stage.”.. I sat in my seat and watched as thirty to forty grown men unabashedly rushed, and I mean RUSHED, to the front of the stage to get their copy. They saw the performance.. they saw the power.. and they wanted it…

I often pick up self-working card magic DVD’s in hopes of finding one, and if I’m really lucky.. two effects I can file away in my repertoire. Although primarily for true beginners, I do run across that occasional unicorn.

SWEET SIMPLICITY is more than a unicorn ( an extremely rare creature ).. it is a little herd of unicorns. Honestly. I can’t disagree with anything in the ad copy. This collection WILL fool most magicians.. not to mention any lay audience.

The description of the ten effects in the ad copy will suffice. I could add a little something, but in all fairness to John I don’t want to give away too much. Here are a few of my thoughts that might add a little something to the review..

1 in 52 – Equivoque force of one of three cards.. This effect is not a magician slayer.. but gets a REALLY good reaction from a lay audience.. A keeper.

The Trick That Can Be Explained – Prediction effect with multiple outs. I would have to call this one a keeper too.

Technicolor Reset – Color Transposition. Strong packet effect. One of the only effects not self-working and could probably be sold as a stand-alone effect. You may not fool many magicians.. but they will certainly applaud your efforts. One of my two favorites..

Five Oh?! – Another Teleportation type effect. A selected card ends up sandwiched. Deck changes to all Jokers. This is a fine study of subtle moves, and is definitely a keeper.

The Perception Shuffle – Inspired by the Paradise Force Cut. Learn to perform this shuffle while looking the spectator in the eyes… and you have another keeper.

Spectator Star – A four Ace trick, as performed by a spectator. Semi-automatic working. Another effect that will slay a lay audience. May not fool most magicians, but they will certainly appreciate your effort.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow – Another four Aces trick with a kicker. Optical display would work perfectly with Daryl’s Kaleidoscope Cards or a Bicycle Rainbow deck. My other personal favorite.. Love the handling…

Don’t Make Me Cross – Ungaffed Brainwave type effect. The spectator finds the odd card in a mixed deck.

Entrapment – Self working sandwich effect. Nice series of moves to reach a performance climax. Another one the lay audience will never figure out.

One Thought One Spell – A spelling effect you’ll like, even if you’re not crazy about spelling effects..

Sweet Simplicity is available as a DVD or as an instant download, depending on where you purchase it. My copy is a DVD, and if there’s a downside, it’s that there was a lack of info for us reviewers. Short of pulling out a calculator and totaling ten performances and ten explanations, I can’t tell you the length of the DVD. Let’s just say it’s about an hour and ten minutes. Everything about the DVD was typical Bigblindmedia quality… The sound and video were very good, the music was very good.. and the helpers, aside from Liam, were very easy on the eye.. ( I only have one good one..)

Again.. I am very impressed by this collection of effects. This will be one of the best twenty five bucks you’ve spent in a long time. I really enjoy being able to make a firm recommendation of a new product, and Sweet Simplicity gets just that.. If you can’t find at least three or four keepers on this DVD, may I recommend badminton?

$25.00 From dealers who carry the Murphy’s Magic line of products
https://www.murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=65050

ECLECTICA – A Review

ECLECTICA – A Review

ECLECTICA – John Carey
Murphy’s Magic

ECLECTICA is just that… a thorough mix of many different effects with cards… mostly. John Carey likes to take a simple premise and turn it into a clever effect with sleights most beginners find very learnable. Yes, there are a few flustration counts and color changes.. but nothing beyond the neophyte.

Personally, I grew up on this type magic. My first ‘real’ magic book was Scarne On Card Tricks, and Scarne went to great lengths to make the effect simple while maintaining a certain integrity. Mr Carey does the same, buy isn’t afraid to make you work a little if the end result is worth it.

I appreciate that he keeps everything relatively simple. Card magic shouldn’t be difficult -if- there’s a way to perform the sleight without breaking your wrist. John manages to include 15 effects in the space normally required for 7 or 8 numbing effects. I don’t have a problem with this, as I don’t need someone to explain in detail all the subtle and psychological moves of every aspect of a trick. Just show me how you do it and let me find my way.

If I have anything on the negative side to say about John Carey.. its that he’s too nice. Watching Eclectica is like watching that wonderful painter, Bob Ross. No, his paintings don’t hang in the Louvre, and snoddy painters make fun of his simplicity.. But Bob Ross is a genius at entertaining his audience. My problem with watching Bob is his style and manner is expressive and genuine, but his soft voice will lull you into a blissful state if you aren’t careful. Ditto for John…

The DVD runs 1 hour and 48 minutes, which is ample time for everything. I hope I haven’t given the impression John rushes through the effects, sacrificing quantity over quality. That’s not the case. Most of the effects run about three minutes and the explanations about 5 minutes. Here’s a little summary of the contents…

Backs to the Wall – Based on a Dai Vernon effect.. A deck with all backs turns into a regular deck…

Ensemble – A spectator makes a number of fair choices amid much shuffling, and yet somehow manages to pick the four Aces. John demonstrates a painless method of culling the Aces.

Three Phase Dailey – Another one based on a Dai Vernon effect. Sort of a cross between Vernon, Larry Jennings, and David Blaine. If you can perform a double lift, a flustration count, and a double turnover.. you’re good to go.

Mental Sandwich – A card mentally selected by a spectator ends up sandwiched between two jokers in the middle of the deck. Nice JK Hartman sleight makes the magic possible.

Sent and Received – Based on Vernon’s Emotional Reaction. Super simple bit of mental magic that can be mastered in minutes.

Top, Middle and Bottom – This is the rare effect that uses a duplicate card to read the spectator’s mind. Then, a surprising revelation completes the effect.

Slow Motion Triumph – For the packet trick fans amongst you. A little fancy dealing produces a very convincing triumph.

Telekinetic – A nice production of a selected card upside down in the deck. There is more to it than a simple reveal, and makes you quite the mystery man. One of the more difficult effects.. but well worth the effort.

Splitsville – An opener that resembles a series of mis-adventures by the performer suddenly turns into a four Ace production. Not difficult, but does require a simple setup.

Homage To Bannon – Bannon performed a little ditty called Fat City. This is John’s version. It’s quick and easy and includes a nice paint brush move to bring two Jokers into play.

Whispers – Several basic moves make the magic possible. John teaches a couple of very efficient multiple card forces, including one from Bannon that looks really good.

Assisted Ambitions – Sort of an Ambition effect meets a four Aces production. A few double turnovers certainly go a long ways.

Invisible Interlude – Very simple moves, a couple of large coins, and a deck of cards are all that’s needed to make you look like ‘Bobo meets Bannon’…

Two’s Company And..? Sponge Balls anyone? John teaches a very intriguing sponge ball routine featuring moves by some heavyweights of magic, including a beautiful move by Martin Gardner.

One Card And One Thought – Two spectators complete the magic in this effect inspired by Al Leech. Not difficult to perform and perfect for couples or best friends…

I would recommend ECLECTICA to anyone wanting to add a few effects to their walk-around or table hopping routine. There’s something here for everyone…

$30.00 from dealers carrying the Murphy’s Magic line of products…

https://www.murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=57191

Reviewed by Rick Carruth..