Random I-Tunes Song Of The Moment: The Love Song By Jeff Bates
This little booklet really does contain six masterpieces. All of which are darn near self working or require very little technical skill. Though I'm not a fan of Mr. Dobson lewd sense of humor, there's no denying his creative genius and cleverness when it comes to magic.
The product quality is solid. You get a 10 page booklet with six excellent effects plus an extra page that you can cut out for one of the effects. Basically, it's gonna come down to whether or not you like the effects and feel that one or more of them is worth the $20 price of admission. So let's dive into the effects.
What follows is the effect, the official ad copy, my commentary along with a star rating on each effect (1 is worst; 5 is best).
Best Friends (4 stars)
Official Ad Copy:
You predict which 2 of 5 coins are selected!
My Commentary:
I like this effect. It's done completely hands off. The specator does all the work, thus making it a coin trick that even I can do. You will need two special coins to pull this off, however.
Amnesia (4 stars)
Official Ad Copy:
2 signed cards change places!
My Commentary:
Based on David Regal's Sticky Transpo, this effect, while clever, easy and solid, requires you to use a full blank face deck, and each time you perform it you're destroying two cards from your blank facer deck.
Only Joking (4.5 stars)
Official Ad Copy:
Their chosen card, matches your prediction, and the rest are... Jokers!
My Commentary:
A very powerful effect that feels a bit like Phil Goldstein's B'Wave. It's very clean. Four cards are face down. You tell them to guess which one is the Queen of Clubs. No matter what card they pick they're right, and the other 3 cards are shown to be Jokers.
Every Time (5 stars)
Official Ad Copy:
You predict the hour they think of!
My Commentary:
This effect and method were completely worth the price of this book for me. It's a very clever adaptation of a Bob King effect where you come as close to real clairvoyance and mind reading as you can get without actually doing it.
Perspiration (4 stars)
Official Ad Copy:
You reveal which colored coins are in their hands and predict the one they left in a purse!
My Commentary:
This effect requires a few extra props - a few coin purses and some Chinese looking coins of various colors. You can, however, use colored poker chips and some coin envelopes instead. You'll also need some stickers. This is one of those effects that takes a little bit of thinking and focus during the performance, but is so worth it. It's very cerebral and feels like real ESP.
Once Upon A Time (4.5 stars)
Official Ad Copy:
They cut and shuffle repeatedly, yet you predict 25 face up, 16 red, etc.
My Commentary:
I love tricks like this . . . totally hands off and seems absolutely impossible. This is the effect I mentioned that makes use of the page cut out from the book.
Pretty much all of Dobson's effects have a good story or presentational angle that makes the routine more fun and more entertaining . . . something lacking in most of today's magic. Dobson is one of the most entertaining performers of our time. I'd pay $20 bucks for this book just to know what a guy like him thinks about.
Final Verdict:
4.5 Stars with a Stone Status of Total GEM!