The Wrecking Crew - Dir Denny Tedesco (2015)

The 2015 New Zealand International Film Festival has just wrapped up and there was a plethora of good music documentaries on show. One of these was the long-awaited and much heralded film “The Wrecking Crew”. Directed by Denny Tedesco, the film which was originally made for release in 2008, but had its release delayed due to distribution issues is about a group of Los Angeles-based musicians who made up the session group from the late 50s and 60s called the Wrecking Crew. This collective of session players which totalled over fifty musicians played on all the big hits of the period, including those by the Beach Boys, Frank and Nancy Sinatra and the “Wall of Sound” records produced by Phil Spector. At that time big name American pop artists wanted the best musicians backing them on their records and in the form of the Wrecking Crew they knew they were getting the case. In the process this often led as was the case with the Beach Boys to bands ditching their own members for the Wrecking Crew to play on their records.

You might not know the names of the musicians, but you will definitely have heard some of the music they played on, with songs like “Good Vibrations”, “The Beat Goes On” and “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” coming to mind. And, this is one of the things the film sells itself on, the idea that these musicians stories have been left untold for too long, while the superstar singers and bands whose records they played on have gained all the fame and fortune. Session musician groups such as the Wrecking Crew are now a thing of the past, and that is one if the sad facts of this story in that once the 70s came, many of these musicians had no more work and simply vanished from the industry as work became scarcer. Some fortunately such as Leon Russell and Glen Campbell were able to get gigs with other big acts, or in the case of Campbell carve out successful solo career. But other interesting personalities such as bass player Carol Kaye and guitarist Tommy Tedesco, both highly influential players struggled to maintain work in an industry which was undergoing significant change as the decades moved on. Session players were out as more and more acts picked up their own instruments. A shame really as these players are talented and extremely gifted players, with the ability to play any style of music, play it more than competently and read music to boot, something which in itself is becoming rarer and rarer amongst pop and rock acts today.

“The Wrecking Crew” is a truly beautiful story which was actually quite a touching watch at times, as these musicians sat with one another yarning and reminiscing of the good times had in the studio. And, although many of them have long since had much to do with the industry, this film was a fitting reminder that they once carved out a place at the centre of the music industry and made their mark well and truly in the process. Thankfully the distribution problems which have prevented the release of this film were able to be sold and the opportunity for these musicians to tell their story has come about. A great rockumentary film which anyone with an interest in popular music history should see if given the opportunity.

A

- Sam 

Twenty Feet from Stardom - Morgan Neville (2013)

Twenty Feet from Stardom is a documentary film which delves into the life of the backing singer, and represents in some way a long overdue attempt to give backup singers the recognition and attention they so richly deserve. The idea for this Morgan Neville directed film came from the film’s producer Gil Friesen, whose curiosity to find out more about the lives of backing singers within the music industry influenced it’s making. The film focuses mainly on prominent backing singers Darlene Love, Judith Hill, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Tata Vega, Jo Lawry and Claudia Lennear among others, combining new interviews with the singers themselves, as well as recent and archival footage, and interviews with some of the acts they have performed with including Sting, Mick Jagger and Stevie Wonder.

Twenty Feet from Stardom offers a fascinating insight into the singing lives of these amazingly talented people in what is a role within music which is seemingly confined to the shadows. These are the people whose names we don’t really know, but whose voices have appeared on hundreds of notable recordings at various times over the last fifty years. Many of the predominantly women in this film have arguably more musical talent than the artists they have performed for, or at least equally so, while they would walk all over some of the pop artists who call themselves singers these days. The purity of some of the voices on display in the film beggars belief, leading me to think as to why many of them could not successfully make the walk out of the shadows and into the spotlight as a solo artist.

The sad undercurrent to these singer’s stories is that many of them had aspirations to make it as solo artists. Some of them did end up at least attempting the move from backup singer to solo artist, moves which they could not, in the end, sustain for long within the cut-throat nature of the music industry. Most of the women featured in this film ended up returning to singing backup, while one in particular Claudia Lennear ended up quitting singing all together to become a Spanish teacher. As a film, I guess it conjures up both a triumphant and heartbreaking story, triumphant in that these women had great success touring and recording with some great musicians, but equally heartbreaking in that they could not carve out their own careers as solo singers.

 

One of the singers whose story is featured in the film and who suffered from both triumph and heartbreak was Darlene Love, who started singing as a backup vocalist on Phil Spector produced recordings in the 1960s. She thought she had made it in 1964 when she sang lead on the Spector record “He’s a Rebel”, but Spector cut her off at the knees in deciding to release “He’s a Rebel” under the Crystals name without crediting Love. The girl group went on to tour and promote the number one hit, miming to the original recording with Love left on the sidelines to ponder what could have been. This shattered her confidence and at one stage she even quit the music industry completely during the 1970s whilst ending up cleaning houses to make ends meet. Love returned to singing in the 1980s and has subsequently had a taste of the success she richly deserved, carving her own successful solo career, whilst also continuing to sing backup for other artists. She also ended up getting recognised by being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.

Twenty Feet from Stardom is a very intimate look into the lives of some incredible singers who soldiered on through highs and lows to forge successful careers singing backup to some of the biggest names in popular music. It is also an informative look into some of the wider issues within the music industry including issues of gender, appearance, power, and the struggle for singers to make it. This film is really quite a beautiful take on a very much overlooked area in popular music and is a must see for any music fan, those interested in singing or singers, as well as those who like a good documentary.

 

A

 

- Sam

LENNONYC directed by Michael Epstein (2010)

 

Documentary films on John Lennon have always fallen flat for me as they tend to focus heavily on the more controversial aspects of his life whilst ultimately concluding with over-dramatic portrayals of his death. The scene near the end of the 1988 film Imagine showing Lennon’s glasses slowly falling before ultimately crashing into the ground and breaking into pieces while the famous final piano chord in “A Day in the Life” plays in the background is a case in point. However the 2010 film LENNONYC does none of this, and is hands down the best documentary I have seen on Lennon.

LENNONYC looks specifically at Lennon’s time in New York between 1971 and 1980, exploring all the key moments of his time there including his activism and political activity, the recording of albums such as Walls and Bridges and Double Fantasy, his Lost Weekend in LA, and the raising of his son Sean. What struck me about this film is that everything is explored with balance and without sensationalist ideas or hero worshiping which often comes with documentaries on musicians. The film does an attentive job in allowing for a fair representation of Lennon to emerge with both his good and bad attributes acknowledged fairly. The film pays homage to his political activism and the role he played in the anti-war movement, but it also acknowledges his often violent temper, womanising tendencies, and alcoholism. Part of this is helped by the quality of interviewees on display of which all were involved in Lennon’s life at some stage during his time in New York. These are the people who knew him the best and are in the best position to comment on his life during the seventies as they experienced it with him. The appearance of the people closest to Lennon including musicians, record producers, friends and of course Yoko comes as a welcome relief from annoying narrators and know it all rock writers who can often come to dominate documentaries on musical subjects.

Utilising some great archival footage including photographs and film many of which had not been seen before, as well as new interviews, LENNONYC is very well put together and is extremely insightful as it explores an often overlooked period in Lennon’s life. Yes many things from this period have been explored in detail such as the American government’s attempt to deport him, but as a whole this period has tended to be neglected, with this film being the first that I can think of that has given full attention to this wonderfully diverse and fascinating period in Lennon’s life. LENNONYC goes into more breadth and depth than any other film on John Lennon has managed to do, and at two hours long it is fair to say everything that needed to be examined is done so in detail. A highly interesting and thoroughly enjoyable music documentary on what is a fascinating story of a fascinating man.  

 

A+

- Sam

Hotel California: LA from The Byrds to The Eagles (2007)

This incredibly fascinating documentary charts the history of the Los Angeles music scene during the so called golden age of singer-songwriters in the 1970s. Starting in the late 60s with bands such as The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield and ending with the success of The Eagles in the late 70s, “Hotel California: LA from The Byrds to The Eagles” explores how one city became the new melting pot for music in the United States and the home of the music industry (which lasts today) replacing New York. During this period the city drew hundreds of budding musicians from all over the U.S. as well as Canada to its to rolling canyons and busy strips in the hope of carving out a successful music career. The film focuses on all the key players during this period including Crosby Stills and Nash, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, and The Eagles and gives a significant insight into what happens when coke, money, and success combine to create an age of excess within the music industry that lasted the decade. “Hotel California” does a good job in utilising new interviews with the main players including musicians, producers, and music moguls alike, and also includes some amazing archival footage from the time. A lot of people find the music of this period quite dull in comparison to the decade of music that proceeded it, and very much stylistically of the MOR (Middle of the Road) ilk to use one of those ridiculous musical acronyms. But this period did see some great music emerge amongst some of the duller stuff, including the release of classic albums such as “After the Gold Rush” and “Blue”. Although time limits don’t allow for everything to be looked at and considered, one criticism I would have of this documentary is that people like Randy Newman and Tom Waits who started their careers in L.A. in the early 1970s weren’t looked at. However, their absence from the film is just a minor blot on what is an otherwise brilliant examination of a fascinating and pivotal period in modern music history. This is when rock went corporate and the music industry became a mega business, a business that is now entrenched today in the form of a global music conglomerate. The 1960s party of idealism and free love was over as the me decade descended down upon all; it was now money, money, money, and more money with the practitioners (the musicians) unselfishly buying into it big time. “Hotel California” is very much worth a look for those into music history, the music of the 1970s, and even the casual documentary watcher.

Check it out (floats around on YouTube).

 

- A

 

- Sam

"Message to Love: The Isle of White Festival 1970" directed by Murray Lerner

If you are looking for a good “rockumentary” to watch, then “Message to Love: The Isle of White Festival 1970” could be for you. It covers the 1970 Isle of White music festival and in particular the chaos that went with it when around 600,000 people converged on this tiny island to witness performances from Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis among others. The film does a good job in highlighting the many problems and incidents the festival faced including performers getting booed, stage invasions, and raucous youth attempting to break into the festival by tearing down the perimeter fence that was built to keep those without tickets out. Apart from some very good performances, the ultimate highlight of the film for me was head promoter Rikki Farr’s rants against the audience, which only got more vocal as the situation involving the people outside the fence worsened. This film is a highly enjoyable watch which delves into one of the climatic moments of the late-60s period, and is made even more interesting considering there would not be another festival held on the Isle of White until 2002.

A-

- Sam