Music That Moves Generations -- Must-See New Docs
SOUND CITY adds to the line-up of truly fascinating documentaries about music now available -- many with Rotten Tomatoes scores over 95%, showing noteworthy unanimity by critics that these are really great films.
SOUND CITY is about a recording studio that opened in 1969 an industrial area of Van Nuys, California. Rough on the outside, Sound City on the inside fostered the absolute artistry of recording engineers who helped create over 100 gold and platinum records, including the distinctive sound of Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours," Nirvana's "Nevermind," plus albums by Neil Young, The Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, Pat Benator, Nine Inch Nails, and many others. That's how Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl fell in love with the place, fueling an admiration for that history and artistry that led to his role as director of SOUND CITY.
At the center of the story is the Neve Recording Console, just one of four in the whole world, which Grohl bought when Sound City shut its doors in 2011. The Neve Console anchors the film's insights about the shift in music from analog to digital.
Archival footage, interviews with sound designer Rupert Neve (who created only four of these consoles) as well as the musicians whose careers were made on the Neve console, and some inspired jamming by Paul McCartney and Trent Reznor all make this a terrific film for anyone interested in music or history.
If you live in a big city like New York or Los Angeles, you might be lucky enough to catch SOUND CITY while it's still in theaters, but we've got it for home viewers right now. Thank you, Dave Grohl.
Don't forget SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN, another great documentary (with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 96%) about the 1970s American folk singer Rodrigo whose record became the sound track to South Africa's anti-apartheid movement, although Rodrigo didn't know it!
More legendary docs on music:
This is the classic rock ' n roll documentary made by master D.A. Pennebaker, with intimate moments of Dylan and his entourage, including then-girlfriend Joan Baez. Rotten Tomatoes score is 100%
An overlooked documentary of a trip made to Zaire by James Brown, B.B. King, Celia Cruz, The Spinners and others. They attended a music festival there in 1974 that coincided with the famed fight by Mohammed Ali and George Forman. The film reminds viewers of how important music is to political movements and progressive identity.
A more contemporary musical duo, Glen Hansard (of the Irish band The Frames) fell in love with singer Marketa Irglova as they made the film ONCE together. This documentary gives a peek behind the scenes to their unlikely love affair, the music they made together, and how they weathered a break up.
As infectious as Bob Marley's music is, this documentary looks beyond Bob's beats to his ability to spread the uplifting gospel of reggae with his prophetic insights on society and culture. Rotten Tomatoes score is 95%.
Director Wim Wenders and musician Ry Cooder went to Cuba to find the legendary "soneros" musicians of Cuba's golden age of night clubs from the 1930s - 50s. Some had retired, some had given up music, but all rallied when invited to play together again, in Cuba and at Carnegie Hall. It's a great film.
