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Thread: Music Documentaries

  1. #11
    Border Desperado MortSahlFan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Music Documentaries

    I wonder why they didn't do a Classic Albums for the Eagles.

  2. #12

    Default Re: Music Documentaries

    Two very good documentaries that are NOT about specific bands...both are available on Netflix:

    1. Muscle Shoals (as in Alabama)
    2. The Wrecking Crew

    These documentaries are about the studio musicians that played in (and often influenced) the familiar recordings from some of your favorite individuals and bands...especially from the 60s.

    I'm betting you will be surprised that some of the songs you liked were not performed (at least in the released recordings) by the singer or the band.

    Of course, it's my opinion, but I found them interesting.

  3. #13
    Stuck on the Border Jonny Come Lately's Avatar
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    Default Re: Music Documentaries

    I've a feeling I might have seen the Living In The Material World documentary before now - the title rings a bell, and I definitely remember seeing a Beatles doc which focussed specifically on George. If Ron Howard's new Beatles documentary is of the same quality as his F1 movie Rush (about the 1976 world championship battle between James Hunt and Niki Lauda), then it should be pretty good! My whole family loves that film.

    MortSahl - just checked Wikipedia which has an episode list for the Classic Albums series, and (assuming it's correct. Hopefully it is but you can't quite be sure sometimes!) yup, nothing by the Eagles. No idea why. My first thought was that it was because it was a British series, but I don't think that explains it given that they did Fleetwood Mac's Rumours and Aja by Steely Dan. In that light you'd have thought Hotel California would have been an obvious choice to do, particularly as I noticed elsewhere in the article that it was covered in the radio series that preceded the TV programme. Not all of the albums that they did in the radio series were covered again on TV, but several were.

    Having said that, if those lists are correct, they also missed out on Beggar's Banquet by the Stones from the ones done on radio, which is also quite surprising to me. It's also weird to see several albums from the early 1990s - Nirvana I can definitely understand, but it seems weird that they did ones for Primal Scream and Simply Red while by passing the Stones and the Eagles. I would devour a Desperado episode, but unfortunatel with both Glenn and probably Randy unavailable I suspect that it wouldn't be viable.

    Link to the full list if you want to check for yourself:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_Albums#Episodes

  4. #14
    Border Rebel RudieCantFail's Avatar
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    Default Re: Music Documentaries

    As a fan of The Clash, I recommend The Clash: Westway to the World, especially if you wanted to know more about the band. It's a good way to get introduced to the history of the band from the beginning to the end in 1983, when the lead guitarist, Mick Jones, left.

    If you want to know more about The Clash after Mick Jones left, then The Rise and Fall of The Clash has more insight and interviews of band members during The Clash Mark II incarnation and the sixth studio album. Yep, they interview Vince White and Nick Sheppard who were brought in to "replace" Mick Jones and Joe Strummer in playing guitar only, and Pete Howard, the drummer who takes Topper Headon and Terry Chimes's place, is also in it. Sheppard reminds me of Matt Dillon in appearance. The Clash Mark II is an embarrassment to the band. It was ridiculous, since for example, Joe Strummer made Vince White go with the name, "Vince," because he refused to play alongside with a guy named Greg.

    Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten chronicles the life and career of Joe Strummer, and the soundtrack is pretty neat and varied. It goes into what he was like before forming The Clash, his years with The Clash, the fall of The Clash, and his life after The Clash. He did a few songs for film soundtracks and did a little acting. I like how it goes into his work with The Mescaleros, and I always find it too bad that he passed in 2002. Before he passed, he was working with Mick Jones to make another Clash record. Strummer's lyrics and Jones's expertise in writing music were what made The Clash good, so it makes me a little sad that they did play together one month before he died but never got to complete anything together again.

  5. #15
    Stuck on the Border
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    Default Re: Music Documentaries

    Another documentary that may be worth a look is Sound City. It's about the LA recording studio and gets a bit bogged down in the story of a sound board but has some interesting tails. I think it has a section on how Buckingham-Nicks ended up merging with Fleetwood Mac. It's a Dave Grohl project, I think. It's several years since I watched it so I'm a bit vague.

    There's also Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage which is good but, for a non-Rush fan, when they start going through the history of endless albums it gets a big slow.

  6. #16
    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Music Documentaries

    The VH1 episode of Behind the Music dedicated to Fleetwood Mac was absolutely fascinating. Really, any factually accurate documentary about that band is compelling because they're a band full of drama - not boring drama like fighting over money but romantic angst and heartbreak, angst that lasts YEARS, which is a lot more interesting!

    Always in our hearts, Never forgotten

  7. #17
    Stuck on the Border NightMistBlue's Avatar
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    Default Re: Music Documentaries

    Quote Originally Posted by NoNottheFootballTeam View Post
    Two very good documentaries that are NOT about specific bands...both are available on Netflix:

    [LIST=1][*]Muscle Shoals (as in Alabama)[*]The Wrecking Crew
    Those were excellent. I would also highly, highly recommend "Respect Yourself: the Stax Records Story." "Tom Dowd and the Language of Music" is a poignant story of the genius producer/engineer behind Miami's Criteria Studios, who recorded John Coltrane, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton and the Allman Brothers, to name but a few.

    My all-time favorite music film is "The Beach Boys: An American Band." I've seen it so many times I can recite the dialogue. It's not cinematic art, or even a great film - more of a cut-and-paste job, really. But the music just soars, there are too many great performances to mention. Make sure you get the full version, which includes a 1967 clip of Brian at the piano in his home performing "Surf's Up," so deeply into the music. Also rare clips of the band in the studio, rehearsing and recording Pet Sounds, Smile and 20/20.

  8. #18
    Stuck on the Border NightMistBlue's Avatar
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    Default Re: Music Documentaries

    P.S. Acclaimed music documentaries that are in my Netflix queue but I haven't yet seen: The Last Waltz; Janis: Little Girl Blue (I've become fascinated with Janis since seeing her on the Dick Cavett show of all places!); and Festival Express, which features a young Bernie Leadon and many other musicians on a train in 1970, on their way to shows in Canada.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festival_Express

  9. #19
    Stuck on the Border LuvTim's Avatar
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    Default Re: Music Documentaries

    Quote Originally Posted by NightMistBlue View Post
    P.S. Acclaimed music documentaries that are in my Netflix queue but I haven't yet seen: The Last Waltz; Janis: Little Girl Blue (I've become fascinated with Janis since seeing her on the Dick Cavett show of all places!); and Festival Express, which features a young Bernie Leadon and many other musicians on a train in 1970, on their way to shows in Canada.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festival_Express
    I saw Muscle Shoals, which was very good, and Janis. You'll love Janis. That lady had heart, man.

    Also, check out The Other One, about Bob Weir. I liked it.

    I'm going to make note of Festival Express.


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  10. #20
    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Music Documentaries

    Coincidentally, "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" shuffled onto my iPod yesterday and I decided to find a live performance on YouTube. The one I found was from The Last Waltz and I must have replayed it half a dozen times. Levon Helm was absolutely amazing. I want to see the whole thing now!

    Always in our hearts, Never forgotten

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