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2013 brought us quite a few musical documentaries (and even a couple of docu-dramas). Once again The Filtered Excellence was there to find it all. Enjoy the year’s best!
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Beware of Mr. Baker. Ginger Baker was rock’s first great drummer, who’s style influenced everyone who’s ever sat behind a kit for over five decades. He’s also has a temperament so explosive (due most in part to a decades long heroin addiction ) that he’s been literally kicked out of countries. Musicians – even the ones who adore his playing – are reluctant to work with him. Jay Bulger interviews Baker’s former wives, children, friends, associates and Baker himself to give an intimate portrait of rock’s most influential – yet shunned – musicians. Beware Of Mr. Baker opens in limited theaters throughout the country January 25, 2013. (FE 1-24-13)
Sound City. This eagerly awaited documentary directed and produced by Dave Grohl is using a famed studio to tell multiple stories. There’s the rise and fall of Sound City Studios, a former amp factory that became the studio behind classic albums by Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine and others. Grohl also uses his rock star status to get many of those artists to talk about their Sound City experiences. Then there’s Grohl’s personal recollection of Nirvana’s road trip to Sound City from Washington (to record the iconic album Nevermind) and how that trip became a life changer. Finally, the doc revisits a decades old argument: Which is better: Analog or digital? Both sides of the argument are presented surprisingly well – especially since Sound City’s demise was based largely in part to the rise of digital/D.I.Y. recording. As an added bonus, Grohl assembles a virtual who’s who of music – past and present – to record new music using the studio’s famed Neve mixing board. Sound City is works as a history lesson, a behind the scenes film and a live in the studio experience. Sound City opens tomorrow in selected theaters and VOD. (FE 1-31-13)
Lenny Kravitz: Looking Back on Love. Grammy Award nominee Mathieu Bitton gets full access to Lenny Kravitz at home, on the road and in the studio as he records his 9th album, Black And White In America. What started out a 3 month project expands into a 2 year odyssey that includes stops in Paris, New Orleans and Kravitz’s new home in The Bahamas. Featuring appearances by Kravitz’s daughter Zoe, new collaborators Trombone Shorty and the Rebirth Brass Band and celebrity friends Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, Looking Back On Love provides a complete look into the life and artistry of Lenny Kravitz. It’s available now exclusively on Itunes. (FE 2-7-13)
History of the Eagles, Part One and Two on Showtime. Directed by Alison Ellwood, this intimate, meticulously crafted patchwork of rare archival material, concert footage and never-before-seen home movies explores the evolution and enduring popularity of The Eagles. Part 1 investigates the band’s creation and rise to fame in the 1970s through its breakup in 1980. Part 2 picks up in the 80s and charts the popularity of their songs despite the band’s split. Part One airs February 15, 2013, at 8:00 PM ET/PT on SHOWTIME and Part Two airs on February 16 at 8pm. (FE 2-14-13)
American Masters: Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock & Roll. Friday, February 22 – PBS – Check your local public television listings. It’s the premiere of the 27th season of the PBS series “American Masters”. The season premiere looks at Sister Rosetta Tharpe and how this gospel singer also became one of the most influential guitar players of the 20th century and help shape the rock era by inspiring performers like Elvis, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. (FE 2-21-13)
Phil Spector by HBO Films. We honestly have no idea if this will be ‘excellence’ but we will be watching. With Al Pacino and Helen Mirren starring, Pulitzer Prize winning writer and director David Mamet telling the story, and the subject matter being about the legendary music producer accused of murder, we can’t resist at least checking it out. Mamet is also co-executive producer of the film along with Oscar winning director Barry Levinson. Sunday, March 24th – HBO – 9pm Eastern. (FE 3-21-13)
Ain’t In It For My Health. Jacob Hatley’s look at the life and career of Levon Helm is straight forward, warm, honest and no holds barred. In short, it sums up everything you ever wanted to know about the man who was at the forefront of The Band. The film also covers the making of his last album Electric Dirt and his brave bout with cancer. Hard to believe that’s its been a year since Levon Helm made his peaceful transition, but Ain’t In It For My Health is a fitting tribute and epitaph. (FE 4-18-13)
Behind the Candelabra. Academy Award winner Michael Douglas stars in the HBO movie about the flamboyant piano virtuoso Liberace. Matt Damon co-stars as his lover Scott Thorson. It’s produced by Jerry Weintraub and directed by Steven Soderbergh. The film debuted at Cannes and received rave reviews from the film festival critics. “Behind The Candelabra” premieres on HBO, Sunday, May 26 at 9pm Eastern. (FE 5-23-13)
A Token Of His Extreme, Frank Zappa. In 1974 Frank Zappa produced this show and presented it to television networks and syndication. Rejected by the American television industry, it has been shown during prime-time in France and Switzerland to rave reviews. Never commercially released until now, it is one of the more sought after Zappa accomplishments. (FE 6-6-13)
20 Feet From Stardom. Some of the greatest vocalists in pop music history started out as backup singers. How one graduates from backup singers to featured vocalist is the subject of a new documentary by Morgan Neville. The film traces its history, how they could play in a key role on wax and on stage, and what it takes to get to the main spotlight. Ripe with archival performance footage, photos and new interviews with famous graduates (Darlene Love, Merry Clayton), singers on the cusp of breaking through (Judith Hill, recently featured on the Michael Jackson doc This Is It & NBC’s The Voice) and the bosses who employ them (Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Sting, & Bette Midler), 20 Feet From Stardom is a unique look at an essential element in the music-making process. It opens Friday in NY and LA. (FE 6-13-13)
I Want My Name Back! In the summer of 1979, three young rappers – Michael ‘Wonder Mike’ Wright, Guy ‘Master Gee’ O’Brien and Henry ‘Big Bank Hank’ Jackson – cut ‘Rapper’s Delight’ at a studio in Englewood, New Jersey. Released in September, the song would become a global smash and put hip hop on the map. The group would release several successful singles and albums, but money disputes with the band’s label forced the group to break up in 1984. When a remix of ‘Rapper’s Delight’ hit the charts in the 90s, Wonder Mike and Master Gee looked to reform the group, only to find that Sugar Hill Records had trademarked the band name as well as their stage name. To make matters worse, the label put on the road a de-facto Sugar Hill Gang with Big Bank Hank as its only original member and a rapper going by the name ‘Master Gee’! I Want My Name Back shows how Wright and O’Brien formed the group, their respective highs and lows and the long road back to reclaim their names – and their rightful place in history. Gangsters, identity theft and, of course, a lot of great music, I Want My Name Back is a gutty cautionary tale but also about a great story of perseverance. It’s available now through Amazon, Itunes and all digital outlets. (FE 7-11-13)
Good Ol Freda. The new documentary from director Ryan White, is about a name you normally don’t hear when the Beatles are mentioned, but was there for the entire ride. “Good Ol’ Freda” is about Freda Kelly, who as a young woman went to work for the Beatles in her native Liverpool, England when they were just starting out. Freda was more than just the band’s secretary, she became their friend, confidant and a witness to the rise of the phenomenon known as the Beatles. “Good Ol’ Freda” is available on iTunes and VOD on Friday. (FE 9-5-13)
Muscle Shoals (September 27, 2013- Limited). Muscle Shoals is a little Alabama town by the side of the Tennessee River- a river that in Native American tradition was known as, “The Singing River.” It’s from this tiny town that transcendent sound that would span generations was born; the music that bears the incomparable description that is the, “Muscle Shoals sound.” Muscle Shoals originated some of the most significant and powerful songs ever recorded, hit after hit, and man named Rick Hall is at the core of this phenomena. It was Rick Hall who founded FAME Studios, moving them there in 1961. FAME moved to Muscle Shoals in 1961 and with them some of the greatest artists in Rock music history- artists such as Aretha Franklin, Little Richard, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Otis Redding, Jerry Reed, Mac Davis, the Gatlin Brothers, Bobbie Gentry and many others. During a time of such racial tensions and social unrest, and in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement in the South, Hall brought both white and black performers to Muscle Shoals, and into his studio, to create music that would change the world. There’s just something about this place. “It’s a field of energy.” This documentary directed by Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier, features Etta James, Greg Allman, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bono, Clarence Carter, Alicia Keys, Percy Sledge and many more artists who attest to Muscle Shoals’ mysterious musical draw and how its legacy remains meaningful to this day. (FE 9-26-13)
Aka Doc Pomus. He wrote some of the greatest songs in rock n roll history: ‘Save The Last Dance For Me’, ‘This Magic Moment’, ‘A Teenager In Love’, ‘Young Blood’, ‘Lonely Avenue’. He would collaborate with future greats Leiber & Stoller, Phil Spector, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed and Dr. John. He mentored up and coming songwriters and fiercely advocated for music pioneers who fell on hard times. But how did Brooklyn native Jerome Felder, a polio stricken white blues singer become Doc Pomus, one of the most celebrated songwriters of all-time? That is at the heart of the extraordinary new documentary directed by Peter Miller and Will Hecter. Using tons of archival footage, remembrances by family, friends, collaborators and influences, plus all of those terrific songs, AKA Doc Pomus is long overdue salute to one of the most beloved men in rock n roll history. It opens this Friday in NYC and nationwide October 6th. (10-3-13)
Louder Than Love – The Grande Ballroom Story. During the late 1960s, there was a major player in the Detroit rock scene and it happened to be a concert venue. The Grand Ballroom was the place that launched careers and became a destination for rock bands from across the United States and Great Britain. It was the venue to play in Detroit. “Louder Than Love’ tells the story of the Grande Ballroom and the incredible talent that crossed its stage. Acts like MC5, Iggy and the Stooges, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Janis Joplin and so many others got loud with the Grande Ballroom’s amazing acoustics. “Louder Than Love” has a special screening on Sunday, October 13th at 2:30pm at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema in New York City. Keep an eye on their website for a screening near you. (10-10-13)
Move Me Brightly: Celebrating Jerry Garcia’s 70th Birthday. Last year, in honor of Jerry Garcia’s 70th birthday, Bob Weir put together a 5 hour concert at his TRI Studios in San Rafael, California. Musicians, including members of Vampire Weekend, the Hold Steady, and Phish joined Weir onstage, where they joined in on Dead songs like “The Wheel,” “Cumberland Blues” and “Goin’ Down the Road, and Feelin’ Bad.” The concert tribute was documented and is now available to watch. It also includes interviews with the family and friends of Jerry Garcia. (10-31-13)
American Masters: Jimi Hendrix: Hear My Train A Comin’. As part of a year long celebration of what would have been Jimi Hendrix’s 70th birthday, PBS presents the 2 hour film about his life and career, “Hear My Train A Comin’”. This film uses archive footage and interviews to let Hendrix tell his story in his own words. It traces the guitar genius from his beginnings in Seattle to his army career to international success. There’s also commentary from friends and musicians including including Paul McCartney, band members Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, long-time sound engineer Eddie Kramer; Steve Winwood, Vernon Reid, Billy Gibbons, Dweezil Zappa and Dave Mason. “Jimi Hendrix: Hear My Train A Comin’” airs Tuesday, November 5th at 9pm Eastern on PBS. Make sure to check your local Public Broadcasting listings. (10-31-13)
The Punk Singer. Musician, activist and feminist Kathleen Hanna was a one woman musical revolution. As the frontperson for Bikini Kill, she kicked off the riot grrrl movement of the 1990s. Veteran female rockers such as Joan Jett and Kim Gordon openly championed her and she was friends with Kurt Cobain (It was Hanna who put the phrase ‘smells like teen spirit’ into Cobain’s head). But just as the riot grrrl movement was about to reach critical mass, Hanna left the music business to focus on her ongoing battle with Lyme’s disease. With The Punk Singer, director Sini Anderson complies a ton of archival footage, interviews with Hanna, her contemporaries and her influences to paint an intimate portrait of the definitive riot grrrl. It also details her return to music, working with Willie Mae Rock Camp For Girls and her marriage to Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz. The Punk Singer serves as both an introduction and a celebration of one of the seminal figures of the indie rock movement. It opens Friday in New York and Los Angeles on Friday and nationwide on December 6th. (11-28-13)
American Masters Season Finale: Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love. The American Masters series on PBS wraps up its season with a look a PEGOT (Pulitizer, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) winner, composer Marvin Hamlisch. The special has access to Hamlisch’s personal archives and the cooperation of his family. It also includes interviews with Barbra Streisand, Steven Soderbergh, Carly Simon, Quincy Jones and John Lithgow. “Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love” airs on PBS on Friday, December 27th at 9pm Eastern. Times may vary, so check your local listings. (12-27-13)
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