Ah,
the documentary – while the word can conjure up painful memories of
vapid educational films or hours stuck in an art-house theatre learning
about the
life and times of Bob Ross, we’re here to prove that documentaries can
indeed rock. For your viewing pleasure, we present three DVDs that will
provide
both knowledge and entertainment.
Keith Richards – Under Review
The intro of this documentary doesn’t bode well for things to come, with a
Richards-esque – rather than genuine Keef – riff playing beneath the
voice-over, giving the viewer the
impression of a long two hours ahead.
Luckily, it seems it’s a case of a small
budget rather than lack of vision.
Refreshingly, the focus here isn’t so
much interviews with Mick and the
rest of the band, or ex-wives and
girlfriends, or even with Keith himself,
although they are present; it’s
about how Keith affected change,
first within the band, then with
the band’s music, and ultimately
within popular culture. Let’s face
it – even today, at the height of
elegantly-wasted couture, if the
Toronto-bust-era Keef walked by,
heads would still turn.
Having sat through and read
many bios of the man, as well
the Stones, I was surprised
at the amount of knowledge I
had gleaned by the time the credits rolled. The interviews
in Under Review rely on those who were within Keith’s periphery during
the Stones’ heyday; among them critics Anthony DeCurtis and Robert
Christgau of Rolling Stone magazine. Christgau, in particular, makes some
of his trademark laser-like insights throughout, and DeCurtis is just plain
funny.
Other standouts include interviews with rock critic Chris Welch and biographer
Kris Needs, who both offer insights that only people close to Richards
could offer: Keith as a family man and a junkie, a musician and a husband,
a man willing to live with his choices and their outcomes. Interviews with
legend Bernie Worrell – P-Funk founder and member of Richards’ X-Pensive
Winos – are alone worth the price of the DVD.
Oddly, some seemingly key points are conspicuously absent: a few major
albums,
Black and Blue, Ronnie Wood’s first Stones foray, and the last
commercially and artistically well-received Stones album, Tattoo You, aren’t
even mentioned. Additionally, Some Girls gets slagged pretty hard, whether
deservedly so is debatable.
But despite its shortcomings,
Under Review is thoroughly enjoyable, and
easy to recommend to any Keith Richards aficionado, or anyone wanting to
learn more about the man behind the legend. -JE
$19.95
mvddistribution.com
Strat Masters
This video opens upon the late Rory Gallagher playing some delicious slide
on his workhorse Stratocaster. As the notes ring through your ears, there’s a
distinct feeling of this is going
to be good. And for
the most part, Strat
Masters, a two-disc
epic of a documentary
about the most
famous instrument
to emerge from
Fullerton, California,
doesn’t disappoint.
The bulk of the film
consists of interviews
with famous Strat
aficionados – heavyweights
like Jeff Beck,
Mark Knopfler and
Robert Cray show up
to pay their respects.
While generally enlightening,
this reliance on
artist interviews is a real
double-edged sword;
there are some hilarious moments spent with Ry
Cooder (When asked if the guitar changed the world: “The electric guitar
made a huge difference to the world – Jesus!”) and some great stories
from Bruce Welch, but there are equally as many longwinded interviews
that slow the film’s pace and divert the focus. This film is at its best when
it covers the guitar that ties all of these musicians together, not the other
way around.
Commendably, the film spends a considerable amount of time exploring
the technical side of the instrument. There are in-depth discussions, by the
artists themselves, about the effects of string gauge on the instrument’s
sound, the use of the classic 3-way switch to achieve different sounds and
the defining traits of single coil pickups – culminating in an oddly-placed trip
through Seymour Duncan’s factory. For the true gearheads among us who
relish discussing scale length and winding techniques, this DVD will provide
hours of amazement.
Inevitably, there were some production decisions made that might not
vibe with viewers –while Jonah Sithole, an African guitarist with Blacks
Unlimited, is featured and Richie Kotzen’s first signature model (actually a
Telecaster!) is discussed at length, Eric Clapton’s Blackie is somehow lost
in the mix and there’s even less mention of a Strat-toting bluesman known
as SRV. The narrow focus and considerable length of this video may leave
some players fidgeting in their seats, but for the Fender faithful, Strat
Masters is definitely a ride worth taking. -AM
headstockmedia.com
All My Loving
The tone of this documentary
of ‘60s pop culture, originally
aired on BBC Television in
1968, is set perfectly by the
first shot: the lyrics to the
Beatle’s “Yellow Submarine”
on screen juxtaposed
against an ominous Vaughan
Williams piece playing
underneath, then cutting to
an out-of-focus Donovan,
walking around aimlessly,
evidently unable to comprehend
he’s being filmed.
The remainder of the film
continues as a pastiche
of seemingly unrelated
clips, giving the film an
odd sense of cohesion while
relentlessly making the viewer feel ill at ease.
Director Tony Palmer successfully keeps the viewer on edge by mixing not
only disparate images but disparate sounds as well, never fully revealing
whether he’s intending to show the importance of the era’s pop music or
to show how little it mattered compared to a society set on its ear during
the height of the Vietnam War. What we do know is that All My Loving is
a powerful and often harrowing look at society, pop music, sex, drugs, war,
violence and revolution.
The first band we see is Cream, with Jack Bruce’s mic continually falling out
of the stand during an amazing rendition of “I’m Glad,” his mic problems
adding to the movie’s unrelenting tension. Cream pops up in the film from
time to time playing the part of redeemer, with these being among the few
times the viewer is given even a partial reprieve from the film’s edge.
All My Loving contains an incredible collection of interviews ranging from a
fairly lightweight but insightful interview with Sir Paul McCartney to a moresardonic-
than-usual Frank Zappa, recalling a run-in with some U.S. Marines
during a Mothers’ show. Other highlights include an almost surreal interview
with George Harrison’s mom and Eric Burdon’s surprisingly eloquent take on
post-LSD ‘60s culture.
Typical of the film is a shot of a concentration camp prisoner having his
head shaved, fading out to a soft-focus image of an opulent chandelier, with
that then coming into focus and the camera panning down to A Clockwork
Orange author Anthony Burgess, appropriately discussing the disposable
nature of both pop music and youth culture at a society gathering.
All My Loving is hard-hitting, edgy, and at times nearly unwatchable, ending
up a remarkable movie, with its powerful imagery perfectly underlying both
the passion and pretense of the late ‘60s. –JE
$19.98
mvddistribution.com