"SOUND CITY"
Story by Dave Grohl
Screenplay Written by Mark Monroe
Directed by Dave Grohl
**** (four stars)
"Music really isn't supposed to be perfect. It's all about people relating to each other and doing something that's really from the soul. It must come from the soul."
-Tom Petty
In my daily travels throughout my city of Madison, Wisconsin, I consistently drive immediately past the legendary Smart Studios, a recording facility where among many other musicians and bands, The Smashing Pumpkins recorded their 1991 debut album "Gish." It is the same studio where Nirvana recorded a track for their 1991 landmark "Nevermind" album. It is also the same studio that was originated and co-owned by musicians Butch Vig and Steve Marker, who are members of the band Garbage, and Smart was the location where that band recorded their first four albums.
It is a building that you would easily drive by and not ever give it a second look if you had absolutely no idea of what it was as it holds a completely nondescript appearance as just another ordinary two story red brick building housed on a corner of East Washington Avenue, one of the city's major thoroughfares. I never had the opportunity to ever venture inside of Smart Studios but from some friends and acquaintances that did have the opportunity, I have been told that while it possessed a near forgettable visual quality on the outside, the inside contained a state of the art recording environment that for a spell carried a hefty cache within the music industry. Just a hair over one year ago, and despite its legend, Smart Studios closed its doors permanently primarily due to a sea change within the music industry where bands from major labels became less prevalent and more independent artists discovered that studio quality recordings could be achieved through I-pad technology, therefore making traditional recording studios increasingly financially unstable and eventually, irrelevant.
Even though Smart Studios is now defunct, I cannot help but to wonder endlessly about what went on behind those doors and soundboards as musicians, producers and engineers had the blessed opportunity to chase their respective artistic muses, weave musical soundscapes in collaboration with each other and for our entertainment and hopeful inspiration. Additionally, I do have to also wonder about what has been lost as I really believe that Smart's demise is not solely about the loss of some brick and mortar building. Smart Studios began its existence in 1983 and for it to have lasted as long as it did, some sense of human alchemy just had to have been in place and can that same sense of alchemy survive or exist at all in a period that has found society to be more decidedly insulated and even withdrawn from each other?
Those very questions, musings and so much more are firmly and beautifully placed at the heart of "Sound City," an exhilarating, supremely accomplished documentary and filmmaking debut from musician Dave Grohl, singer, songwriter, guitarist, drummer, former member of Nirvana and current leader of Foo Fighters. Like the very best music music based documentaries that I have seen over the past couple of years like Director Michael Rapaport's "Beats, Rhymes And Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest" (2010) and Director Cameron Crowe's "Pearl Jam Twenty" (2011) and "The Union" (2011), Grohl has gloriously made his film not only serve the musical muse, musician and fan but he also transcends the primary subject matter to make him film exist about something as vast as our decreasing sense of humanity in the 21st century and advancing technological age. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times "Sound City" elicited chills within me as so many cherished musicians and their works made their respective presence known so compellingly throughout the film. But that said, I urge you to also understand that "Sound City" is not a film that is solely designed for the music fanatic like myself. Grohl has achieved something much more universal therefore making his film something that I feel absolutely any viewer could relate to. In this very early stage in the cinematic year of 2013, "Sound City" announces its arrival with the confidence, integrity, craftsmanship, grit and artistry of the finest albums and films we all cherish. This is a film that SHOULD NOT be missed.
Truth be told, I have to admit that like most of you and despite my musical fanaticism, I have actually never heard of the Sound City recording studio, a funky hole in the wall complete with beer stained carpets, walls covered with brown shag and a perpetually flooded parking lot, housed deep within the San Fernando Valley. But, as this review forges ahead, and as Grohl's film illustrates, I would not be at all surprised to discover that much of your most favorite music was once recorded there.
Founded in 1969 by business partners Tom Skeeter (who is interviewed extensively in the film) and the late Joe Gottfried, Sound City was a once fledgling studio struggling to gain a foothold within the music industry yet somehow, musicians seemed to always find their way to this location. Neil Young (who is also interviewed within the film) recorded part of his classic "After The Gold Rush" album at Sound City for instance. But the stars began to align themselves when recording engineer and future record producer Keith Olsen made the wise and fateful decision to purchase the state of the art Neve 8078 Console, a handmade, hand wired analog mixing deck long considered to be the "Rolls Royce" of mixing consoles. From this risky move, especially from a studio that really was not that financially stable to take such risks, rewards were soon to be reaped tenfold.
From these beginnings, Grohl essentially arranges "Sound City" into three distinct sections. The first spans the studio's heyday throughout the 1970s, starting with the very first musicians to ever record on the Neve, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. While their 1973 debut album "Buckingham Nicks" did not race up the charts as Skeeter and Gottfried had hoped, the beauty and purity of the recordings did attract the attention of Fleetwood Mac drummer/founder Mick Fleetwood who was, at that time, just looking for a new studio to record in. This equally fateful event not only brought Buckingham and Nicks into Fleetwood Mac, the band eventually recorded their seismically successful albums "Fleetwood Mac" (1975) and "Rumours" (1977) at Sound City, bringing much needed notoriety and new clients like Santana, The Grateful Dead, Foreigner, Cheap Trick and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers through the studio doors.
The film's second section details the studio's fall during the 1980s as recording technology became more advanced while recording artists became more homogenized and artificial sounding, especially through the drums which Vig describes as "canon shots." The studio's rebirth in the 1990s coincides with Grohl's personal journey as the then 22 year old drummer for Nirvana spent 16 life changing days at Sound City recording "Nevermind." The massive success of that album brought a new musical gold rush to the studio as more authentic artists like Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Queens Of The Stone Age and the late Johnny Cash and others found their way through Sound City's doors, furthering their respective musical legacies. Unfortunately by 2011, and unable to keep up with the changing technological tenor of the times, Sound City was forced to close its doors for good.
The third and euphoric final section of "Sound City" ties all of the themes together wondrously in song, musical camaraderie, joyous celebration and even redemption as the film depicts a series of new recording sessions at Dave Grohl's personal studio and featuring the Neve console, which Grohl purchased after the studio's demise.
Dear readers, with no sense of hyperbole and yet with every stitch of enthusiasm I can muster, Dave Grohl's "Sound City" is an unabashed triumph. By the time the film concluded, I wanted to somehow track down Grohl to shake his hand and if he let me, I would have hugged the man for his film moves me so. Additionally, I would have wanted to shake him by the collar and tell him to please stop presenting himself with this "aw shucks" demeanor which serves to downplay his immense talents because as far as I am concerned, any veteran filmmaker or documentarian would be absolutely proud to have made what Grohl has masterfully achieved. This film is indeed Grohl's passion project as he not only provides the viewer with a celebratory history of a legendary recording studio with a collection of intimate, personal stories but he also weaves in a cultural commentary that is equally passionate, provocative, and universal.
In addition to the gorgeously filmed recording sessions, Grohl's deep connections within the music industry have afforded him terrific interview subjects like Young, Petty, Buckingham, Nicks, Fleetwood, Trent Reznor, Frank Black, Rick Springfield and Grohl himself. But this is actually not a film about rock stars pontificating about their legendary pasts and presents from on high. Those interviews are merged effortlessly with equally insightful and loquacious subjects from Sound City's engineers, producers, studio managers and even former receptionists. After some time while watching, I realized that this film was very reminiscent of Director Michel Gondry's outstanding "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" (2005), a film that so movingly showcased how artists, fans and neighborhood residents were all on equal footing and each performed their respective parts to create a magical whole and experience. By having this large variety of interview subjects all waxing lovingly about the rare (for the music industry) familial quality that greeted every performer who walked through the Sound City doors, Grohl is able to suggest strongly that our favorite albums did not just spring into existence from the artists' brain into the world all by themselves. Everything is due to the collaborative efforts between absolutely everyone involved at Sound City. And maybe, Grohl further suggests through the film, that the warmth and humanity that permeated Sound City can be heard throughout the groves and tapes of each and every album that was recorded behind its doors, an element that has made their longevity so crucial and perhaps, even possible at all.
"Sound City" is also a film about the necessity of determination, diligence and discipline, especially now as we all live in an increasingly instant gratification society. In regards to the creation of music, now that Auto Tune and Pro Tools can seemingly make anyone, regardless of any discernible talent an overnight mega star, all of the film's attention to the Neve console and the film's final recording sequences are deeply enlightening and should also be required viewing for any musician, established or not. As Producer Jim Scott explains in the film, the analog recording technology of the Neve console gives the artist "no frills, no effects and no place to hide." Benmont Tench, keyboardist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, describes how the studio itself was a "tough room" and how the band practiced the now classic track "Refugee" over 100 times before recording a final version. Yet, this musical obsessiveness was not at the pursuit of perfection. This serious attention to performance was due to the pursuit of discovering a musical truth. The pursuit of getting it right.
Grohl illustrates consistently throughout the film that "getting it right" and perfection are absolutely not the same thing. In fact, "getting it right" is not about perfection at all. It is completely about a collective of people all searching to discover the ever elusive "feel"--the purity and soul of the piece, the very thing that we all respond to when we hear music that touches us for life. I believe that music is an eternal and even spiritual conversation between all parties involved, from those who create to those who listen and respond. This particular back and forth dialogue is one of the greatest forms of symbiotic relationships in the world to me and this theme of inter-connectivity, a cherished one upon this site, is one that I respond to greatly. Just think about the music that you love the very most. For me, I cannot help but to wonder how and why some song that I have heard literally thousands of times can still remain fresh, new and as soul stirring as the very first time but there are songs created today, through homogeneous and overly synthetic writing and production techniques, that I cannot stand to listen through even once. While I am always on the lookout for new artists to latch onto, I have found that as I have gotten older, my tastes have continued to run backwards in time as there is just something in the songs, writings and recordings of the past that just sound more pure to my ears. And I would suppose that the answer to my questions is actually a very simple one: It's the people.
As I have stated, "Sound City" is not strictly tied to the recording studio and industry. It is about our society at large. Nearly two years ago, I wrote a two-part posting mourning the loss of a beloved video rental store called Bongo Video. Since the closing of that store's doors, there are only a tiny handful of brick and mortar video renting establishments remaining in my city as most people are now on-line with Netflix. Bookstores have also fallen rapidly as have record stores (like my cherished B-Side Records), of which only a few remain in Madison. The state of commercial radio is more than depressing. And as I venture into coffee houses these days, I am also struck with how the tenor of those establishments have changed over time. The sound of hearty chatter has elapsed into an unusual and somewhat sad silence as patrons are locked away into their laptops and headphones, not speaking openly to anyone at all. Now I have nothing at all against the various technological advances, especially as I partake in them myself to a degree. But when the advancements are forced to not co-exist with the tenors of the past and are seemingly at the expense of our collective humanity, that's when I have problems with where we are headed as a society. Dave Grohl's "Sound City" is sharply in tune with those sentiments and throughout the film, I really think that you will all be struck with how emotionally involved you may become with the sights and sounds of people working together.
The film's reunion recording sequences are entertaining and powerful. Just see and listen to how the career of Stevie Nicks arrives at full circle as it is a culmination of her life's work while also showing her purpose with continuing to be a musician and performer. Rick Springfield's section provides a power-pop blast while also existing as a source of deeply moving atonement. And Grohl, ever the showman, saves the best for last as none other than Paul McCartney arrives to record a roaring song called "Cut Me Some Slack" with Grohl, Vig and former Nirvana bandmates bassist Krist Novoselic and guitarist Pat Smear. It was truly a sensational climax as it showed how the joy of performing and collaboration remains a privilege not lost upon someone of McCartney's status and legend. He never elicits a jaded moment for even a second. You can see the band practice, discuss, change, lead, listen and follow each other into making something that simply rocks. And the sequence also shows Grohl himself as a prominent musical force while simultaneously existing as the world's greatest rock fan.
"Sound City" is a true labor of love. It is a film that is marvelous, elegiac, and eternally hopeful. In Dave Grohl, we can see a stirring merging of boyhood fantasies realized, with hero worship, passionate torch carrying and the valiant upholding of always striving to maintain a human touch. He, the film and all of us are analog souls in a digital world and may none of us ever lose our collective groove.
SAVAGE POSTSCRIPT:
So, where can you see "Sound City"? After having its premiere to enthusiastic critical and audience response at the Sundance Film Festival in January, the movie has had a few exclusive theatrical showings. But now, it is available on DVD and Blu-Ray formats and you may also stream or HD download the film from the movie's official website.
And as with the very best music films...PLAY LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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