it did get loud- and loving it.
davis guggenheim (an inconvenient truth) turned his camera to the world of music and the language shared by players of the electric guitar across 40 years. he was shocked to have his first three choices of guitarists agree to participate-jimmy page, who became a producer of this documentary, the edge, and jack white. in this film, guggenheim talks to all three separately in and about their hometowns searching for the spark that set each on his own particular musical bent. he then puts them together and we get to watch. not being particularly musical, i have always envied the special connection musicians have, that short hand they share- the way they can play together and not only make sense but make music. here, watching these strangers meet, it is beautiful and special to see. and the cool thing is, they know it too.
in the 70's, i was in college, discovered drugs and led zepplin. i had the best stereo with huge cerwin vega speakers- all woofer and mid range, no tweeter. we used to rip off the foam and watch the woofer crank, which it enthusiastically did to "when the levee breaks". their music was a personal experience. they were my led zepplin. i have all their albums still and was blessed to see them in concert twice in one month- indoors and out. led zepplin were gods. in this film, it was such a treat to see this god, jimmy page, pouring through his own album collection for that one 45 he bought as a teenager that sent him over the edge and the delighted expression on his face as he played it. the god has a god of his own.
the early footage of zepplin at headley grange while filming led zepplin 4, and the oh so bad footage of early u2 performances are worth the price of admission alone. there is also a lot of footage of those musicians who inspired each guitarist: skiffle(?), the ramones, and southern blues artists.
davis guggenheim (an inconvenient truth) turned his camera to the world of music and the language shared by players of the electric guitar across 40 years. he was shocked to have his first three choices of guitarists agree to participate-jimmy page, who became a producer of this documentary, the edge, and jack white. in this film, guggenheim talks to all three separately in and about their hometowns searching for the spark that set each on his own particular musical bent. he then puts them together and we get to watch. not being particularly musical, i have always envied the special connection musicians have, that short hand they share- the way they can play together and not only make sense but make music. here, watching these strangers meet, it is beautiful and special to see. and the cool thing is, they know it too.
in the 70's, i was in college, discovered drugs and led zepplin. i had the best stereo with huge cerwin vega speakers- all woofer and mid range, no tweeter. we used to rip off the foam and watch the woofer crank, which it enthusiastically did to "when the levee breaks". their music was a personal experience. they were my led zepplin. i have all their albums still and was blessed to see them in concert twice in one month- indoors and out. led zepplin were gods. in this film, it was such a treat to see this god, jimmy page, pouring through his own album collection for that one 45 he bought as a teenager that sent him over the edge and the delighted expression on his face as he played it. the god has a god of his own.
the early footage of zepplin at headley grange while filming led zepplin 4, and the oh so bad footage of early u2 performances are worth the price of admission alone. there is also a lot of footage of those musicians who inspired each guitarist: skiffle(?), the ramones, and southern blues artists.
although guggenheim takes them back to england, ireland and chicago, we can see they were all on the same road. with all 3, it was just about getting what's in their heads out through their guitars. page's was a divine inspiration road to his craft. he really just had to get out of his own way. the edge's street was paved in modern technology, synthesizers and layering. white is of the perspiration school of music; it's all about challenging himself. if it isn't a struggle then he's not happy. each musician experiments to get that sound out there- page developed the double necked guitar so he could play stairway to heaven on stage or used a bow on his electric guitar, the edge surrounds himself with boxes that only he and his tech understand, and white has a harmonica mike installed on a retractable cord in his guitar. whatever it takes to get that sound out.
i found myself teary eyed reminiscing about much this music was a part of my life. how after john bonham died and led zepplin ended, it wasn't until a roommate brought home a record by an obscure irish band that i felt that void filled. my sister turned me on to the white stripes whose simplicity and clever lyrics made them an easy favorite. i can't say i feel as connected to jack white's music as i was to zepplin or u2, but i came away from this film impressed most by his talent. he's so bloody insane. i enjoyed seeing page on such a personal level. even my friend, who at the beginning of the film thought page was a poser, was impressed. my feelings about the edge stay pretty much the same. i didn't learn much of anything new but i still enjoyed hearing about the beginning of u2. i was a little concerned though, while hearing the edge talk i thought he was putting led zepplin down. but that fear was squashed when as after they were all put together and page stood up to play "whole lotta love", the edge rushed over to get a closer look - and he had that same look on his face that page had while listening to that one 45 of his youth. the edge was tickled pink. white too, was sitting in front of page holding his guitar by the neck reverently in front of him as if offering it in an 'i'm not worthy pose'. they were all on the same page (excuse the pun). you will want to watch the credits, as while they roll they all learn and play "the weight" together- it's f***ing great.
these are 3 men who had no choice but to be musicians. they were born that way. i admire that singularity of purpose and drive. john lennon said, " if i had the chance to do it over again, i'd be a fucking fisherman" and clapton was quoted once as saying the same. no way would any of these men even consider it. they just can't. they have to get that sound out of their heads. and it might get loud.
i found myself teary eyed reminiscing about much this music was a part of my life. how after john bonham died and led zepplin ended, it wasn't until a roommate brought home a record by an obscure irish band that i felt that void filled. my sister turned me on to the white stripes whose simplicity and clever lyrics made them an easy favorite. i can't say i feel as connected to jack white's music as i was to zepplin or u2, but i came away from this film impressed most by his talent. he's so bloody insane. i enjoyed seeing page on such a personal level. even my friend, who at the beginning of the film thought page was a poser, was impressed. my feelings about the edge stay pretty much the same. i didn't learn much of anything new but i still enjoyed hearing about the beginning of u2. i was a little concerned though, while hearing the edge talk i thought he was putting led zepplin down. but that fear was squashed when as after they were all put together and page stood up to play "whole lotta love", the edge rushed over to get a closer look - and he had that same look on his face that page had while listening to that one 45 of his youth. the edge was tickled pink. white too, was sitting in front of page holding his guitar by the neck reverently in front of him as if offering it in an 'i'm not worthy pose'. they were all on the same page (excuse the pun). you will want to watch the credits, as while they roll they all learn and play "the weight" together- it's f***ing great.
these are 3 men who had no choice but to be musicians. they were born that way. i admire that singularity of purpose and drive. john lennon said, " if i had the chance to do it over again, i'd be a fucking fisherman" and clapton was quoted once as saying the same. no way would any of these men even consider it. they just can't. they have to get that sound out of their heads. and it might get loud.
highly recommend. sadly in very limited distribution, i had to travel to see it. put it on your rental list for when it's released on dvd.
Thanks for the suggestion...loved it!
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