Whereas last summer seemed primarily packed with streaming concerts and special online events, this year has leaned much stronger toward music-based movies, mostly documentaries, and there have been a number of enjoyable releases in the last few months on various platforms and services. A quick run-down of some of the most notable follows.
*Respect (now in theaters) 8/10
This newly-released biopic gives the 21st century classic rock treatment of Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocket Man to the late, great queen of soul, Aretha Franklin, played here by Jennifer Hudson (who was chosen by Franklin to both act the part and sing the songs) who does a phenomenal job. Like the Freddy Mercury and Elton John films, Respect focuses tighter on a stretch of time rather than giving equal attention to all eras of the subjects' lives or each of their many album eras. In this case, the focus is 1952-1972, covering Franklin's life from the ages of 11-31, and includes milestones like being signed to Columbia Records in 1960 to working with Jerry Wexler (Marc Maron) and the Muscle Shoals Band at Fame Studios in Alabama and her breakthrough success with "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You," her cover of Otis Redding's "Respect," and other '60s hits like "Think" and Carole King's, "A Natural Woman." Plenty of time is given to Franklin's complicated relationships with her family and with various partners during that 20-year span, but the selected focus on dark and dramatic moments is arguably historically kind to Franklin and does not necessarily portray the severity of some episodes. Overall, Respect is a very well-produced film that may lead to high honors for Hudson with kudos to co-stars, Marlon Wayans and Forest Whitaker.
*1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything (Apple TV) 6/10
This 8-episode documentary series is a bit mistitled. While it does focus entirely on the year of 1971, and discusses many songs, artists, and important moments of musical activism and social engagement, beyond the first episode, music becomes only a supporting component in a series that focuses more on the various social movements of the era via the perspective of the 2020s. Close studies on minority-rights and social justice movements are at the core of most of the individual episodes of the series which doesn't focus enough on the music of 1971 by comparison. Interesting stories and some amazing historical footage is shared throughout, but this series is not the place to start if you're looking for a music documentary.
*Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Hulu) 7/10
Directed by Roots' drummer/Tonight Show bandleader, Questlove, this newly-edited compilation of footage and interviews surrounding the Harlem Cultural Festival concert series, held from June to August, 1969 is a beautiful historical document of an event that was largely forgotten or unknown by most who did not attend. Phrased at times as a black counterpart to Woodstock, held the same summer in a different part of the same state, the film shows this as an important social event for the Harlem community with whole families and multiple generations represented among the lively crowd shots. Performances from Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, The 5th Dimension, and others are the highlights, but reflections from concert-goers, performers, and others who worked the shows connects it to modern events and perspectives in a way that makes the film engaging to viewers regardless of their familiarity with or fandom of the music. A bit more focus on the live performances would have made the movie a bit stronger, but perhaps the DVD extras will include more of them.
*The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? (HBO) 7/10
This newly-released HBO documentary is more like an expanded version of The Bee Gees' Vh1 Legends special, but it does a great job of adding-to the story with more depth and additional stories from the Gibb family's childhood and the early days of their work as a musical group as well as their massive success in the late '70s. The narration is primarily from the Gibb brothers themselves, with new interviews from surviving member, Barry Gibb, and archival interviews from Maurice, Robin, and younger brother Andy, all now deceased. Again, once the hits began to dry up, the story becomes less compelling, and the documentary doesn't waste much time discussing anything beyond the early '80s which does make the ending feel a bit rushed and incomplete, but whether you are discovering The Bee Gees and wish to learn more about them or are a long-time fan, there is plenty to learn and enjoy here.
*Tina (HBO) 8/10
This deep dive into the life and times of the legendary Tina Turner arrives just after the artist's official retirement and just prior to her long-overdue induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist. New and archival interviews along with vintage performance clips and deeply personal stories are featured throughout. This documentary summarizes Turner's rise-fall-rise story and paints a strong and respectful picture of her most significant moments and triumphs, both professional and personal. Ike Turner takes his lumps, but even he is discussed with respect and historical significance as much or more than as the infamous abuser he also was. While some eras, albums, or songs are focused on more than others, the documentary does a great job of surveying the key moments that make up Tina Turner's inspiring life story.
*The Sparks Brothers (now in theaters / streaming soon!) 8/10
This epic documentary breaks down the life story of the Mael brothers and their 50 year career as the core of the arty, avant-garde rock band, Sparks. With a bit of information about each of their 26 studio LPs, touring, promotion, and personal stories throughout, the film is a perfect run through the history of the group for the uninitiated and a chance to learn more about the making of key tracks which is revealing even to hardcore fans. Testimonials from famous fans such as Beck, Flea, Steve Jones Thurston Moore, and Bjork, to name a few, bookend the story which is packed with vintage performance clips and modern interviews with Ron and Russel Mael. The Sparks Brothers is an excellent place to start for the curious and a celebration of a life's work in music for the band's many fans.
*Zappa (now streaming on Hulu!) 9/10
After its theatrical and PPV runs last year, the latest and most-thorough documentary yet on the late, great Frank Zappa is now available to stream on Hulu. Director Alex Winter (aka "Bill" from Bill & Ted) labored for years to complete and release this film and it's clear his fandom is huge. While none of the many other Zappa documentaries completely captures and tells his whole story, Winter's film comes the closest so far. Overall, the movie is a chronological survey of Zappa's life from childhood, discovering music, early production work, and a breakdown of his work with the original Mothers of Invention and the early variations that resulted in the first 12 years or so of his humungous catalog. The bits that make that story so interesting along the way are the various interview clips and first-hand accounts of working in Zappa's band as shared by a selection of former band members including Ruth Underwood and Steve Vai among others. Zappa's family life is given some screen time as well, balancing professional information with personal details, and it's clear he was very close to his wife and four children. Without focusing too long on any one album or era, the movie does a great job of keeping even uninitiated audiences engaged and would serve well as an introduction to or overview of Zappa as both a composer and performing artist and as a person.
*McCartney 3,2,1 (Hulu series) 8/10
This six-episode docu-series, recently added to Hulu, focuses on conversations between rock legend, Paul McCartney, and production legend, Rick Rubin, primarily about key songs from McCartney's career (Beatles, Wings, and solo songs) and the process of writing, recording, and producing them. Archival footage is added visual to accompany the stories, all shot in an arty black and white. Without those cutaways, the show is essentially a video podcast and would probably work just as well in audio form, though it is a delight to see Rubin and McCartney react to each other as they discuss the various topics related to their life's work and passion, music itself, much less the many huge hits for which either men have been responsible or helped to create. Most-engaging to Beatles fans, no doubt, this series is an insightful and engaging fly-on-the-wall-type that allows music fans of all kinds to observe such a meeting and exchange between celebrated music wizards.
*Beastie Boys Story (Apple TV) 9/10
This one actually came out last year, but it's easy to forget to come back to things sometimes when there are so many releases in a short period. This insightful, moving, and hilarious documentary from Spike Jonze mainly focuses on moments from a series of spoken word shows by surviving Beastie Boys, Ad-Rock and Mike D., during the promotion for Beastie Boys Book (my review here) in the fall of 2018. With highlights of stories from the book, sometimes amended, edited, or added-to, the group discusses moments from throughout their lives and career over their many years together including heartfelt stories and memories of the late Adam Yauch (MCA). Generally engaging, even to non-fans (but especially to big fans!), Beastie Boys Story is a perfect companion to the book and is definitely worth a viewing if you haven't caught it already!
*Woodstock '99: Peace, Love, and Rage (HBO) 7/10
The story of Woodstock '99 is a heavy one to tell no matter what, and while smaller productions have attempted to do so previously, HBO's newly-released documentary, the first in a new series called, Music Box, from sports curmudgeon, Bill Simmons, attempts to do so but certainly has an agenda to persuade rather than to simply document and inform.
The documentary, overall, is engaging and well-produced, but the filmmakers definitely took a position and had an angle to portray the event as "bad" and to blame most of the badness on the promoters, partly focusing on their age (implying they were greedy boomers more focused on their own nostalgia and making money than producing a safe festival) but also filtering them, and the whole history of the time, through a modern social perspective. There's no doubt most of the things discussed in the movie did happen, but there were many factors that led to those incidents, not just the faults of the promoters. The film also did not include any perspectives from anyone who had a "good to decent" time attending, and with a crowd that size, there were definitely many people who had at least a middle-of-the-road (or better) experience, compared to those who did not. If it was really as bad as the documentary portrays, why did most of the people in attendance stay there into or through Sunday? Obviously, the fan who died in the Metallica pit (or after being pulled out of it) and the sexual assault stories are the strongest examples to focus on if your angle is to paint this whole festival as a doomed dumpster fire of thing, but it really wasn't like that all the way through. The Fyre Festival, this was not.
Even watching the event on PPV as it was happening (all those many years ago) my friends and I all found it questionable to line up Limp Bizkit (at their peak) into Rage Against The Machine into Metallica, so exploring that part of the story is nothing new. Limp Bizkit ended up getting most of the blame and bad press for the actions of the crowd, but the jerks in question had been at it as far back as Korn's set on Friday night, and their bullshit behavior continued through Rage and Metallica even though those bands don't generally get bad press as far as their role in being there. Aside from those four bands, much of the rest of the festival was mid-tempo to even laid back. Sure, Sevendust, Buckcherry, Godsmack, and Megadeth played on the second stage (to smaller crowds), but the meatheads who were there to start shit and cause problems were throwing things at Jamiroquai and The Offspring on Friday night and heckling Tragically Hip, Wyclef Jean, and Alanis Morissette on Saturday afternoon anyway. It's ridiculous to look at any video footage of any song being performed at almost any point during the festival (especially on the main stage) because people were crowd surfing during everything regardless of what it was, Willie Nelson, Elvis Costello (acoustic), and Jewel included. They were going to behave the way they behaved no matter what.
On the other hand, there's no doubt the documentary's points about white privilege and sexual assault instances are mostly on point. For example, if such rioting had occurred at a primarily hip hop festival, the police who were called to respond would have treated the rioters very differently. Festival producer, John Schur, is seen in the film blaming most of the sexual assaults on women being scantily clad, topless, or nude (in 100-degree heat), which comes across as particularly tone-deaf, especially two decades after-the-fact and in the modern social climate. As with any concert, however, the producers can only do so much to control the actions of the individuals in attendance, and the larger the crowd, the harder that task becomes. No producer or festival organizer made anyone make the choices to behave poorly, deplorably, or even criminally. These individuals should have been held accountable more than they were in the aftermath of the festival. It's clear things have come a longer way than one may have realized with regard to how seriously sexual misconduct is taken and responded to today compared to 22 years ago, so that, at least, is a good thing.
To sum up, there are a lot of things to be salty at the boomers for, but the bad behavior at Woodstock '99 should be blamed more so on the younger gen-X-ers in attendance who chose to act like idiots with nothing close to a good reason.
