Nayan Gough
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
Allison Davies
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Guillelmina
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Candida
It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.
emritter
I can't believe I went this long without ever hearing of Muscle Shoals. This film has greatly influenced my appreciation for classic American music. Muscle Shoals directed by Greg Camalier explores the significant impact of Muscle Shoals, a small rundown recording studio in Alabama. Numerous times throughout the film we gain knowledge of the life of Rick Hall, founder of the studio. Hall made a comeback after the death of his wife, devoting his life to the studio and cutting long lasting records. To help make the case, there are multiple appearances of classic old timers such as Mick Jagger, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Percy Sledge, and Keith Richards. The usage of both old footage of these iconic artists at the studio and present interviews helps the viewer to really imagine what the music scene was like in Muscle Shoals during the era. It's also amazing to hear these singers and musicians, arguably the best of their time, give such high recognition to the studio. Another big focus of the film is the breaking of the racial barrier during the time. I was surprised to learn that classic Motown or soul music recorded in the studio such as Aretha Franklin's "I never loved a man", was recorded with The Swampers, a group young white male musicians. At the end of the day many people learned that the combination of whites and blacks working together was a possibility, and the records are the proof. I recommend this film to anyone who admires the mixed variety of vintage American music between the 1960s and 1980s.
colvin-4
Easily one of, if not THE best music documentary I have ever seen. So often these docs go flat after the first 20 minutes, none of that here! The visuals are fantastic and carry the show (as well as establish the sense of place) when the incredible music is throttled back. Underlying all of this is an incredible story of an incredible man, Jerry Hall, a man born in numbing poverty who somehow managed to rise above poverty and numerous personal tragedies to produce some of the most incredible blues and rock and roll recordings of all time. If you have access to this show and love music all I can say is WATCH THIS TODAY and prepared to be blown away!
Michael J. Skarpelos
I always loved listening to the great albums recorded at the two Muscle Shoals studios, so I looked forward to seeing this documentary in the hopes of learning what exactly made the Muscle Shoals sound so distinctive.Unfortunately, I think the musicians interviewed couldn't really explain what it was that made Muscle Shoals so special from a technical perspective. Bono, as always, was quite articulate, but he didn't offer anything technical. He instead talked philosophically about the power of the Tennessee River just as the Mississippi influenced the Blues. Most of the other musicians fell back on platitudes and clichés about funky white guys. Keith Richards was beyond hopeless as an interviewee. He seemed like he was doing a really bad Saturday Night Live impersonation of himself.Don't get me wrong. The stories were entertaining. I particularly liked Greg Allman's story about how his brother Duane learned to play the slide guitar and Wilson Picket's story about the first time he came to Muscle Shoals. I also thought the documentary did a good job telling the history of the original FAME studio as well as the second studio started by the so-called "Swampers".Nevertheless, I think at least one interview segment with a Rock historian or a musicologist to put everything in context and offer technical explanations would have been a great addition.Finally, although it's clear that the Muscle Shoals musicians were far ahead of their fellow southerners on the issue of race, and the film rightly showcased this, it also showed clips of Lynyrd Skynyrd in concert proudly displaying a confederate flag. Displaying a confederate flag in 2013 is beyond bad taste. It's simply unacceptable.
r-remmers
OK, I plead guilty to living within a stones throw of the subject of this movie.If you are a fan of the music that started out in the '60s in this country, this is a must see. It gives you an insight into how the music we listen to has come into being. From the roots in the blues and R&B morphing into Rock and Roll. You may find something out about your favorite songs that you never knew.The setting for the interviews focuses you on the person speaking. There are some amazing images in the film. In some ways it shows the area in an almost idyllic frame. The historical footage is worth the ticket price alone.Bonus points if you actually recognize the unnamed blues legend show while they talk about Sam Phillips. If you are going to create a list of must see movies about music and musicians, this will be on the short list.
