Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

mekjd Those who can hear in the mind's ear the rest of the lyrics to the above summary line may find themselves joyful to watch this aggregation of the many major but unsung talents of the pop music explosion of the mid- twentieth stationery. There are interviews with many longtime musicians who played on almost all of the 'hits' of that era, but who went unrecognized and worked anonymously for most of their lives. This move is an homage to these musicians, who, notwithstanding their anonymity, seemed to enjoy a bond among themselves that was second to none. Many insights are provided on the creation of music that is now part of the soundtrack of our lives.Truly a labor of love for all involved. For maximum musical edification, I would strongly recommend a double feature, following up with 20 Feet from Stardom.

dddmi7-1 I will try to put into a few words about this tribute to some of the finest studio musicians who ever recorded music on vinyl. Denny Tedesco's diligence, hard work, and love not only for his Father but the other musicians enshrined here shows through on every frame of film. The legacy of these musicians can not be overstated. If you lived in the USA in the 50s, 60s, 70s and into the 1980s you've heard their music, songs, hits, jingles, film soundtracks, and TV themes. They seemed to be everywhere all at once, but mostly anonymous when it came to actual credit on film and the backs of album covers. From Sam Cooke, to the Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, The Monkees, and beyond you heard their riffs, rhymes, and splendid musicianship. As a percussionist I've admired their music without knowing their faces or names (for the most part). Now, thanks to this labor of love I can connect those distant memories with the people who created them. This appears to be more than just a film but a mission for the director and his film company. Purchasing the rights to air the music The Wrecking Crew played is very expensive. Mr. Tedesco needs viewers like the IMDb community to support this film by giving it the high ratings it deserves here on IMDb and on online services like Net flix. Through that support he is able to raise money to keep making improvements by including more and more of the volumes of material this group of professionals created nearly round the clock for 2 full decades. This music may take you back to your teen years, and fill in the spaces as to who actually created the music of your youth.

David Ferguson Greetings again from the darkness. The music business has always been a bit of a mystery – not just to the average record buyer, but even to those within the industry. History is filled with singers, band members, and songwriters missing out on the pot of gold due to slick legal maneuvering from some less-than-upstanding agent, producer or label. This documentary details the prolific recordings from a core group of studio musicians responsible for the sounds heard as rock and roll music exploded on the scene … their stellar performances marketed to the public as the work of popular bands.Lest you think this is limited to an obscure genre or style of music, the two dozen (or so) musicians known as The Wrecking Crew were responsible for the album music for such groups and performers as The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, The Righteous Brothers, Elvis Presley, The Mamas and the Papas, Sonny and Cher, Sam Cooke, The Byrds, and The Monkees. And we can't leave out Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" which dominated the charts for years. Director Denny Tedesco set out to make a documentary short about his father, guitarist extraordinaire Tommy Tedesco, but quickly realized the story was much bigger than just his dad.In addition to the very talented (and funny) Tedesco, we get interviews with such talented musicians as Hal Blaine, Earl Palmer, Don Randi, Al Casey, Pals Johnson (The Pink Panther sax soloist), Carol Kaye, and Bill Pittman. There is also insight from producers Lou Adler and Snuff Garrett, American Bandstand's Dick Clark, songwriter Jimmy Webb, plus icon Herb Alpert. Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork explain the business rationale in having the professionals take care of the recordings, while Roger McGinnis spills the beans that other members of The Byrds (including David Crosby) were pretty miffed at the process.The personal importance of telling this story is quite obvious in the work of the director, and is especially clear in the segments featuring his father. In addition to the popular music he was involved with, the senior Tedesco's work is heard in such well-known TV themes as Bonanza, MASH, Batman, and The Twilight Zone … plus many movie scores. Archival footage is available for Q&A roundtables and some of the seminar work Tedesco did in the later stages of his career (he passed away in 1997). There is also footage of Phil Spector working in the studio, and some audio from Frank Sinatra as he works on recording, and early Brian Wilson creating the magic of Pet Sounds with the Wrecking Crew.Glen Campbell and Leon Russell are the two big breakout performers from this group of studio musicians and both speak so highly of these unpublicized artists. Their interviews, and that of Dick Clark, highlight the confusion of timeline in the making of the film. It began making festival rounds in 2008 before running the age old issue of "musical rights" brought distribution to a screeching halt. So now, in 2015, the film is finally getting some theatre time, and with it comes the recognition and appreciation that is long overdue for the members of this very secret club … few of whom seem to hold any type of grudge. They were just happy to make a living doing what they love.This film instantly becomes one of four documentaries highly recommended for those who want to better understand the music biz. Group it with Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002), Muscle Shoals (2013), and Oscar winner Twenty Feet from Stardom (2013) to form an 8 hour education and history of popular music over the past three generations.**NOTE: Kent Hartman released a book entitled "The Wrecking Crew" that provides additional detail; however, it is not affiliated with Denny Tedesco's film.

FilmRap If you are an aficionado of music between the 50s and late 80s early 90s you will find this a fascinating documentary. It is the story of studio musicians who did most of the playing for the recordings of some of the great groups of this time period. The film is lovingly put together by Denny Tedesco and includes a particular focus on Tommy Tedesco who is his father and who recently died after having participated in interviews for this film with many other of these great musicians. You probably did not know that just about all the music of Beach Boys was not recorded by them but was played for the records by the musicians affectionately self named " The Wrecking Crew " The film also features Carol Bass who is obviously a great guitar player and is only really known by people in the music business as these musicians did not get any recognition on the albums they recorded. They were financially well paid during this time and have no regrets for their anonymity. There are film clips from many recording sessions including one with Frank Sinatra. Apparently potential distributors have been skeptical that the producer would be able to get the rights to include all the great music that is in this film but he did it as people recognized the historic value of this documentary. The soundtrack is unbelievable and is a concert in to itself and will make a great CD.FilmRap.net