Echo in the Canyon
Though this is an interesting documentary, it helps if you are over 70.
Echo in the Canyon is an enjoyable little documentary centering on the music industry in Laurel Canyon, California in the 1960s. Numerous well-known singers/songwriters proceeded to fuse folk music with a new sound that came to be known as rock and roll, producing a wide range of memorable songs in the process.
Jakob Dylan, the lead singer of the Wallflowers, is the narrator/host who interviews many of the singers as they relive their glory days in the famous canyon near LA. It was great fun listening to the comments of Tom Petty, Ringo Star, Blue Adler, Michelle Phillips, Jackson Brown, Rodger McGuinn and David Crosby.
In addition, Dylan also includes a tribute concert held in 2015 where he performed several of the great songs sung by the above-named performers. He was joined by Cat Power, Nora Jones, Fiona Apple, Beck and Justin Bennett and it was an engaging experience watching them bring the past back to life.
In the process, the movie contains some great scenes where you see actual performances of The Birds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield and The Mamas & The Papas. In the process, it will be particularly great for some of you younger folks to discover just how creative The Beach Boys were under Brian Wilson.
As you watch the interviews with Steven Stills, David Crosby and Michelle Phillips, you are reminded of how most of these famous rock groups collapsed over a short period of time. You also hear some very funny stories concerning how sex and drugs became centerpieces of the early rock and roll movement.
The only shortcoming of the film is that you wish there were more scenes of these great bands performing in the 1960s. Nonetheless, think of watching Neil Young perform as a young man and you will know why you need to take the time to see this movie in a theatre.
