Sound City (2013) Review

Sound City (2013)

Directed by Dave Grohl

Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
The film tells the story of Sound City Studios from its early days in 1969 until its closing in 2011. It then follows Dave Grohl’s purchase of the studio’s custom analog Neve console, which he moved to his personal studio, Studio 606. Famous musicians who recorded at Sound City reunite at Studio 606 for a jam session and to make an album of “all-new all-original songs, each one composed and recorded exclusively for the film within its own 24-hour session on that console.”

Artists Featured: (also via Wikipedia because I’m lazy today)

The documentary features interviews conducted by Grohl of artists associated with the studio:

Vinny Appice
Frank Black
Lindsey Buckingham
Johnny Cash (archival)
Kurt Cobain (archival)
Kevin Cronin
Rivers Cuomo
Mick Fleetwood
Neil Giraldo
Josh Homme
Alain Johannes
Jim Keltner
Paul McCartney
Barry Manilow
Rupert Neve
Stevie Nicks
Krist Novoselic
Stephen Pearcy
Tom Petty
Trent Reznor
Ross Robinson
Rick Rubin
Jim Scott
Pat Smear
Rick Springfield
Corey Taylor
Benmont Tench
Lars Ulrich
Butch Vig
Lee Ving
Brad Wilk
Neil Young
Warren DeMartini

Running time: 108 minutes

My Opinion:

It’s hard to review a documentary. Basically, if you like Dave Grohl and/or any of the artists listed above (and especially if you have any sort of interest in the music industry), I’d highly recommend this documentary. I mean, who doesn’t like Dave Grohl? Dave Grohl is awesome. I want to marry Dave Grohl. (But, I’m already taken. Sorry, Dave Grohl!).

Before watching this, I had watched another music documentary – Something From Nothing: The Art Of Rap (review HERE). That one was good but not very in-depth and was just a bunch of rappers showing off their rapping skills as opposed to exploring the roots of rap or anything like that (but I suppose it wasn’t called “The History Of Rap”). It was fun but a little shallow. And, I’ll admit – The music in Sound City is more my kind of thing so I was probably going to find this documentary more interesting anyway.

What I really liked more than anything about Sound City was Grohl’s infectious enthusiasm. He clearly LOVES music and what he does for a living and it really shows, making this documentary as enjoyable as the music he continues to (seemingly effortlessly) create.

Then, of course, it was great seeing interviews with and old footage of so many musical greats. The ones featured most prominently (from what I remember – I watched this months ago), were Fleetwood Mac (especially Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham), Tom Petty, and…. Rick Springfield! Yeah – remember Rick Springfield? Jessie’s Girl and all that? Well, he was a big heartthrob back in my day (sort of – the girls a few years older than me really loved him). Anyway! His story involving Sound City was really very touching and a little heartbreaking & he actually seemed a little… broken. Plus we all know about all the soap opera drama within Fleetwood Mac, which once again gets touched on in this documentary.

Many of the artists & those who worked behind the scenes at Sound City got a little emotional during the interviews & it all felt very genuine. This documentary had a lot of heart to it and Grohl’s dedication to this project really shows in the final product. Definitely worth a watch for anyone remotely interested in Grohl, the recording industry, rock music, or just a damn good documentary.

My Rating: 8/10