Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Echo In The Canyon (2019)

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Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 06-08-2019, 02:55 PM:

A documentary chronicling the rise of the “Laurel Canyon Sound” in nineteen-sixties popular music. At the Bow Tie Clairidge Cinemas, Montclair, New Jersey, and in limited engagements nationwide.

*****

In the early sixties, a number of musicians made their way to Los Angeles seeking fame and fortune, many settling in the Laurel Canyon neighborhood above Sunset Boulevard. Influenced by the Beatles and the musical genius of Brian Wilson, they began producing a sort of electrified folk-rock that didn’t go over well in New York but became enormously popular there. Led by the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills & Nash and The Mamas & The Papas, they all came together in the spirit of camaraderie, music and amphetamines to create memorable and enduring sounds.

In this film, Jakob Dylan interviews many of the players of the era, all of whom have fascinating and occasionally embarrassing stories to tell. Roger McGuinn, Steven Stills, Graham Nash, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Michelle Phillips, Lou Adler and the late Tom Petty kick in memories of the scene and explain how the music began, many of them pointing to the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds as the album that got their creative juices flowing. Contemporary artists also appear in concert and recording footage performing new and not-bad covers of the music. Dylan gets a little irksome, the picture seems to be about him at points, but he is a good interviewer and gets a lot of good material from everybody. Notably missing is Joni Mitchell and Peter Tork, who were both residents of the area as well as major players of the time. The producers also stop short of explaining how the whole scene collapsed after the Manson murders, choosing instead to leave the good vibes intact.

If this was the music of your life as it was mine, you’ll likely enjoy this film very much.

Posted by Mike Croaro (Member # 3123) on 06-08-2019, 10:09 PM:

Can't wait to see it. Although born in 1970, 1960's music has been "the music of my life" for 30 years.