Echo in the Canyon

Laurel Canyon in the mid to late 1960's was the location of the musical explosion that resonates even today. The documentary directed by Andrew Slater looks at the roots of the collaboration of various artists as interviewed by Jakob Dylan who served as the executive director. The film features contributions from Brian Wilson, Michelle Phillips, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Stephen Stills, Roger McGuinn, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Jackson Browne, John Sebastian and the late Tom Petty in his last interview. It also features a 2015 concert with Jakob Dylan, Regina Specktor, Cat Power, Fiona Apple, Norah Jones and Beck as they perform some of the best tunes of the times.

Roger McQuinn of the Byrds talked about how he tried to mix folks sounds with rock but the audiences in New York were not receptive. He went to L.A. to try it out, but they were not enthusiastic. When he united with David Crosby and some other musicians to form the Byrds, they happened on the sound that got some attention. Rock music used to be about simple concepts like love and cars, but they were bringing in the poetry of some folk and traditional music while using electronic sounds. Crosby says he may have been the first to live in Laurel Canyon. At the time these creative song writers would gather at each other's house with guitars in hand working with each other and sharing what they had.

The Beach Boys were a local popular group. Then Brian Wilson heard Rubber Soul which influenced him to do Pet Sounds. When the Beatles heard Pet Sounds they were inspired to do Sgt. Pepper. The Mama's and the Papa's were trying to make it in NY, but Michelle wanted to go back to California. Her husband John wrote California Dreaming because of that. He also wrote Go Where You Want to Go because Michelle was having affairs. Such were the times. Buffalo Springfield became an influential band that wrote tunes that reflected the life and times of the Vietnam War years. So many of the musicians who were spawned from those Laurel Canyon jam sessions all went on to bigger and better things. Some still standing. It's worth listening to the music they created, then reinterpreted by younger musicians. We grow old but the music stays the same. is there anything written lately that can stand the test of time.
(Review by reesa)