01/26: Sound City

The first documentary I am reviewing happens to be Sound City, which was produced, written, narrated and pretty much everything to do with Dave Grohl. In case you need to be reminded, Grohl was the former drummer for Nirvana who later became very successful with his band the Foo Fighters as well as getting involved with numerous music projects. This time he tries his hand at filmmaking, and I see and observe he did it quite well. And I can tell he was very interested and taken with the subject which was his interest. In short, he had a blast doing it. And I will explain.

Sound City was one of the greatest music studios in the last 40+ years. It was where several classic recordings occurred. Examples include work from Fleetwood Mac, Nirvana (of course), Rick Springfield, among many others. I feel that this documentary has covered all the bases. But I'm sure this would take more than a day for the full history, or at least a huge book. Grohl interviews just about everyone who worked at the building and was able to collect several stories. One interviewee even made the comment, "If you were to walk out of there and you were to come back 15 years later, it still looks the same. So much junk lying around. Cigarette butts and trash everywhere". It gives us a feeling for all of us who missed out what it was like being in there. Grohl even devotes time to Rick Springfield, an artist who I feel does not get enough exposure anymore.

The real thrill is within the last third of the film when Grohl assembles an 'all-star band' of Sound City alumni. Plus Paul McCartney. Dave couldn't even explain how thrilled he was, and who can blame him? At least a seemingly down-to-earth guy like him knows he is one of the lucky few who lived his dream. He was more than able to tell it all in this film. I can't wait to see more work from him.

Note: I do love Nirvana, even though I feel they are very overrated because of all the credit they were given. I do also like most of the early Foo Fighters songs, but I never gave his later stuff including his stuff from Them Crooked Vultures a chance. I shall do soon. I also have yet to see Grohl live in person.

My rating: 9 out of 10