Thursday, September 11, 2014

Four White Guys Walk Into A Barn In Alabama...



It took some time, but I finally got around to watching "Muscle Shoals," the documentary about the small Alabama town that was the home and heart of producer Rick Hall, a studio called "Fame," a house band called the "Swampers," featuring Jimmy Johnson, Barry Beckett, David Hood and Roger Hawkins, and some of the greatest music we will ever feast our ears on.

Some of the greasiest soul and funk came from "four white guys who look like they all worked in a supermarket."

The film was entertaining, though Rick Hall's story plays out like that Monty Python sketch, the one where the crew one-ups each other with stories about who had it worse.

"I had to walk 100 miles to school everyday with only one shoe." "You had a shoe?"

Hall's particularly gruesome retelling of his younger brother's fate, was just one of a half dozen, ham-handed personal recollections that made me squirm and made the otherwise terrific film about all involved, a bit clumsy.

There were many great stories from Percy Sledge, Keith Richards, Gregg Allman, Jerry Wexler and Aretha Franklin and I strongly suggest sitting down with this film. It's a wonderful musical history lesson.

One of my favorite moments was Jimmy Johnson recalling Duane Allman's session with Wilson Pickett. Of all the soul classics recorded in Muscle Shoals, Pickett's version of "Hey Jude" was never a favorite. I don't dislike it. I just don't love it. Or I didn't until last night, after watching the "Swampers" talk about the session, Duane's guitar fills, the groove-change and what Jimmy Johnson calls unequivocally, "the birth of southern rock."


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

day in day out the best music blog on teh webz--thanx.

Anonymous said...

I have a friend who grew up in Muscle Shoals and still goes back there to visit family. She still doesn't know where they filmed some of those fields. :-)

There's a video on youtube of Patterson Hood playing a show with his dad, and telling a story about the song that was recorded earlier in the day before the Stones arrived. I won't ruin the punchline.

Was it always known that Jerry Wexler was kind of a dick?

William Repsher said...

I liked Rick Hall's personal recollections - particularly the revelation that "Patches" is about his father dying when he was a kid, and him taking over the farming duties while trying to go to school and help raise his younger siblings. "Patches" seems like one of those goofy/corny 70's soul standards ... but put in the context of what really happened to him, it makes me love the song even more.

As a fan, I would love to see a follow-up documentary on artists and albums NOT traditionally associated with the Muscle Shoals sound/studio. Rod Stewart, Bob Seger ... there were dozens of 70s artists who used their services for an album or two. The Stones were the tip of the ice berg.

Very enjoyable documentary for real music fans. Goes very well with the Big Star doc that's floating around the streaming world right now.

Jeff Matthews said...

Wonderful film. I had the chance to meet David Hood at a Chuck Berry Tribute concert in Cleveland a few summers ago - as you'd expect he's a very modest, quiet, friendly man. Are you a fan of Drive By Truckers and the solo work of his son Patterson Hood?

Sal Nunziato said...

You know Jeff, I tried with the DBT. I really like and respect Patterson Hood, but no one DBT album ever really hit me. They all seem too long and too dense, though I appreciate and recognize what's going on.

M_Sharp said...


Great movie, I saw it when it was released.

Jerry Wexler didn't make too many friends in Muscle Shoals or Memphis, did he?

diak said...

Nothing to add here except I really enjoyed the movie too. And I second WR's comment about "Patches." I had no idea that was basically a true story.

whattawino said...

Despite having played in bands since the summer before 7th grade (and still playing), I wasn't ever aware of Muscle Shoals until the first Boz Scaggs album. Right there inside the foldout cover were photos of all the musicians (and cute background singers too!) including Duane "Skydog" Allman whom I had also never heard of along with the rest of the Swampers. This record was HUGE for me. I'd just returned from California where Loan Me A Dime was played on the radio regularly and when I got back home to NY, nobody seemed to even know about it. From that moment, I knew that something amazing was happening in that little studio with those unbelievable groove-playing dudes that didn't sound like anywhere else.
And it stoned me....