Wrecking Crew movie - now On Demand!!!

[Bob Romano]

Just watched the documentary about the Wrecking Crew. If you have never heard of them I guarantee you know their music.

http://www.wreckingcrewfilm.com/

Just some of the artists included in the film:
Beach Boys
Glen Campbell
Mamas & Papas
The Association
The Byrds
Gary Lewis & The Playboys
Elvis
Herb Alpert
Frank Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra
Sony & Cher
Phil Spector and MANY MANY more.

A really nice tribute to, basically, to the group that played on just about every big record of the 60's. This is the story of Tommy Tedesco by Tedesco's son but in the process he tells the story of many of the main players including stories like that of Hal Blaine who, at one point, had something like 170 gold records which he had to sell along with a mansion to pay off a wife in a divorce.

I really enjoyed this film. The nice thing was that they did the film in 5.1 and some of the music actually sounded like a nice surround recording (although there are no full songs in the film). Lots of great interviews as well.

If you can, check it out. In high def it cost me $7.99 for a 48 hour rental. Worth it!!!

 

[elroy]

I just saw it in a theater in Orange County yesterday, and really enjoyed it. This is the music I grew up with. Theater was pretty full for a 2 PM showing! Maybe because it was 90 F outside.

There are several scenes of Tedesco doing a seminar and he is hilarious.

A nice companion piece to 20 Feet From Stardom, but a bit more upbeat because they Wrecking Crew musicians don't appear to regret not becoming stars.

What do you think the odds are of a 5.1 soundtrack album? :51banana:

 

[quadtrade]

There was a wonderful interview this week with Hal Blaine on Fresh Air NPR this week. I know it is available online. Well worth hearing.

 

[EMB]

I love the 'behind the scenes' stuff, so this will be a must for me, just have to find the time to sit down and really drink it in.

They were a great bunch, although I wonder how many cats and kittens also a part of the crew beyond the core members have been forgotten or didn't make the cut, as it were. Players like Hal Blaine, Tom Tedesco, Glen Campbell, Joe Osborne, Carol Kay, are fairly well known, but there were many others who turned up here and there, not to mention some names moonlighting or helping out friends (think Julius Wechter or Nino Tempo, for example).

ED

 

[Bob Romano]

Most everyone is mentioned. Even Leon Russell makes an appearance. Julius is actually in the movie. What amazes me is how many have passed since the movie began filming.

 

[EMB]

Well, I looked it up and there will be a showing (albeit an hour away) near the end of March at a theater, so the bride and I might well wait and check it out then, rather than stream it right away. I love the theatre experience, and whenever some choice vintage films turn up within an hour or two and we can swing it, we go and make a nice evening of it. This one's certainly worth that, IMO.

A few thoughts: one guy who probably isn't mentioned at all is one David (Dave) Gates, whose name is scattered all over '60s singles and albums, either as a writer or arranger/conductor/producer (he was equal parts both). Like Russell, he was prolific, and his work highly varied. I mean, who else can claim working with or for anyone from Captain Beefheart to Glen Yarbrough? Everything from the lightest, frothiest pop to girl groups to boy groups to the blues grunge of the Captain is a pretty solid and eclectic resume. If he'd done nothing else we'd remember him but, like Russell, eventually got serious about moving on to his own gig, and with Bread, his muse really opened up, so much that unless you're a serious fan or collector, you don't remember his pre-Bread past, or even that he wrote "Saturday's Child," which turned up on the Monkees debut album. And Gates also was a proficient guitarist, though he's never mentioned for that talent, or that he played on more than a few sessions beyond arranging groups and orchestras.

At one point Sonny Bono was also a 'crew' member (as a percussionist, though not as a drummer), but he had higher ambitions, and with Cher kept at it until they hit the big time, and he used the crew for their 1964-67 recordings.

I've a hunch, like the Funk Brothers film, this will be a lot of fun, and seem way too short....I know it took many years and a lot of private financing and donations to finally get it done.

ED

 

[Eggplant]

Just finished watching on Amazon.

Too many "wish list" 5.1 snippets to mention, especially in the tasty smorgasbord as the credits roll. But it's especially nice to hear the first surround mixes of Mamas and Papas, Richard Harris's "MacArthur Park", Byrds, Dean Martin, and Cher's "Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves". Interestingly, the offerings include clips of what appear to be new 5.1's of Raiders' "Indian Reservation", Ventures' "Hawaii Five-O", Herb Alpert and TJ Brass, and others.

Looks like 5.1 music has officially gone video, as all such recent documentaries are doing this.
That's great.

Incidentally, my one personal connection to the Crew, Victor Feldman, appears in red lettering in the credits but I didn't notice him in the film.

Ed -- You're right about David Gates, though he was at least found in the credits. They barely included Larry Knechtel either, beyond a few photos and a snatch of his piano on "Bridge Over Troubled Water", perhaps his best-known session piece.

 

[blue.monk]

I saw a matinee of this today at a local theater. It's a wonderful film. I hope more folks here get a chance to see it.

quadtrade mentioned the Fresh Air interview with Hal Blaine that re-aired a few weeks back. It's very good and he tells some great stories not heard in the film. Here's the link:

http://www.npr.org/2015/03/13/392780627/drummer-hal-blaine-talks-about-making-music-over-the-years

 

[cupboy]

I don't do downloads, rentals or theaters, but if it comes out on Blu-ray I'd consider it. Is Jan & Dean in it?

 

[blue.monk]

I don't do downloads, rentals or theaters, but if it comes out on Blu-ray I'd consider it. Is Jan & Dean in it?

They are mentioned several times and shown in archival footage.

 

[4-earredwonder]

NOW ON BLU~RAY: I just watched this simply amazing documentary on PBS tonight which Denny Tedesco put together in honor of his late father, ace guitarist Tommy Tedesco and ANYONE who is remotely interested in some of the greatest acts of the 60's and 70's will be amazed to know that this awesomely talented 'wrecking crew' of crackerjack musicians were the true geniuses behind a lot of those top acts. What the Funk Brothers did for Motown, these cats accomplished in spades for so many famous acts throughout the fertile musical soundscape of America's 1960's through late 70's.

BTW, great discrete use of surrounds throughout. 6 hours of bonus extras included. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Wrecking-Crew-Blu-ray/127220/#UserReviews