Echo in the Canyon

I was excited to watch this as the subject is near and dear to my heart, but I was very disappointed... I thought it was going to be all about Laurel Canyon and the legendary music / musicians and it ended up being 50% Jakob Dylan soundtrack promotion. I wanted more from Tom Petty's last interview and I wanted more from a rare glimpse at Brian Wilson .... i wanted way more in regard to archival footage and photos that exist... I did not need to see Bob Dylan's son in every scene of a movie that has nothing to do with him. Not to mention all of the artists that were there that they didn't even mention like Joni Mitchell and The Doors. Well done otherwise, star power was amazing, cinematography was amazing I'd give it a 7/10 although it could have been a 10/10. I wanted to be immersed in the stories and music of that time and instead they kept pulling the viewer into crappy Jakob Dylan rehearsals and cover band concert footage so we only ended up skimming the surface on a subject that has a lot lot lot more to offer which I felt was a shame.

Having grown up in this era, with all of those albums, made the film come alive for me/us. My wife kept leaning over asking "Who is that guy?!" referring to Jakob Dylan. She was distracted a bit by his stone face and said, "He seems very depressed." Maybe because his dad wouldn't give an interview? Aside from his prominence in the film, the short documentary was an absolute pleasure to watch and get a glimpse into that world. For those of us married to artists, it's always fascinating to me to understand a bit more of how they think and to see what makes them tick. The interviews of the great Eric Clapton and Tom Petty made the film for me. Both of them seem to have a genuine natural kindness and wisdom that seems a part of their DNA. I'm taking my songwriter/singer son in law tonight to see it. He knows more about the subjects of the documentary than I and he wasn't even alive then.

Wonderfulthe, nostalgic music dominates this fascinating, entertaining, uplifting, informative, 88-minute, 2018 documentary narrated by Jakob Dylan that examines the birth and influence of popular folk-rock music from bands such as The Beach Boys, The Association, The Mamas and the Papas, The Byrds, and Buffalo Springfield in Laurel Canyon in the 1960s and showcases music from both rehearsals and a 2015 concert at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles, archival film footage, and interviews with singers and musicians such as Tom Petty, Brian Wilson, Michelle Phillips, Jackson Browne, Ringo Starr, Graham Nash, Stephen Sills, David Crosby, Lou Alder, Beck, Eric Clapton, Fiona Apple, Norah Jones, Cat Power, Roger McGuinn, John Sebastian, Jade Castrinos, and Regina Spektor.

Interesting interviews. The concert part is rather boring and bland. But despite all the interviews with key players of the 60's Laurel Canyon scene, they missed one key element -- Joni Mitchell who not only also lived there, but wa having sex with all of them. They don't even mention her.

Wow... this film is a must-see for musicologists familiar with the Laurel Canyon scene of the '60s. Terrific interviews w/key players during that time. But... I think a bit less Jakob Dylan and newbies would have done. I suppose his being Exec Producer on the film necessitated his being in too many scenes, annoyingly nodding knowingly at comments.... that is, one supposes, the curse of being the offspring of the Great One. I am also wondering why Mama Cass barely got mentioned and Joni Mitchell was completely omitted. Was it due to disparaging remarks Joni made about pere Dylan a few years ago? Would that this film had been an eight-part comprehensive series on Netflix.

Ignore those who don't understand this was about a 2 year period....sorry Joni Mitchell wasn't around then! Andrew Slater and Jakob Dylan do a good job of telling the stories through interviews probably only he could get. Jakob like his dad is a love or hate artist and his covers are all well done. Tom Petty gives the entire film a good boost in his last on 📷 interview and it is dedicated to him. Very enjoying to watch and sing along!

I saw this film yesterday in Santa Barbara. After telling some guy to turn off his cellphone. Never saw the little theater so crowded. The film was a spoonful of Laurel Canyon music honey when there is so much more to tell. Music is personal. Yesterday I finished writing a song out in the trees and hills of Gaviota on my 12 string guitar. The song is called "Tom Petty's Gone." A friend picked me up and we had a picnic on the road to where Jackson Browne lives. We were then headed into town to see "Echo In the Canyon." A film reveals the intent of the story, the viewer then likes it or not. Crosby, Stills, Nash. Brian Wilson. Roger McGuinn and others were sharing stories. Absent were Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and other untold tales. This morning I woke up feeling what the film drove home for me. What happened to us ? Many of us were open and the music was the reflection of that beautiful spirit. People today are what happened to them. Peace and love was not a game for me. Miracles happen when we listen and talk to one another. So at the end of the film, it was dedicated to Tom Petty. While I was finishing my song yesterday, I wondered what Mike Campbell would do with the lead guitar part. He's a beautiful person, very kind. But, I can't make that phone call since I am not connected. I laughed thinking if I went to David Crosby's house and asked him to listen to the song, would he invite me in? Joan Baez's father picked me up hitchhiking once and asked me to play my guitar. I said no. He drops me off by Stanford University and says, "Young man, until you learn to appreciate the art for the art itself, it doesn't matter if two people, or two thousand people clap for you." True wisdom, but I wish you could hear my song. I felt like I lost a brother when Tom died. Keep on keepin on.

If you're really interested in Jakob Dylan, which I sure as hell am not, then you'll love this movie which shows more of him than anything else. This could have been an amazing project. For me, it was just an ego trip for JD using famous bands as a backdrop.

So much history was neglected. And attention was given to musicians who live nowhere near the canyon. The contemporary renditions of the original music that had no resonance and lacked the energy and spirit of those seminal recordings. Color me disappointed.

I saw the film this past Saturday night and thought it was outstanding. It put many songs from the 60s into their proper context in terms of development, highlighting the cross-collaborative efforts between bands that were in the canyon scene during that time, as well as further afield, primarily in the UK, to which I wasn't fully aware of the extent. The film also shows the impact and influence that this particular music scene has had on contemporary musical artists, illustrated by renditions of many of the songs from that window in time by a particular stable of modern-day musicians at a show at Downtown LA's Orpheum Theatre in October of 2015. While I enjoyed seeing the highlights of that show in the film, it felt like they focused on that concert a little too much during the film's 90-minute runtime. There's also the not so subtle implication that these artists are the direct descendants of that culture and should be revered accordingly. While I like many of the artists depicted on-screen, the impact of the music made in, or inspired by, the late-1960s Laurel Canyon scene goes far beyond the indie/alt rock/pop genres. It would have been nice to have seen that acknowledged. That's my only real complaint with the film, and a relatively minor one at that. All-in-all, I'm pleased that the filmmakers made the efforts that they did, interviewing many of the artists from that era that are still alive today, and visiting several of the recording studios that will likely be consumed in full by L.A.'s cutthroat real estate market in favor of redevelopment. When those days inevitably arrive, I'm hoping that some rich music lover(s) will have the foresight to purchase and digitally preserve them, even if they have to be relocated, or ultimately replicated, to another location...perhaps in the form of a "Music Studio Museum" in the Capitol Records Building, or in/with some other venue/institution of a similar stature, such as the Grammy Museum. I enjoyed the film immensely and highly recommend it.

This documentary had some good stories told by people who were a part of the scene back in the 1960s. But ultimately, this felt more like a vehicle for Jakob Dylan showcasing his remakes of the classics. Some of them were okay, and some were downright bad (like changing the key for In My Room and turning it into a solo vocal performance). There were a few other clunkers. I guess you could say it was nostalgia for 2 generations, the 60s folks, and the 90s folks who chatted about the 60s music scene. As an actual documentary about Laurel Canyon's heyday, I give it about half marks, and one less for bad interviewing skills of Dylan, or perhaps bad editing by the director showing Dylan's expressionless face too long as he listens to someone talk.