A Movie Review - Sound City - Dave Grohl

A bit of an indie documentary, it is the story, as told by Dave Grohl (of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame), of a recording studio in LA that has produced some of the most famous records of all time.  (Of contemporary music anyway).  The movie was released at the 2013 Sundance festival.

The studio went bust in 2011 and Dave Grohl bought it, and the inspirational mixing desk, and has brought back a lot of the artists who recorded there, to play again.  Even Paul McCartney, or should I say Sir Paul came and jammed with the guys.

Dave Grohl - one of Rock n Rolls REALLY nice guys - has a heart of gold. 

The significance of this studio was that back in the 1970's the music being recorded was raw and real.  By the late 1980's and most of 1990's music was being recorded digitally, not by analog.  This meant a very controlled sound, one that was devoid of the human element.  The other factor that made Sound City so unique was the way drums sounded so 'fat'.

When Nirvana (Kurt Cobain fame) went to record Nevermind, they had no money and no record deal.  They went to Sound City to record because by then the studio was almost bankrupt and would take on anybody.  Nevermind the album, blew everyone out of the water as it was a throw back to the dirty sounds of the 1970's and you could hear the humans in the music.

Other pivotal artists that started at Sound City (just a few of the many)

• Fleetwood Mac 
• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
• Reo Speedwagon
• Metalica
• Neil Young
• Rick Springfield
• Forienger
• Pat Benatar
• Grateful Dead
• Wolfmother (or as Strawb calls them - EarthMother.

If you like your music (loud), if you grew up in the 70's; 80's or 90's - you will love this doco.  

And if you like this one, check out another favorite It Might Get Loud - three of my all time, awesome, favourite guitarists - Jimmy Page (I want to marry him), The Edge and Jack White.