Pentagram's Bobby Liebling
By Cmisje (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
With the recent release of the Foo Fighters movie garnering rave reviews, I decided to look into some of the other rockumentaries making the rounds this year. So, without further ado, here is a sampling of a few kick**s rock films for your viewing pleasure—and a potent hit of inspiration, too.
First up is Lemmy: 49% Mother****er, 51% Son of a B**ch. Produced and directed by Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski and shot over a period of three years, this critically acclaimed, highly anticipated film premiered at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, in March 2010, and was screened at the London Film Festival later that year. The movie played a limited run in theaters around the globe in early 2011 before being released to DVD and Blu-Ray and as a digital download via iTunes this past February. The two-disc set includes over four hours of extras as well as a booklet with exclusive photos, notes from Olliver and Orshoski, and drawings by the man himself. Lemmy landed at the top of Billboard's Top Music Videos chart in the first week of its release.
The iconic Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister—he of the muttonchops, honking mole, and gravel voice—is best known as the singer-songwriter, bassist, and founding member of the heavy metal band Motörhead. Lemmy takes an illuminating look at the career of the charismatic 65-year-old English rocker, from his early days with the '60s British pop group The Rockin' Vickers and the psychedelic rock band Hawkwind, through his days with Motörhead. The camera follows Kilmister into his cramped Hollywood quarters and into the Sunset Strip's fabled Rainbow Bar & Grill, where he holds court every night he's not on tour. It also captures him on the concert stage, where he bludgeons fans with punishing decibels.
In addition to live concert footage, Lemmy features interviews with a host of friends and peers from points all along the artistic spectrum including members of Metallica and Guns N' Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Navarro, Joan Jett, Nikki Sixx, Alice Cooper, Dave Grohl, Mick Jones of The Clash, and Peter Hook of New Order/Joy Division, as well as that jack-of-all-trades Henry Rollins, pro skateboarder Geoff Rowley, tattoo queen Kat Von D, and actor Billy Bob Thornton, among many others.
The movie won the Best Documentary prize at the In-Edit Film Festival in Santiago, Chile, and has been a major hit at dozens of other international festivals. Reviews have been glowing. Britain's Uncut magazine says that, "Access to Lemmy is both total and well-used. Underneath that leathery, warty, speed-freak biker persona, he is an intelligent, contradiction-filled, witty, bluff and extraordinary man," while Variety simply states, "Lemmy rocks!"
Gruff, intimidating, and unrepentant, Kilmister has a heart of gold to rival his beastly exterior. Even if metal's not your thing, it's impossible not to like Lemmy once you've spent some time with him.
Speaking of icons, fresh off their Troubadour Reunion tour last year comes Troubadours: Carole King/James Taylor & The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter, which premiered in the US Documentary competition at this year's Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The two-disc DVD/CD package was released in March and includes the 90-minute Troubadours documentary on DVD along with a 10-track bonus CD of the '70s-era classics "It's Too Late" (King), "Sweet Baby James" (Taylor), "Take Me to the Pilot" (Elton John), "Love Has No Pride" (Bonnie Raitt), "Desperado" (Linda Ronstadt), "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" (Warren Zevon), "Ol' '55" (Tom Wait), "Dixie Chicken" (Little Feat), "Why Me" (Kris Kristofferson), and "Sail Away" (Randy Newman).
Troubadours was directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville, who won an Emmy in 2004 for Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues. The film highlights the friendship and musical collaboration between King and Taylor, both of whom had hit albums in the early '70s—she with Tapestry; he, Sweet Baby James. It also features that hotbed of the singer-songwriter movement, the 300-seat Troubadour nightclub in West Hollywood, which helped launch the careers of many of the acts chronicled in the film.
The New York Times describes Troubadours as, "a musical scrapbook that throws together a bit of this and a bit of that." It's plenty nostalgic, with appearances by those who were there—manager/producer Lou Adler, Jackson Browne (who does a spot-on impression of Bob Dylan on the song "I Want You"), Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Joni Mitchell, J.D. Souther, Elton John (who was a relative unknown in the US before his appearance at the Troubadour), club regulars Steve Martin and Cheech and Chong, and Troubadour founder, Doug Weston. Fans of the genre will remember '70s key sidemen drummer Russ Kunkel, bassist Leland Sklar, guitarist Danny Kortchmar, and keyboardist Craig Doerge, all of whom turn up in the film, as does former rock critic of The Los Angeles Times, Robert Hilburn, who covered the scene as it was unfolding.
Troubadours is a gem of a film for anyone curious about how the California folk scene evolved.
Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous) has two movies in the works, both of which he hopes to have out in 2011. Filming wrapped in April on the upcoming Pearl Jam documentary, Pearl Jam Twenty, which is scheduled to be released in September as part of the band's 20th Anniversary celebration this year and will include an accompanying book and soundtrack. For the film, Crowe was given some twenty hours of the band's archival footage which he whittled down into a story that encapsulates their two decades in music. He then added new material shot over the last year and a half. "It's the best souvenirs of the past," he said. "Some fabled footage you've heard exists but have never seen, and some interviews."
Crowe took an entirely different approach when filming The Union, which made its debut last month as the opening night feature of New York's Tribeca Film Festival and is currently searching for a distributor. Begun on the first day of recording, the film captures the making of the much heralded album between John and his musical idol, Leon Russell. It gives viewers an unprecedented look into John's creative process and features guest appearances by Neil Young, Brian Wilson, Booker T. Jones, steel guitarist Robert Randolph, producer Don Was, Stevie Nicks, and John's long-time lyricist Bernie Taupin. The Union is an extremely candid portrait of one of the world's most beloved artists and his mission to breathe new life into Russell's career.
Crowe says the subjects for each documentary have very different relationships with the camera. "For Elton, the camera is a buddy. Pearl Jam is not prone to opening the curtain the same way, and that is the challenge and the delight of it."
Another band with a tale to tell are the Kings of Leon. Their film, Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon, uses home movies, unedited interviews, and live footage to explore the tumultuous relationship of the brothers Followill as they make their way, along with cousin Matthew, down the rugged path from the backwoods revivals of their childhood to the biggest concert stages in the world. From the grainy clips of Nathan, Caleb and Jared as kids, to the intimate conversations with friends and family members, to shouting matches between the sibs, Talihina Sky holds nothing back—except, that is, precious footage from the making of the Kings' first album, Youth & Young Manhood. "We had filmed every bit of the process," Caleb said. "Us in the garage, writing songs, learning E chords and G chords, really good stuff. But we had a rental car, and we left the camcorder in the car, and it was stolen. They stole the most priceless footage. People are going to want to know more about those early days, but we don't have it."
Directed by Stephen C. Mitchell and Casey McGrath, Talihina Sky was screened as a work-in-progress at the Tribeca Film Festival and was attended by none other than their Pentecostal minister-father, who came down from his pulpit to walk the Festival's red carpet along with his sons. The film is currently in post-production and is being shopped around for distribution.
Sundance Selects recently announced it has acquired the North American rights to Don Argott (Rock School, The Art of the Steal) and Demian Fenton's harrowing documentary Last Days Here. Made over a period of four years, the film, which premiered at the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival, tells the story of Bobby Liebling, lead singer of the groundbreaking '70s doom metal band Pentagram, as seen through the eyes of his ultimate fan.
Now in his 50s, Liebling spent a decade holed up in his parents' basement, paralyzed by a steady diet of crack, heroin, and meth. The singer catches his first glimpse of redemption in Sean "Pellet" Pelletier, who comes across a Pentagram album while browsing through record bins and then makes it his mission to get Bobby off drugs and back on stage with his band. Last Days Here is a heartbreaking look at the underbelly of life and a friendship forged by the love of music. Like Anvil's documentary a few years back, the film is raw, unexpectedly funny, and full of unforgettable characters you can help but get behind.
Last Days Here is expected to be released sometime this year.
And lastly, The Prince of Darkness himself recently threw his hat into the rockumentary ring with God Bless Ozzy Osbourne. The film, produced by son Jack in an effort to "set the record straight," chronicles the ups and downs of Ozzy's four-decade career. "I've always heard the same stories from my mom and dad," Jack says, "so I wanted to interview other people and get more of a three-dimensional story."
God Bless Ozzy Osbourne follows Ozzy from his childhood in a working-class section of Birmingham, England, to his early stardom as the lead singer for Black Sabbath, his collaboration with guitarist Randy Rhoads, and his failed first marriage. It also delves into his personal and career revival, both at the hands of his second wife, Sharon. Directors Mike Fleiss and Mike Piscitelli have woven footage from the rock legend's last tour throughout the film, but it's Ozzy's reflections and surprising candor, along with frank interviews with family members, that is the heart of this documentary.
The movie includes cameos by long-time Ozzy admirer, Sir Paul McCartney, along with Tommy Lee, Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, and onetime Black Sabbath bandmates, Bill Ward, Tony Iommi and Gerry “Geezer” Butler.
By his own admission, the 62-year-old Osbourne is lucky to be alive at all, and is grateful to have at last reached a point of clarity in his life. During his heyday as a heavy metal god, he downed enough booze and ingested enough drugs to kill himself many times over. From his infamous shenanigans with Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, to the dove decapitation during a high-stakes meeting, to the night he tried to kill Sharon, Osbourne says the film has shown him, "What an a**hole I've been in the past. When you're in the middle of it, you don't realize you're as bad as you are."
God Bless Ozzy Osbourne debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in April and is expected in theaters later this year.
