A great gift for those out there who are music junkies. Those that want to know everything about the industry. This eight-part documentary looks at the music industry from the angle of the advances that have occurred in the sound aspect.
This was no fly by night undertaking that it took five years to make and involves around 150 interviews with those involved (artists, producers, music industry pioneers). Artists involved include Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Roger Daltry, Quincy Jones, B.B. King, Annie Lennox, Ringo Starr, Roger Waters, Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt and many others. Really gives you a fly on the wall view of the advances in the recording industry.
The 20th century saw the recording industry grow and advance. Most of that was due to technological advances which made recording easier and of better quality. The documentary undertakes revealing and explaining all the major ones that happened within the last 100 years. From the Beatles’ groundbreaking use of multi-track to the synthesizers used by Stevie Wonder then on to drum machines and even sampling, we see the push and pull of moving the industry forward while still attempting to remain as organic as possible.
A more philosophical side of this look is the question of what music is and how the answer to that question has changed over this time due to technology. The boundaries of what you can do has expanded and continues to do so. So has the way we listen to music from records to cassettes to CDs to downloading/streaming.
Episodes: 1. The Art of Recording
- Painting with Sound
- The Human Instrument
- Going Electric
- Four on the Floor
- The World is Yours
- Sound and Vision
- I Am My Music
Special features:
-Elton John & George Martin in Conversation (2 min.)
-Ringo Starr on drums (12 min.)
-Rosanne Cash on Sun Studios (3 min.)
-Linda Perry on writing “Get the Party Started” and Finding Pink (5 min.)
-Les Paul on Charlie Christian (4 min.)
-Tom Scholz Fires Up the Old Hammond B3 (4 min.)