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Simply Perfect

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This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

As a really lousy piano player I am in complete awe of musicians like these who can do almost anything with their instrument.Riveting subject matter but the structure of this documentary is a complete mess. Part of the problem is that the distance in time from when the film was made and the events being chronicled. It would have taken a lot more money and effort to really do this subject justice.Another problem is that none of the musicians they interviewed were articulate speakers and had little to say but this could be blamed on the filmmaker not asking the right questions. The one exception perhaps was his father, Tommy Tedesco who had a few funny and revealing bits in the film.

The Wrecking Crew! (2008) *** 1/2 (out of 4)What if I told you that there was a time when some of the biggest musical bands in rock and roll weren't really playing the music on their albums? THE WRECKING CREW documents a group of session musicians who appeared on some of the most beloved songs ever recorded and until recently they never got the credit they deserved.If you're a music buff then this documentary is going to be a must- see as long as you're willing to accept the truth. The truth being that a lot of great albums were done with these session musicians and not the people in the band who often got credit for it. I remember Steven Spielberg once saying he didn't want to do audio commentaries because he thought there was no point in revealing the secrets. Well, the secrets of the music business are certainly let out in this wonderful documentary.Of course, I guess some people would like to pretend that it was their favorite artists playing on the albums and if that's the case then you'll probably want to miss this. If you do then you're really missing an amazing group of musicians and denying them the credit they deserve. This documentary features interviews with many of the living musicians including the likes of Glen Campbell and Leon Russell. Also included are some of the artists they worked for including Cher, Brian Wilson, Micky Dolenz and Nancy Sinatra.The documentary does a great job at discussing the various albums and songs that the session folks worked on but we also get to learn more about them including the amazing highs that they were on and the lows that eventually came when the sessions were over. If you're a fan of music from this era then this is certainly a must see just to learn how many actual songs this group was apart of.

As a musician and a woman of a certain age, I nearly worship Carol Kaye as a goddess, and that led me to this film. And while I got a terrific dose of her music and storytelling, I got a lot more than that.There is nostalgic music, funny people telling great stories, a softening of decades of wisdom to what might have one time been resentment and jealousy and so it's a thoughtful examination of the studio musicians and this moment in history. I really love what was said here about work ethic. The Wrecking Crew worked their butts off, and you don't get anywhere in an art without doing that... And even when you are the best, as they were, you still have a short shelf life.I enjoy documentary films. While this was not a perfect one, there's so much love here in the making of the movie that I forgave the few shortcomings. And it's a crucial piece of music history.

For those of us born in the 40s and 50s, grew up in the 60s and 70s, the background of our lives was a soundtrack these guys created. Every tune you ever hummed, sang or tapped your foot to, these guys played it. Did you like the Monkeys? The Association? The Beach Boys? Glen Campbell? Name your favorite 50s or early 60s group. It was the Wrecking Crew. If you love music, if you play music, if you want to play music...this film is a must see for the history alone. But it is also well filmed and edited. The first person accounts of the musicians are priceless. The stories of the value of hard work and riding the wave while it lasts. Yeah, it's good. Watch it, learn it, love it.