| DOCS THAT ROCK, MUSIC THAT MATTERS Harvey Kubernik (Otherworld) www.otherworldcottageindustries.com Softcover, 508 pp. Music Journalist Kubernik has assembled many of his director, producer, and artist interviews from 1975 to 2019, along with new essays, tributes, treatises and nonedited content from his archives. It’s a rich compendium and a fascinating seam to mine. D.A. Pennebaker’s 1967 Dont Look Back on Dylan’s 1965 England concert tour, according to English Literature Professor Dr. James Cushing, is “the best ‘rockumentary’ movie ever.” In discussing 2019’s Melody Makers, Barrie Wentzell rates Frank Zappa high amongst his photography subjects: “He hated drugs, and he was refreshing.” A “dazzling” feature documentary mentioned is Rumble--The Indians Who Rocked The World (2017), named after Link Wray’s classic instrumental--the first to use distortion and feedback. The film reveals how the early blues pioneers had Native as well as African American roots. On his 1970 film Gimme Shelter, about the 1969 Stones tour, leading up to the notorious Altamont free concert, director Albert Maysles says it is ‘startling’ so many reviewers think the camera work is ‘just great’. |
 The BBC Four documentary The Story of Ready Steady Go! emerged in 2020. By email to Kubneick, Richard Williams recalls how "...visiting American soul singers were treated like gods." Kim Fowley describes how Otis Redding, booked for the show,..."was a seismic event for the U.K. and must-see TV". Writer David N. Pepperell describes RSG! as "so brimming with joy and pregnant with a belief that the future could only be fabulous". As a reference work on music documentaries--and a source for great quotes--this book is invaluable. Colin Bailey |
