There must be a law somewhere mandating Bono has to appear in every music documentary. In a way, it is noble he makes himself available for so many productions of this type. On the other hand, he never fails to appear self-important as he dispenses a typical load of shite like he does in 2013’s Muscle Shoals, a profile of a small town in Alabama that has two legendary recording studios: Fame and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.
Fame was the first, founded by Rick Hall. Growing up poor, Hall was determined to make something of himself, to the disdain of friends who disapproved of his workaholic ways. His efforts paid off, turning local bellhop Arthur Alexander into a star with his song “You Better Move On”. That one was covered by The Rolling Stones. Other songs resulting from the partnership were covered by The Beatles. The original backing band on these earliest hits out of Fame were even the opening act of the latter group’s first American concert.
The house band would go off to find better fortunes elsewhere, leaving a vacancy filled by The Swampers, who laid down the groove for many an Atlantic artist while Hall was in good with label head Jerry Wexler. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and a dispute involving Aretha Franklin’s husband would make Atlantic take their business elsewhere. Eventually, that would be Muscle Shoals Sound, which was founded by the Swampers after they too leave Fame.
From there, business would go predominately to the newer studio, this being where the Stones recorded Sticky Fingers. Cher’s record there was even named after the studio’s address: 3614 Jackson Highway.
In a way, this is more of a profile of The Swampers than it is of Hall, though most of the runtime is devoted to him. My favorite anecdote about them is when Paul Simon called Al Bell at Stax to say he wanted the same Black players who were on “I’ll Take You There” by The Staple Singers to play on his next album. Bell told him, “That can happen, but these guys are mighty pale.”
And, indeed, The Swampers are all White, which came as quite a surprise to me. Understandably, the civil rights era is the focus of this doc, as Black artists and White musicians worked together in ways unheard of in the segregated South outside of a recording studio. But it isn’t like everything is presented through rose-colored glasses, with Wilson Pickett saying he didn’t understand why some cracker in Alabama was going to produce his records. All that said, I have a feeling there was much unsaid about this potential volatile mix in that era. I doubt everything was as easygoing as everybody makes it out to be.
The movie is basically in two parts, with the first half dominated by Hall’s studio and the second by that of The Swampers. The pace of the first half is as unhurried as the stereotype of Southern life. There is much talk about how the river flowing through the town is what lends it to being so naturally suited for music. Bono chimes in with “It’s like the songs come out of the mud” and you kinda want to punch him. Then we learn the original Yuchi name of the Tennessee River translates to “The river that sings”, and I wondered whether Bono was especially insightful this time, he knew the name of that river in advance, or it is simply another occurrence of the blind squirrel finding a nut (or a river, as it may be).
In addition to Bono, there are a great many other talking heads of renown, none of whom were in the band Talking Heads. Given Aretha Franklin is no longer with us, I was especially grateful for her insights here, and she is very direct. Speaking of “grateful”, Donna Godchaux of the Grateful Dead has many interesting comments on the music produced in the Muscle Shoals area. Prior to see this, I was unaware she sang backup vocals on Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman.” Alas, Godchaux also recently departed this world.
While there are many fascinating anecdotes, I wish the picture had been more judiciously edited. Eventually, some of the information starts being repeated, and some stories simply needed to be excised on condensed. At close to two hours, it feels at least a half-hour longer than that.
An obstacle in making a documentary like Muscle Shoals is, as so many comment in the film, what makes the area special is something undefinable. Really, I think the answer comes down the house bands working in both studios: the players would find the groove instead of working from charts and arrangements. There’s your answer right there: don’t overthink things and, like the river from which Bono claims the music springs, just let it flow.
Dir: Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier
Documentary
Watched on blu-ray