While we do get to hear from a number of musicians (Billy Gibbons, J. Mascis, Peter Frampton), this doc is mostly about music gearheads. The subject of pedals and the sounds they produce should be of interest to anyone who listens to rock, but I have 2 problems with the film.
First problem - It is too much of a geek-fest for the average viewer. I am a lifelong lover of this music, but it was too geeky for me. All the gadgets and their sounds - or, tones, as is pointed out - gets to be too much. 90 minutes on this narrow a subject is simply too specific.
Bigger problem - We get almost no context. As a fan of Dinosaur Jr., Wolfmother, ZZ, and JSBX, I was in full buy-in mode when these musicians spoke. But as a non-gearhead, the geek-speak from everyone else was too much. I understand the difficulty of securing song rights for an independent film like this, but without the music the movie has missed out on its whole reason to exist.
Rock n roll has a deep and rich history with fuzz and distortion, going back to the early 50's. We get none of it. Talk of Hendrix and other assorted forebears, but no Sound. If you dig music history, fuzzed-out rock, and the electronics end of sound, then you may like this. I wanted to like it, but was unable.
First problem - It is too much of a geek-fest for the average viewer. I am a lifelong lover of this music, but it was too geeky for me. All the gadgets and their sounds - or, tones, as is pointed out - gets to be too much. 90 minutes on this narrow a subject is simply too specific.
Bigger problem - We get almost no context. As a fan of Dinosaur Jr., Wolfmother, ZZ, and JSBX, I was in full buy-in mode when these musicians spoke. But as a non-gearhead, the geek-speak from everyone else was too much. I understand the difficulty of securing song rights for an independent film like this, but without the music the movie has missed out on its whole reason to exist.
Rock n roll has a deep and rich history with fuzz and distortion, going back to the early 50's. We get none of it. Talk of Hendrix and other assorted forebears, but no Sound. If you dig music history, fuzzed-out rock, and the electronics end of sound, then you may like this. I wanted to like it, but was unable.