Some amazing performances (or more accurately frustrating pieces of performances) by Koko Taylor, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and many others that were/are key part of the legendary Chicago blues scene make this worth seeing for any electric blues fan.
But it's an uneven film. Spending so much time on the Chess family and their record label, especially with an unquestioning air of glorification feels a bit awkward and repetitive. I'm glad I saw it, but I would rather of seen a lot more of the performers, and a lot less of Marshall Chess talking himself up.
Or I would have been happy to see a much more incisive, objective look at the double edged ways white record labels both helped and exploited their artists. But this ends up in no man's land, leaving me unsure of it's point, or point of view.
None-the-less, a can't miss for the fan, for the performances themselves.
But it's an uneven film. Spending so much time on the Chess family and their record label, especially with an unquestioning air of glorification feels a bit awkward and repetitive. I'm glad I saw it, but I would rather of seen a lot more of the performers, and a lot less of Marshall Chess talking himself up.
Or I would have been happy to see a much more incisive, objective look at the double edged ways white record labels both helped and exploited their artists. But this ends up in no man's land, leaving me unsure of it's point, or point of view.
None-the-less, a can't miss for the fan, for the performances themselves.