Echo in the Canyon (2018) User Reviews

Go where you wanna go

[ferguson-6 · 7/10 · 7 June 2019]

Greetings again from the darkness. "Go Where You Wanna Go", a catchy pop song by The Mamas and the Papas, always seemed a quintessential 1960's song, but now, thanks to an insightful interview with singer Michelle Phillips in this new documentary, it's a reminder that even the era's free love carried a price. Director Andrew Slater, the former President of Capital Records, combines the nostalgia associated with the California Sound with the contemporary staying power of the songs and the musicians.

Jakob Dylan of The Wallflowers (and Bob's son) is really the face of the film. Not only does he conduct most of the (many) interviews, he's also the driving force behind the 2015 concert at the Orpheum Theatre celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Byrds debut album ... an album we are told kicked off the fusion of folk and rock. Dylan's first interview is with the legendary Tom Petty (in one of his final interviews before suddenly passing away in 2017). The two are sitting in a guitar shop with Petty regaling the brilliance of a Rickenback, and how the music of 1965-67 influenced him as a songwriter and musician.

An aerial view of Laurel Canyon accompanies its description as the antithesis of the plastic TV world of the 1960's. It was an area that attracted bohemians - musicians, artists, and actors - and collaboration and community were the calling. Jackson Browne and Tom Petty both mention "cross-pollination" ... the "borrowing" of ideas from each other, as it's contrasted with outright theft. The concert at the Orpheum acts a bit as a framing device, and Jakob Dylan takes the lead and performs with other modern day acts such as Regina Spektor, Beck, Jade, Fiona Apple, Cat Power and Norah Jones. We cut to modern versions of the 60's classics after an interview with the original artist or clip of the original band is played. It's a way to connect the dots and show how the music still stands today.

Those interviewed include: Jackson Browne, music producer Lou Adler, David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, Michelle Phillips, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, John Sebastian, and Ringo Starr. Each of these musical luminaries serves up a story or two, and takes a stab at defining the era and its influence. Roger McGuinn tells us how The Beatles influenced The Byrds, how The Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" influenced "Sgt Pepper", and how so many songs and bands are interlinked. Brian Wilson is compared to both Mozart and Bach, and Eric Clapton admits to taking a bit from Buffalo Springfield.

We see and hear Brian in the studio with Jakob, as well as Clapton riffing with Stills. It's fascinating to listen as Brian explains 4 different local studios were used to cut "Good Vibrations" because of the various sounds needed. A bit of artistic lunacy? Perhaps. But it makes for a great tale. It's a bit odd to have clips of Jacques Demy's MODEL SHOP, starring Gary Lockwood and Anouk Aimee, interspersed throughout, but Dylan explains how the film inspired the concert and film. Lastly, we can't help but chuckle since even Jakob couldn't coax his notoriously reclusive father into providing even a touch of recollection for the project. "Expecting to Fly" is offered as the end of the era.

12:30 (Young Girls Coming To the Canyon)!

[eohlson · 6/10 · 6 July 2019]

Film was interesting strictly from an anecdotal point of view. Some interesting tidbits, archival footage and new versions of the old songs. Jakob Dylan was too fawning and not enough probing with his questions and the group session with Beck, Regina Spektor and Cat Power added nothing to the proceedings. As a result the doc lost some of it's focus at time. Also, can someone tell me how the song 12:30 (Young Girls Coming To the Canyon)! was not included either in the film or over the closing credits. I mean, come on!

A combination of fascinating and frustrating.

[shocked_shocked · 7/10 · 15 November 2019]

This is a story of what happened in Laurel Canyon in the 60's and it is a must for any lovers of the music coming out of the west coast that fits in well with the documentary about the Wrecking Crew. But in order to hear the amazing stories about the cross pollination, you have to put up with Jakob Dylan, who not only seems to have no chemistry with the people he is interviewing, to the point where you get the idea that the questions were coming from offscreen, but seems to think we need to hear his take on the songs. I thought it was amazingly self indulgent. I don't know if this was done because the producers couldn't get the original songs, did not have enough original interview material or if Jakob thinks he is better than them, but I'm not interested in his music making process. I want the stories not recreations.

Too much Jakob not enough archive

[bryan-49117 · 6/10 · 7 November 2019]

I was excited to watch this as the subject is near and dear to my heart, but I was very disappointed... I thought it was going to be all about Laurel Canyon and the legendary music / musicians and it ended up being 50% Jakob Dylan soundtrack promotion. I wanted more from Tom Petty's last interview and I wanted more from a rare glimpse at Brian Wilson .... i wanted way more in regard to archival footage and photos that exist... I did not need to see Bob Dylan's son in every scene of a movie that has nothing to do with him. Not to mention all of the artists that were there that they didn't even mention like Joni Mitchell and The Doors. Well done otherwise, star power was amazing, cinematography was amazing I'd give it a 7/10 although it could have been a 10/10. I wanted to be immersed in the stories and music of that time and instead they kept pulling the viewer into crappy Jakob Dylan rehearsals and cover band concert footage so we only ended up skimming the surface on a subject that has a lot lot lot more to offer which I felt was a shame.

For what it's worth

[decopix-66044 · 6/10 · 27 June 2019]

If I hadn't read so many rave reviews I might not have been disappointed. But I did, and I was. The only person who shoud be unabashedly in love with this movie is John Hall.

Put it this way. If you're the sort of person who believes older is always better and the sequel never equals the original, Echo In The Canyon will not change your mind.

The celebrity cast speaks for itself. There is the heartbreaking charm of Tom Petty and suprising late in life wisdom from David Crosby. But the film seems to be about a group of young performers trying to capture what it was like, based in part on the movie Model Shop. Seriously. It could be worse; someday people will study City Of Industry or Miracle Mile as realistic documents of what L.A. was like.

There are brief snippets of vintage performances and some are thrilling. Like Buffalo Springfield doing a seque from For What It's Worth to Mr. Soul. But the movie works it's way toward a tribute concert and unfortunately, none of the rehearsals or performances can match, let alone improve on, the originals. And that makes the whole thing kind of melancholy.

I love movie documentaries, but this one quickly grew boring

[gabethurau · 6/10 · 27 October 2019]

I'm not a folk music super-fan, but I really do like the genre. Of course though, my affinity for the music is largely lacking: I have never listened to Pet Sounds or an entire album by the Beetles, but I like modern manifestations of Folk like Fleet Foxes and Good Old War.

With that being said, a lot of this felt nostalgic and lost on me because the movie didn't resonate on that deep of a level.

And like some have said before, the modern adaptive performances of the music just felt largely inferior to the originals. That's not a fair standard to judge by, but when the point of the movie is to give a modern-day echo of the original. you'd expect their to be much more life and energy injected into the spirit of the songs.

It fell flat to me. Maybe I just wanted a documentary about Pet Sounds after all, though, so I was bound to be disappointed.

Awesome story and presentation

[m_mileur · 10/10 · 31 July 2019]

Ignore those who don't understand this was about a 2 year period....sorry Joni Mitchell wasn't around then! Andrew Slater and Jakob Dylan do a good job of telling the stories through interviews probably only he could get. Jakob like his dad is a love or hate artist and his covers are all well done. Tom Petty gives the entire film a good boost in his last on 📷 interview and it is dedicated to him. Very enjoying to watch and sing along!

"You guys ready to go to the Sixties?"

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 16 July 2020]

Hosted by Jakob Dylan, this is a nostalgic look back on the music scene roughly covering the years 1965 to 1967, when many of the creative forces in the industry gravitated to the Los Angeles area and nearby Laurel Canyon. The best thing about the doc is seeing and hearing directly from musicians like Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Steven Stills, Michelle Phillips, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, Jackson Browne and Tom Petty. It was eerie seeing Petty in so many spots because of his death in 2017, only a couple years after this film was released.

The focus appears to be the melding of folk music with rock at a time right after The Beatles hit the States with their appearance on 'The Ed Sullivan Show', and it's somewhat comical keeping track of who influenced who and how the bands developed their styles in synch and in contrast with one another. Eventually Steven Stills sets things right by stating that "Everything was influencing everything", which is probably about as accurate as one can get without stepping on anyone's toes. The main bands highlighted from the era include The Byrds, The Beach Boys, The Mamas and The Papas, and Buffalo Springfield. In listening to some of the music luminaries expounding on their influences, I have a difficult time distinguishing the nuances in certain songs and albums that are considered seminal. For example, to me, the Beach Boys' 'Pet Sounds' is an OK album, but it doesn't carry the weight with me that so many of the interviewees give it. 'Sgt. Pepper' on the other hand is another story, one of those recordings I can listen to time and again. So it's all in the ear of the beholder I guess.

The downside of the documentary for me was the manner of the host. Jakob Dylan (son of Bob) was entirely monotone and non-emotional throughout, often attempting to appear pensive but coming across as vacant. He does have a decent singing voice though, as evidenced by his collaboration with various modern day artists in recreating some of the classic sounds of the Sixties. David Crosby appeared to nail it without trying to, when during his introduction to Jakob, jokingly remarked that 'there's only one Dylan'. Considering the focus of this piece, it wouldn't be a curious thing to inquire why he wasn't included.

The Kind of World Where We Belong

[kouch21 · 8/10 · 31 May 2019]

I saw the film this past Saturday night and thought it was outstanding. It put many songs from the 60s into their proper context in terms of development, highlighting the cross-collaborative efforts between bands that were in the canyon scene during that time, as well as further afield, primarily in the UK, to which I wasn't fully aware of the extent.

The film also shows the impact and influence that this particular music scene has had on contemporary musical artists, illustrated by renditions of many of the songs from that window in time by a particular stable of modern-day musicians at a show at Downtown LA's Orpheum Theatre in October of 2015. While I enjoyed seeing the highlights of that show in the film, it felt like they focused on that concert a little too much during the film's 90-minute runtime. There's also the not so subtle implication that these artists are the direct descendants of that culture and should be revered accordingly. While I like many of the artists depicted on-screen, the impact of the music made in, or inspired by, the late-1960s Laurel Canyon scene goes far beyond the indie/alt rock/pop genres. It would have been nice to have seen that acknowledged. That's my only real complaint with the film, and a relatively minor one at that.

All-in-all, I'm pleased that the filmmakers made the efforts that they did, interviewing many of the artists from that era that are still alive today, and visiting several of the recording studios that will likely be consumed in full by L.A.'s cutthroat real estate market in favor of redevelopment. When those days inevitably arrive, I'm hoping that some rich music lover(s) will have the foresight to purchase and digitally preserve them, even if they have to be relocated, or ultimately replicated, to another location...perhaps in the form of a "Music Studio Museum" in the Capitol Records Building, or in/with some other venue/institution of a similar stature, such as the Grammy Museum.

I enjoyed the film immensely and highly recommend it.

Young Man, until you learn to appreciate the ART......

[princeofmontecito · 10 June 2019]

I saw this film yesterday in Santa Barbara. After telling some guy to turn off his cellphone. Never saw the little theater so crowded. The film was a spoonful of Laurel Canyon music honey when there is so much more to tell. Music is personal. Yesterday I finished writing a song out in the trees and hills of Gaviota on my 12 string guitar. The song is called "Tom Petty's Gone." A friend picked me up and we had a picnic on the road to where Jackson Browne lives. We were then headed into town to see "Echo In the Canyon." A film reveals the intent of the story, the viewer then likes it or not. Crosby, Stills, Nash. Brian Wilson. Roger McGuinn and others were sharing stories. Absent were Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and other untold tales. This morning I woke up feeling what the film drove home for me. What happened to us ? Many of us were open and the music was the reflection of that beautiful spirit. People today are what happened to them. Peace and love was not a game for me. Miracles happen when we listen and talk to one another. So at the end of the film, it was dedicated to Tom Petty. While I was finishing my song yesterday, I wondered what Mike Campbell would do with the lead guitar part. He's a beautiful person, very kind. But, I can't make that phone call since I am not connected. I laughed thinking if I went to David Crosby's house and asked him to listen to the song, would he invite me in? Joan Baez's father picked me up hitchhiking once and asked me to play my guitar. I said no. He drops me off by Stanford University and says, "Young man, until you learn to appreciate the art for the art itself, it doesn't matter if two people, or two thousand people clap for you." True wisdom, but I wish you could hear my song. I felt like I lost a brother when Tom died. Keep on keepin on.

More of a Tribute, Less of a Story

[Andrewjmarino12 · 6/10 · 8 July 2022]

Meh, eh, it was ok but it was more interested in being a tribute concert and something for Jakob Dylan to do to stay busy and relevant. Still, some great musicians performed (Beck, Norah, Cat Power) in the concert.

Watch the much better 2-part documentary Laurel Canyon for the real story.

Fascinating.... Entertaining

[vic-lundquist · 10/10 · 15 June 2019]

Having grown up in this era, with all of those albums, made the film come alive for me/us. My wife kept leaning over asking "Who is that guy?!" referring to Jakob Dylan. She was distracted a bit by his stone face and said, "He seems very depressed." Maybe because his dad wouldn't give an interview? Aside from his prominence in the film, the short documentary was an absolute pleasure to watch and get a glimpse into that world.

For those of us married to artists, it's always fascinating to me to understand a bit more of how they think and to see what makes them tick. The interviews of the great Eric Clapton and Tom Petty made the film for me. Both of them seem to have a genuine natural kindness and wisdom that seems a part of their DNA.

I'm taking my songwriter/singer son in law tonight to see it. He knows more about the subjects of the documentary than I and he wasn't even alive then.

False advertising

[collegeforall · 6/10 · 11 July 2019]

Don't go expecting to see a cool documentary about a wonderful era of pop music and culture. Yes, there are interviews and archival footage but way too much time is devoted to Jakob Dylan and some concert he put together featuring thinly talented contemporary musicians singing those songs and offering banal observations about an era before they were born. It might have been interesting to hear how current performers have been influenced by the California sound, but all they do is imitate the sounds without any of the depth. Very disappointing and very incomplete.

Mixed bag

[markanthonyparra · 4/10 · 26 May 2019]

Wow... this film is a must-see for musicologists familiar with the Laurel Canyon scene of the '60s. Terrific interviews w/key players during that time. But... I think a bit less Jakob Dylan and newbies would have done. I suppose his being Exec Producer on the film necessitated his being in too many scenes, annoyingly nodding knowingly at comments.... that is, one supposes, the curse of being the offspring of the Great One. I am also wondering why Mama Cass barely got mentioned and Joni Mitchell was completely omitted. Was it due to disparaging remarks Joni made about pere Dylan a few years ago? Would that this film had been an eight-part comprehensive series on Netflix.

Wasn't what I thought it was going to be

[Sasha_Lauren · 6/10 · 11 September 2019]

Hosted by Jakob Dylan, (who is joined by some of his generation's most talented singer-songwriters), this film is about the creative echo that bands from the Laurel Canyon scene in 1965-1967 left on future generations of musicians. After interviewing the original artists about selected songs, Jakob and friends play fairly direct-interpretation cover versions of them. I was expecting the film to be more comprehensively about the Laurel Canyon musical salons and life, so I was disappointed in some way by it, but settled in to enjoy the film as it is presented once I discovered otherwise. The highlight for me was the segment about Buffalo Springfield, which included some of their magnificant performances from that time. I learned a few interesting things from the film such as that The Beatles were inspired by Pete Seeger's, "The Bells of Rhymney," for "If I Needed Someone," and the same for Eric Clapton's "Let It Rain," which drew from Buffalo Springfield's "Questions."

Okay

[Inflamed-Tendons · 6/10 · 21 November 2020]

Too much focus on Jakob Dylan and not enough focus on the actual environment in laurel canyon. Still very pleasant, but dragged out too much.

WARNING: good film but Jakob Dylan hogs every scene

[Housden · 7/10 · 13 November 2019]

This is a very interesting doc, giving newbies like myself a lot of information about the Laurel Canyon scene. That said, prepare yourself to endure seemingly endless shots of Jakob Dylans unwanted head inserting itself into every friggen interview. Clearly he had the editor in a stangelhold which is the only explanation, otherwise a very cool doc.

Cool doc ...

[Reviewer99 · 9/10 · 22 June 2019]

Ignore the critics and the cranks in the User Reviews, this is a great documentary whether you lived during the period or are just learning about it.

No, it's not comprehensive, there's likely some factual errors and it's flawed like everything else documented in media--but it's a great introduction and gives you direction if you want to learn about the artists, the time period or cultural references.

Enjoy it for what it is!

Short but entertaining documentary on the emergence of so-Cal rock

[paul-allaer · 6/10 · 30 June 2019]

"Echo In the Canyon" (2018 release; 8 min.) is a documentary about the "southern California" sound that emerged in the mid-60s with bands like the Byrds, the Beach Boyes, the Mamas and the Papas, and so on. As the movie opens, we watch Tom Petty and Jacob Dylan talking guitar shop, and Richenbackers in particular. Next we are at the "Orpheum Theater, Los Angeles, 2015", where former Capitol Records CEO Andrew Slater explains that 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the 1965 emergence of the Byrds and other bands resident in Laurel Canyon, and what better way to commemorate the occasion than to play the songs from that era? With that, we go back to an early rehearsal at someone's house, where Beck, Regina Spektor, Cat Powers and Dylan are looking at vinyl records from the 60s and trying out some songs...

Couple of comments: this documentary seems to be a labor of love from Andrew Slater (who directs and produces) and Jacob Dylan (who stars and executive-produces). The documentary does a good job switching on the one hand the concert and rehearsal footage with on the other hand interviews (by Dylan) of the big names from that era. Members from the Byrds, the Mamas and the papas, the Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield and others (such as Ringo Starr. Eric Clapton, Jackson Browne, and others) get significant screen time, and brings wonderful stories from "back in the day". As to the Orpheum Theater concert footage, something seemed not quite right with the sound, at least in the theater where I saw this film, in that the sound came across thinly. Still it was fun to see the elusive Fiona Apple again (on 2 songs), along a slew of other guests. And then, all of the sudden, the movie ends, as if they either ran out of money or out of ideas, but at not even 80 min., the end titles started rolling.

"Echo in the Canyon" premiered last Fall to good acclaim, and it finally reached my art-house theater here in Cincinnati this weekend, and I couldn't wait to see it. The Sunday matinee screening where I saw this at was, much to my surprise, PACKED. Holy cow! Who knew there was such a large interest in this film? Or were they there to escape the scorching heatwave outside? Either way, if you have any interest in the history of rock, I encourage you to check out "Echo In the Canyon", be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

The canyon came to life with music

[schad-28430 · 9/10 · 20 June 2019]

Wonderfulthe, nostalgic music dominates this fascinating, entertaining, uplifting, informative, 88-minute, 2018 documentary narrated by Jakob Dylan that examines the birth and influence of popular folk-rock music from bands such as The Beach Boys, The Association, The Mamas and the Papas, The Byrds, and Buffalo Springfield in Laurel Canyon in the 1960s and showcases music from both rehearsals and a 2015 concert at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles, archival film footage, and interviews with singers and musicians such as Tom Petty, Brian Wilson, Michelle Phillips, Jackson Browne, Ringo Starr, Graham Nash, Stephen Sills, David Crosby, Lou Alder, Beck, Eric Clapton, Fiona Apple, Norah Jones, Cat Power, Roger McGuinn, John Sebastian, Jade Castrinos, and Regina Spektor.

Just an echo of what it could have been.

[clintstevens · 6/10 · 4 November 2019]

I was all ready to love this documentary. There is so much history and talent that winds it's way through Laurel Canyon. Unfortunately, those responsible for this adventure couldn't decide if it was to be a history lesson, the development of a rock concert, or a spotlight of the concert itself.

When you think about the number of rock artists of that period who lived, loved and sang their way through the canyon, the music they made, and the stories they could tell, this could have been such an entertaining trip down memory lane.

Understandably, not all the artists from the period could have been included, nor all off the music that was influenced by the location be covered, but the film barely scratched the surface. (Not a mention of the Mama's And Papas classic tune 'Twelve Thirty'...'Young girls that come into the canyon...', I mean, really?) Instead, it looks more like a Jakob Dylan vanity project, and that's a shame.

Great !

[beerman-04961 · 10/10 · 5 July 2019]

What a time to be alive back in the mid to late 60s. Just amazing music. Top notch documentary here

Nice movie for Boomers

[Francois-5 · 6/10 · 9 August 2019]

In reviewing a documentary, one may discuss the object of the film, or the way the object was covered. Echo in the Canyon does present a significant period in American pop music. I wouldn't say that it was a unique period, even restricting the judgment on the USA only: for instance, the era of the Great American Songbook is also memorable. While the 60s in California was marked with better than average creativity on the pop scene, it's certainly ludicrous for Tom Petty to say that Mozart never wrote anything to surpass Brian Wilson! But I understand why the folks who were active in that era consider it to be most meaningful. The documentary does reflect this very vividly, alternating between focusing on what happened during that period and how it is reflected today, by the younger generation of musicians. However, focusing so much on Jakob Dylan was a major blunder: hey, the film is not about him! The film could have been much better if someone had replaced his lengthy and pointless appearances with more interviews of the people who made that era important. In a nutshell: a nice movie for Boomers, which may also interest history-minded youngsters.

Needed more of the actual artists less of 2nd generation Dylan

[jellopuke · 5/10 · 6 November 2019]

Unless you really want to see Jakob Dylan's monotonous voice singing all the classic 60's songs, then you're better off fast forwarding every time he's on screen and just watching the archival stuff. Better yet, find someone else to make this movie about the scene and not have a lame concert of knock offs. It has some merit though, it'll make you go back and re-listen to all that great music by the original artists!

Often frustratingly self-centered, the documentary offers a great glimpse back to the music innovations of the 1960s.

[TxMike · 25 September 2019]

Laurel Canyon, a section in the L.A. area, produced lots of lasting hit music back in the 1960s. This documentary is produced by and stars Jakob Dylan who is only famous because he is the son of Bob. Thank goodness for the second most important invention in the world, the fast-forward button on the DVD player remote. I saw it on DVD from my public library, I skipped over the boring parts.

I have nothing against Jakob, he seems like a nice fellow, but every, and I mean EVERY, interview where a famous musician of the 1960s is recalling that time, with very interesting comments, the camera ALWAYS cuts to a full face shot of Jakob smiling or nodding knowingly. By about 15 minutes it became very, very annoying. It added nothing, we don't need to see Jakob nodding knowingly after the first 2 or 3 times he does it. We only need to see and hear the famous musician.

The second annoying thing are the "tribute" recording sessions and "tribute" performances. The groups of the 1960s seldom had great singers with memorable vocal styles. Their popularity was a result of the sound, the harmonies, and the lyrics which reflected the times. Modern tributes to the songs of the 1960s are mostly a waste of time.

All the negative being said, I really enjoyed seeing old clips of some groups, and hearing the recollections of the now very old guys who still survive. It brought back good memories.