Laurel Canyon

Amazing doc, loved the way it flowed, loved the way the narration was done with audio as opposed to having someone In the interview chair which definitely made it more romantic in my opinion. Yes a lot we have heard before but we have never heard it before in such a wonderfully mystical way. Loved it.

They cover everything from Love, Byrd's, Doors, Nash, Stills and an amazing Crosby and of course Joni and Neil. Just wonderful to see this hive of creativity minutes from the city. We get to be flies on the wall during an epic period of popular music history. Can't wait for episode 2

This is a very compelling look at a place and time that was remarkably influential. It has the nostalgia of being the soundtrack that I grew up with, listening on the OTA radio. But I never knew about the fascinating collection of people all living in this one small area because celebrity culture at the time wasn't all on Insta all day long.

It really seems like it must have been a special Brigadoonish place, that can't be replicated and must emerge on its own, rarely. And the right people need to find it.

That said, it's almost an entirely white male story, and certainly wasn't the only thing going on in the world. But it was an interesting capture of the lightning in a bottle of the late 60s with great photos, sounds, and film. Very worthwhile.

This really is essential and must-see if you have any interest in the popular music that was created in the mid-60's - mid-70's in Southern California, specifically, the artists who lived in the Laurel Canyon area. I'm not an expert in this, but I am pretty knowledgeable about it, so it's always a treat when I learn about things for the first time that I didn't already know. A mild criticism of this movie was that it spent precious time on Little Feat, which was noted in the documentary itself that they were not a very popular or well-known group. The movie also reminded me of how great Linda Ronstadt was before she made the puzzling decision to start singing songs from the Big Band Era.

If you like this movie, I would also recommend 2008's, "The Wrecking Crew" about the unknown session musicians of that era who were responsible for helping to make many of the classic songs that came out of that time.

Finally, please note that this great documentary should not be confused with "Echo in the Canyon," Jakob Dylan's self-indulgent documentary that ostensibly was also about the Laurel Canyon era, but instead was mostly just him and his buddies doing covers of classic songs made famous by the original artists.

With a majority of today's pop\rock music either created inside a game show, or lost in streaming obscurity Laural Canyon shines a light on what could be possible again. Obviously the record business is not the same, and the modality of sharing new music has radically changed. However, LC teaches us the music that changed us came from a group of people who were first and foremost community minded. The concept of a ' music scene' cannot be lost on the viewer. What that music offers the listener, the enthusiast is an energy. It seems to me it's difficult if not impossible for a lasting music scene filled with energy and life to exist inside one's and zero's alone. If you love music and want to share how it was created out of thin air (and how it could happen again), show this to your teenager. Before it fades away into the dust of 'old stuff'.