The Road to Nashville

Was lucky to catch this film last friday(20 may 05)on Matinée Movies(sky digital 336). Thought it Fantastic!!Definitely compulsive viewing for all Country music fans. If anyone gets a chance to watch this film do so. Wonderful to see Marty Robbins at his very best and the Difference between the Waylon Jennings then & now has to be seen to be believed. Fantastic performances by ALL featured artists but especially Marty Robbins but as the credits give limited info please can anyone tell me who is playing the (electric)guitar behind Marty Robbins in several of his featured songs??Also if anyone knows who all not listed musicians are please let me(& anyone else interested)know??

'The Road to Nashville' has a paper-thin plot - Doodles Weaver tries to convince top country acts to appear in a film - but some great musical performances from anyone and everyone who was big in that field of music at the time.

So you'll see Johnny Cash, Kitty Wells, Lefty Frizzell, the Carter Family, Waylon Jennings, Marty Robbins, and many more, singing their best known songs in a mix of styles.

As a music revue, this is hugely enjoyable, but just don't expect anything other than a snapshot of Nashville keepers at the top of their game. For what it is, it is great fun and a real treat, if a little dated.

This a a really fun little slice of 1966 Nashville, great for those of us who like that stuff--some greats at various stages, and a family act that makes me think the rural methamphetamine craze might have started earlier than we thought. But there is also a true gem here. Before bringing out Johnny Cash for a gospel song and another little tune (a real disappointment when you think of what they could have used in this spot--'Ring of Fire' comes to mind), the Carter Family women, June, Anita, Helen, and Mother Maybelle, do a version of 'Walk the Line.' The song itself is a beautiful treat, but June's and Johnny's comments afterward, during this time a couple of years before they married, show some interesting emotion. June's words could be taken to slightly deride the song they've just performed.

Movie studio head Richard Arlen sends Doodles Weaver to Nashville to Nashville to choose acts for the country music movie they're making next week. Lots of stars lip-sync to their hits, form the Stoneman Family to the Carter Family -- who owe a lot of their success to Pop Stoneman discovering them -- who sing "I Walk the Line" and then back up Johnny Cash on a spiritua --l to contemporary acts like Connie Smith. Wherever the songs were actually recorded, about half of the 38 songs are about adultery, and almost every performance has a lot of echo.

The quality of the performances are pretty good, echo aside, and there's some fine banjo picking, and even an electric mandolin. At over 100 minutes, that's too many C&W songs for me, but fans of the genre will be pleased.

This movie is quite maddening in that it is truly a cinematic turkey. (Or is it a turkey in the straw?) The film quality has the quality of a very old print that hadn't been stored very well.

The plot and the acting is... well...uh...no comment.

Back in 1967, this movie was intended to turn the matinée crowd to contemporary country, the way teen-targeted movies bolster record sales of their featured stars (think HOLD ON with Herman's Hermits or HAVING A WILD WEEKEND starring the Dave Clark Five.) This movie has it all, bad plot, bad acting and bad jokes. Yet, for some strange reason, I found myself not only enjoying this guilty pleasure (YEE-haww... OK, Y'all can shoot me for feelin' all th' way Ah do. Shucks.) And as if that wasn't enough, this movie got me going through my record price guides and the internet in wild pursuit of any and all information on the featured artists and their records along with any movies or TV shows they may had starred in.

The movie, in a weird way, it a lot of fun to watch. And the music is classic country.