All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records

Unlikeable men fall into a CANNOT LOSE business (baby boomer, rock buying generation) and milk the customer dry for decades. Despite making millions, and eventually billions, this is not enough for these offensive parasites. These supposed "businessmen" (actually simple-minded drunkards and coke heads), fail to see digital coming and greedily refuse to offer their goods at reasonable prices. Now that these people are exposed for the lowlife scum that they are, they can only weep at the loss of their jobs (and at the loss of a fellow drunk, a gentleman who hilariously, literally wears a lampshade on his head. What a cutup! This, and the David Crosby / walrus-mustachioed Cletus are these people's idea of interesting people.

Despite each working for decades, adding up to centuries worth of experience, in a music-related field, it is notable that music - remember music? - is never a discussion point for these selfish greed heads, only the good times they enjoyed and the incredible profit they were making, both at the customer's expense.

Tower Records was a good store in spite of these people. Everyone loves music, all you needed to do was sell it to them at a reasonable price. See the Beatles' Apple Records for a similar example of what happens when you put burnt-out hippies in charge of your business. It's a shame alright, shameful actions.

I live in a major east coast city and we never had a Tower Records but I was certainly aware of it and always visited when in NYC, or Los Angeles. It really did have its own sort of ambiance and each franchise was different. For me Tower Records was at its peak during the vinyl period.

Colin Hanks does an outstanding job of showing the progression of Tower Records from initially a Sacramento pharmacy selling 45's to an international record giant and the vision of Russ Solomon and his team of loyalists . Russ is portrayed as an all around good guy who enjoyed nurturing employees to find their strength and grow with the company. I loved the interviews with the employees and recording artists who loved the place. Unfortunately digital music and the death of the CD killed the stores . But Russ was not bitter and had a great attitude. Glad this was filmed before he died so we could get his perspective. An excellently paced documentary.

They call it luck, but it takes a particular type of wisdom to be at the right place at the right time. Russ Solomon had this in spades, when he branched out from his entrepreneurial father to expand into records. This movie is a blueprint of how to start a great business. First of all, have the vision. Secondly, get great people, give them freedom and back them up. Sounds simple, but very few businesses actually do this. In the movie, various key employees are interviewed and they all basically tell the same story. That is that they were given a chance to prove themselves and they rose to the challenge. Russ also realized that he could tap into the collective wisdom of all his employees and this he also did, especially with advertising and the Tower Records publication Pulse! It is refreshing to see the 60s again, the hope and the freedom. Russ also realized that he was not a financial type, so he hired an excellent money manager in Bud Martin. The demise of tower records was quite sad, but technology replaces one thing with another, so it was a tremendous ride.

Nostalgic, slowburning (sometimes a bit boring) story about the rise and fall of the biggest record store company in the world called Tower Records, which rose to fame during the seventies. Bruce Springsteen and Elton John declare their unconditional love for Tower Records, because both and many other famous artists where household guests at Tower Records, which opened an hour earlier especially for these popstars to let them be able to go on their weekly shopping spree for new records.

There was something quite special about that feeling of visiting an actual existing recordstore, which simple can not be experienced by simply downloading A TRACK.Going to the record store, with all these zillion records stacked up high, gave a feeling of coming home. And it was a home, for many music lovers AND musicians for many many years.

Internet killed the record store though after 2000. But the record store miraculously DID SURVIVE in Japan, of all places!

A bit too many management talking heads are the only downside of this documentary. For that reason I skipped the middle part. But the first part of the origin and rise to fame of Tower Records and the last part about the downfall are pretty interesting and fun to watch.

Greetings again from the darkness. I do not envy those experiencing their childhood in this modern era. Sure, they have far superior electronics and hundreds more TV channels, but they also have very little independence (most can't even walk alone to a friend's house or a park) and they likely will never experience the pure joy of perusing the stacks at Tower Records (or any other record store) for hours … experiencing the thrill of discovering a new artist or style of music that rips into their soul. OK, I admittedly suffer from a touch of "old man" syndrome, but filmmaker Colin Hanks (yes, the actor and son of Tom) has delivered both a cozy trip down memory lane and a stark accounting of good times and bad at Tower Records.

With humble beginnings as little more than a lark, Tower Records began when Russ Solomon's dad decided to sell used 45 rpm singles in his cramped Sacramento drug store. He bought the singles for 3 cents and sold them for 10 cents. Within a few years, Russ purchased the record business from his dad, and proceeded to run it as only a rebellious kid from the 1960's could. From 1960 through 2000, the business grew each year. It expanded the number of stores (peaking at 192 worldwide) and constantly adjusted to the musical tastes and the delivery method – 45's, LP's, cassettes, CD's, etc.

Using some terrific photographs and video clips, accompanied by spot on music selections, director Hanks brilliantly and generously allows the actual players to tell the story. The expected celebrity drops are present, and even the words of David Geffen, Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen and Sir Elton John carry emotion. However, far and away the most impact comes from extended interviews with the unconventional and charismatic Tower Records founder Russ Solomon and his devoted and forthright employee team. Their sincere recollections provide the roadmap through the phenomenal growth, as well as the devastating end in 2006. We understand how these stores became so much more than retail outlets … they were cultural hotspots for at least two generations. We also learn some things we probably shouldn't … like the definition of "hand truck fuel", and the reason Russ installed hot lighting in the listening booths.

Mr. Hanks surprises with his ability to balance nostalgia and the harsh realities of the downfall of an iconic cultural business. The film captures the key role Tower Records, while also pointing out that the crash was due to more than just Napster and digital music delivery. An interesting case study for business majors highlights the importance of vision vs debt. For more insight from Colin Hanks, check out the interview from film critic Chase Whale: http://www.hammertonail.com/

"No Music. No Life". The motto of Tower Records was somehow inspirational, and fit perfectly for stores that featured mammoth album artwork on their store fronts, their own "Pulse" magazine, and staff that couldn't fathom life without music … much less wearing a suit and tie to work. This was truly "a chain of independent stores", and trust me when I tell you that hanging out at Tower Records was more fun than having hundreds of cable channels.