Muscle Shoals (2013)

You won't be disappointed!

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Some things I liked some I did not.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Muscle Shoals is a good companion piece to Standing in the Shadows of Motown, both docs detail the unsung heroes who played on most of the songs we have come to know & love at some point in our lives. It details the ins & outs of what made the studio what it is by the hard scrabble direction of its owner & the various artists who came to record there & their memories on what made that studio so special. A nice piece of work.

I liked "Muscle Shoals" for many reasons but the biggest one is that it taught me a lot about something I knew absolutely nothing about, as I'd never heard of the famed 'Muscle Shoals'. However, there's more to the film than that--it is quite interesting, has some surprisingly big name musicians who gave interviews (such as members of the Rolling Stones, Bono and some great R&B legends) and terrific music! So, unless you absolutely hate R&B, the blues and rock (and I know that there at least three of you out there), there is plenty that you'll enjoy about this one and it's worth seeing--as well as well made.By the way, I have no idea why but this film, the Oscar-winning "20 Feet From Stardom" and "Sound City" all came out at about the same time---and ALL are very similar. So, if you like one, you probably would like to see the rest!

The recording house Fame Recording Studios began in the small town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, seemingly out of nowhere. The film fills in a lot of back story, commentary from well-known music figures, and a great deal of local colour. The early perspective was with Rick Hall, who led a group of local musicians who became his session crew for recordings with big names such as Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett, and Aretha Franklin.The story of how Wilson Pickett and Duane Allman conspired to make a cover of the Beatles' Hey Jude was touching, magical, and hilarious, as was the short story given of the beginning of the Allman Brothers Band.At one point, Rick Hall got a contract with Capital Records. When he announces that, his early crew has an announcement of their own. They broke off and went with Jerry Wexler (Atlantic Records) to form Muscle Shoals Recording Studios in the same town. At first the new studio did not do well, but then the Stones recorded You've Got to Move, Wild Horses, and Brown Sugar, three of their best blues tunes, at MSRS.Rick Hall was in a feud with Jerry Wexler, and recruited a new session crew using the leverage of Capital Records. He formed a new rhythm section called the Fame Gang. This worked well for him. He cut records with Lou Rawls, Bobbie Gentry, Candi Staton, King Curtis, Little Richard, Mac Davis, Joe Tex, and plenty more. In 1971, Rick became Producer of the Year, which he did not achieve with his original session group.Jimmie Johnson's MSRS was also doing interesting things. They signed Lynard Skynard, and recorded a number of great cuts with them. However, the band ended up leaving Johnson when he could not sell a nine minute single to any record company. After a plane crash took the lives of three band members, two of the survivors came back to Johnson and asked that 11 of the 17 cuts they did at MSRS become the next album.The stories about Jimmy Cliff (early reggae) and Steve Winwood (Traffic) recording with MSRS and going on the road with them were just delicious. Bob Seger, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Glenn Fry, and a host of others recorded at MSRS.-----Conclusions-----This one of the best documentaries I've ever seen.If you like modern music (last 50 years or so), catch this film: for the musical history, for the cultural references, for the magic and the misfires.From Sweet Home Alabama: '...now Muscle Shoals has the Swampers...'; this film gives a complete explanation.This film really does deserve the 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.One line summary: Beautiful portrait of two of the greatest recording studios.Five stars of five.-----Scores-----Cinematography: 9/10 Beautifully shot; only some of the archival footage was not great looking, but no surprise there.Sound: 10/10 Oh, so good.Acting: z/10 Not relevant here.Screenplay: 10/10 Nicely organised; one gets a feel for the practical magic of the two studios in Muscle Shoals.

Anyone who is interested in rock music should rush to see this fantastic, well made and impeccably researched documentary about the famous recording studios. Muscle Shoals is a nondescript little town with a population of about 8000 along the Tennessee River in Alabama, but it is also home to the the highly influential Fame Studios that has hosted a veritable who's who of the music world and produced lots of memorable number one hits and some of the greatest songs of the past fifty years. The studio was built by Rick Hall, who was basically following his dream. Hall assembled some of the best session musicians who had an instant chemistry and as the in-house backing band provided the rich rhythm and blues sound on many hits. Surprisingly though the musicians were all white, and they worked with artists no matter their colour, creed and ethnicity. The studio broke down some of the racial barriers that existed in America at that time, and the film depicts the divisive racial politics that were raging in Alabama at the time. Artists of the calibre of Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, and even The Rolling Stones all recorded here during their careers, and the songs that emerged from this humble little studio often changed their musical direction and gave them some of their biggest hits. And while the townsfolk barely tolerated the black singers they were openly disdainful of the long haired hippy types, like the members of Lynard Skynard who also briefly recorded there and developed their distinctive swamp rock sound. Muscle Shoals has been directed by Greg Camalier, making his feature film directorial debut here, who incorporates plenty of rich archival footage with some revealing interviews with the likes of Bono, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Aretha Franklin and Clarence Carter. And Hall himself talks at length about his own life and personal tragedies, as well as giving some candid revelations about the humble recording studio that he founded. We also learn about his bitter falling out with legendary record producer Jerry Wexler. Muscle Shoals is jammed full of great music, colourful characters and wonderful anecdotes. A must for music fans!