Which musio-documentaries are worth seeing?

I just got a copy of "The Rolling Stones in Exile." I have not had a chance to sit down and watch it yet but it occurred to me it has been a long time since I thought about the topic of documentaries about groups whether famous or not. Also somewhat related stuff like that movie that The Who put out. I guess there may have been a couple but I was not a big fan of theirs so I don't remember.

How about mentioning your suggestions for these two categories? Which ones are "must see?"

 

Crossfire Hurricane -- loved it.

 

What's that one about?

 

Standing in the Shadows of Motown

Running Down a Dream

 

Read my mind an absolute beauty!

 

Perhaps my favorite music doc:



Narrated by Levon Helm

https://www.amazon.com/Elvis-56-Beginning-Presley/dp/1568963696

 

Thanks guys, keep 'em coming!

When it is not obvious, please include some info about which music group or performer the documentary is about.

 

Aerosmith- Making of Pump
About the recording of their 1989 blockbuster Pump album. They filmed everything while making the doc so it shows you the process of recording an album.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Songmakers-Collection-Burt-Bacharach/dp/B00005O7N6

Several of rock and pop music's best and most important early songwriters, along with some stellar performers, are profiled on The Songmakers Collection, a two-DVD set culled from five separate episodes of the A&E Network's Biography series. The centerpiece is "Hitmakers: The Teens Who Stole Pop Music," a 90-minute documentary about the many writers who worked side-by-side in New York's legendary Brill Building in the '50s and '60s. It's a fascinating story, featuring duos like Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, and Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, nearly all of them Jewish kids from Brooklyn who were at ease writing classic tunes for black and white artists alike. The tale is told in standard documentary style, via interviews past and present, photos, extensive film footage, and, of course, lots of music.​

 

"The Devil And Daniel Johnston"
"Fishbone- Everyday Sunshine"
"The Residents- Theory Of Obscurity"
and
"The Flaming Lips- The Fearless Freaks"
...oh,
and "DIG!"

 

I like these two. They are not perfect...none of them are, but they certainly do not disappoint.
The History of Rock N' Roll: This is a ten hour, multi disc set. (ISBN: 0-7907-9458-6)
No Thanks! The '70's Punk Rebellion: This is also a multi disc set (put out by Rhino)

I have found most music oriented documentaries to be okay at the worst. While some of them are done much better than others if you have an interest in the music, or artist, you will probably find something enjoyable in them.

 

I think Status Quo did the same thing with "The Party Ain't Over Yet" in 2005, which also includes lots of bonus stuff. I haven't seen it yet. However, their "Hello Quo!" documentary from a few years later is a nice watch, including comments from other famous musicians such as Jeff Lynne, Jim Lea or Brian May.

 

This is a really good documentary about Rush: Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage (2010) - IMDb

 

I'm biased of course... but this is a well-made doc about a band whose story is not as widely known as most.

 

The Rolling Stones.

 

Super Duper Alice Cooper was entertaining.

 

Deep Blues - RS Journo Robert Palmer track down Jr Kimbrough and others.

 

Rock School.

A documentary about a year at the Paul Green School of Rock Music in Philadelphia. It follows the beginning students doing a Black Sabbath show, intermediate students doing an 80s Show and the very best students in the school traveling to Bad Doberon Germany to play at the annual Frank Zappa Festival.

Tragically, after they started filming, the Jack Black movie School of Rock was released, and when it finally came out, the public thought it was the same movie, and the documentary closed in a single weekend.

I saw it on a Friday, and took my niece to see it Saturday and that was the start of my shooting concerts by various locations of the School of Rock.

 

I watched the Quincy Jones documentary ("Quincy") on Netflix the other night, I thought it was fantastic. Excellent job getting across his personality and approach to life, and a great introduction to his work, though in that department it could only really scratch the surface.

 

Similar to the Funk Brothers of Motown was The Wrecking Crew

Couple other favorites of mine:

Searching for Sugar Man

Rumble: The Indians That Rocked The World

 

Mahler

Ken Russel's documentary about Gustav Mahler
and several others
Tribute to Ken Russell: his best classical music films - Limelight

 

Don't Look Back

 

Another classical documentary, Stephen Fry's Wagner and Me explores his love of Wagner's music, and how conflicted he feels as a Jew about Wagner's anti-Semitism and association with Nazi Germany.

 

This one is maybe not so much a "music / band" documentary as an uplifting personal tragedy / redemption story...
the journey of former NY Dolls bassist Arthur 'Killer' Kane from obscurity and addiction to finding religion (he became a Mormon) and his eventual reluctant participation in the 2004 Dolls reunion... made more poignant by the fact he passed away shortly after the film was made. Highly recommended.