“Echo in the Canyon” (1960s Laurel Canyon music scene documentary): May 24, 2019

Wish they would have interviewed Ritchie Furay and Van Dyle Parks. They seemed to be more clear headed than most about what it was like, even when thye were in the middle of it... I'm guessing their memories might be relatively more reliable too.

 

Enjoyable and informative, lots of great stories. Saw it on opening night at the Landmark theatre in NYC. While waiting for the film to start ended up sitting next to the Jakob's guitar player in the bar (wears a derby in the film and plays an orange Gretsch). Several years ago read a book about the canyon. https://www.amazon.com/Laurel-Canyon-Rock-Rolls-Neighborhood/dp/0865479666/ref=asc_df_0865479666/?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid={creative}&hvpos={adposition}&hvnetw=o&hvrand={random}&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl={devicemodel}&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584413735996945&psc=1. Not optimal sound situation for Jakob's mini concert in front of the screen after the movie (woman who sang "Go where you wanna go" horribly flat, probably couldn't hear herself). Good reinterpretations of the songs in the movie by Jakob and friends, almost tempted to seek out the soundtrack. Heard McGuinn speak many time about Crosby's dismissal in the past. His assessment was much harsher than usual. In the Crosby interview David was remarkably self aware of what a pain he was. Not everybody has aged well but that's life. Something wrong with Still's speech, almost sounds like a stroke. If you remember what Michelle Phillips used to look like seeing her now a bit of a shock. Actually managed to find "Model Shop" so that will be tonight's viewing. If you're a fellow victim of the '60s I would highly recommend this film.

 

Is this movie out now?

 

Combination of severe hearing loss, years of lousy dental care, and years of tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse.

 

Let me know when it will be showing in K.C.

 

I'm going to see it this weekend, but having read a few reviews I'm already a bit disappointed. I understand the desire to focus on '64-'67, but how do you omit Joni Mitchell, the Doors, Love, Dolenz, Tork, etc.? Dylan and Slater worked on this for the better part of a decade, but it's 80 minutes long and includes a tribute concert with Jakob Dylan, Cat Power, Beck and others. That's fine, but if that's in the mix then make it longer (like, by an hour or two) and include the aforementioned artists who were excluded. Complete the 1960's part of the story.

 

The Laurel Canyon scene inspired my favorite song by the Mamas and Papas, "Twelve Thirty". What harmonies!

 

I believe he had to have part of his tongue removed due to cancer similar to EVH.

 

A friend and I saw this last night. Overall, we liked it but I thought there was too much of the tribute concert/J. Dylan studio footage and not enough archival material. I thought most of the concert clips were not very good. Fiona Apple looked painfully out of place and her singing was below par. In fact, just about all of the concert footage was disappointing. Regina Spektor, Cat Power and Jade Castrinos (on stage) and Norah Jones (a studio duet with Jakob Dylan) sounded more like a Karaoke experience than any great contribution to the movie. Jakob & Norah sing "Never My Love" but there was no footage or reference to The Association. The best concert song was Beck and Jakob doing "Going Back". As Brother Maynard said in his post above, there were many artists who were a part of the scene back then who were nowhere to be found in the movie. The movie "Model Shop" was featured in several sequences (basically short clips from the movie that added next to nothing except a view of the streets of L.A. back then) but Spirit, the band who did the music for that film wasn't even mentioned. I can understand Joni Mitchell not being interviewed due to her health issues but zero reference to her was surprising. Then again, maybe she was approached and opted out but totally omitting her seems odd to me. The interview sequences with the artists from that era were great and there should have been more of that. I can't help but wish they could have gotten McGuinn & Crosby in the same room at some point to address their history. I also noticed that Stephen Stills' speech pattern was off somehow. His comments about the recording of "Expecting To Fly" were interesting. Tom Petty's comments were spot on and it makes you miss him even more by his presence here.

The movie is worth seeing for its better scenes but I walked away wishing it had been more than it turned out to be.

 

Are you sure? I know he had and was treated successfully for prostate cancer about 10 years ago, but that's all I've heard. I believe his severe hearing loss, for which, I believe he now wears dual aids, is responsible for a good part of his speech issues, along with the other things I mentioned.

 

Seriously....they should have. You are still hearing the echo in the Canyon.

 

PBS interview

“ECHO IN THE CANYON” | Season 2019 Episode 06/14/2019 | MetroFocus

 

ha, yes indeed. i wonder if thats a reference to the "sgt pepper synchronized lp" event, summer of 67? i bet not.

still i'm hoping to go see it this weekend. tongue planted firmly in cheek.

andy slater is a "fan" of the "period", so we shall see.

 

his books are very well written and highly accurate.

 

neither of whom were even born during this golden era.

sounds as if slater corralled many of his former "clients" and interviewed them. what, no macy gray? lol

 

Thank you. I think this will be a 'rent me'. Our movie theater $ is limited.

 

i know where this is headed, but like we can't turn away from a a car wreck im still going to see it.

i suspect it should be sub-titled:

"people that at one time or another set foot in laurel canyon".

excepting of course, those in the film that actually were there.

 

Oh yeah, I think it's worth seeing despite the things I felt detracted from the real premise of the movie. People who are more into the current day artists who are featured may well be very happy with it. I just think those people were part of the documentary for other reasons, mainly the tribute concert. (Just a guess on my part.) Any real connection they might have with the Laurel Canyon scene are lost on me and there was no explanation regarding that. The scenes where some of them sit around a coffee table piled with records from that era didn't tell us much about how any of them were inspired by the music. In fact, if there were a few Hoffman Forum members sitting around that same coffee table, I'd bet that the discussion would have been more lively, informative and heartfelt. As I recall, Beck was the only one who expressed any kind of emotion about the music.

 

that makes sense.

i should have contacted slater and had i known of this pre shooting, i would've. i've met with him before, but never shared my "background" as it was never germane at the time(s).

this article i linked below and written for RS mag by jerry hopkins ( elvis bio and no one here gets out alive etc ) is probably far more informative than slater's doc is. but again, i have not yet seen it.

my pop being interviewed in this article is a perfect "snapshot" of the time ( written in 68 ) and in it, i get "mentioned" is all. story of my life HA

Inside the Los Angeles Scene

apologies to anyone already have seen it. i'll just end up repeating myself again next tuesday anyway

 

Uh-oh ... is this gonna be replete with more conspiracy stories
of the entitled sons and daughters of military families and their
bizarre fascination with guns?

 

not unless you make it one. now it's a tool thread. welcome back.

 

As to who got interviewed and who didn't there could have been any number of reasons. I saw the film opening night in NYC. Both the director and Jakob Dylan with his band were present. I spoke briefly to the director when I was leaving. The woman behind me piped up "why didn't you interview Chris Hillman, I'm his sister in law?". If I recall correctly, Hillman lived in Laurel Canyon for awhile, had a connection with a well known LA groupie and somehow managed to burn his house down. Could have made for some good stories. Although in the interviews I've seen with Hillman (a great musician) he does come off a wee bit defensive and bitter (especially about Gram). Who knows why some musicians weren't included. I liked the description of Derek Taylor's writing style in that article you posted, "nouveau purple prose". As a kid during the '60s reading the back of the album covers I wouldn't have had the vocabulary to quite put it that way but even then the writing did seem over the top. I managed to find "Model Shop". Acting/writing a bit subpar, Gary Lockwood's character behaves like a jerk throughout the movie and at the last minute of the film says he can change. Snippet's of Spirit's score appeared throughout the film. The band actually appeared briefly during the film to no great acting kudos. The film's connection tenuous to "Echo of the Canyon".

 

to further illustrate my point vis a vis "those that were "there" vs those that were not..

i was at chris hillman's house on magnolia drive atop grandview drive the morning just after this "partial fire" after he burned his hair off starting his triumph bonneville in the garage. it caught fire as leaking amal carburetors have been known to do ( ask me how i know ) he then lived in the guest unit of the house he shared with ed kienholz, a well known artist living above. Edward Kienholz - Wikipedia

never again, did hillman look like a "beatle". but became the "frizzy" chris we all know and love to this day.

i have some great derek taylor stories as his work with the byrds publicity "pre apple" was according to him a fait accompli as my pop had done all the "heavy lifting" and broken the band already. derek says ( even in his own book ) that the byrds were a "gift" from my ol pop, to him.

whatever. i'll let fiona apple tell me about it soon lol.

 

"Hey – have you heard the Byrds?". Hmmmmm. Now that I think I've figured out who wrote that line long ago and who's attached to that particular bloodline (very low level detective work) have you done any writing yourself about the whole LA music thing and the cast of characters from the time period in the film?

 

I bet Jack Nicholson can't wait to see this. He loves this stuff. Oh, wait, that's "yodel in the canyon."