'Tom Dowd & The Language Of Music'-DVD out today

[Doug Sclar]

I just picked this disc up today and can't wait to see it. A friend saw it in a theater last week and said it was incredible. More to come.

[Ed Bishop]

The reviews I've read thus far suggest it only skims the surface and doesn't dig nearly as deeply or comprehensively as it might have. Unfortunately, given such the talking-head nature of such docus, I can well believe that. Still, I've also no doubt there's worthwhile stuff, too.



:ed:

[seriousfun]

I saw it last week, and I highly recommend it. It barely talked down to me.

[Doug Sclar]

I just watched this and it is very good. The audio quality on some of the snipets is quite good, there is some great live footage. The highlight to me is Tom playing with the mix to Layla and soloing Clapton and Allman's dueling solos.

Plenty of interesting mastering tidbits, and even answers to some questions discussed on this forum. I also highly recommend this dvd.

[Felix Martinez]

I loved it...

http://www.dvdangle.com/reviews/review.php?Id=3653

[Jamie Tate]

(Not a thread crap. Just giving my honest impressions of the DVD.)


I bought it last night. It's okay but seems a little self-promoting. They show way too many obviously staged shots of Tom as lord and master in the studio making genius arrangement decisions on the fly and glorious chord ideas on demand. Seemed a bit much after a while. Got quite embarrassing to me. Think about when he was mixing Layla. Was there any need for him to count the vocal in? Was there any need for him to act like he was directing the musicians again?

As someone who is unfamiliar with much of Tom's work it didn't quite support the glowing statements all these people were making. Why was he the greatest this and why was he the best at that?

What was going on when he was playing with the tracks for Layla? Those guitars were sooooooo out of tune yet he called them beautiful(!). Sure it's a classic tune but let's call things what they are... and that's horribly, drunkenly out of tune. It gave me the impression they were giving everything this amount of freedom, calling mediocre things brilliant simply because of their age (Tom) or because of their classic standing (Layla).

Was I hoping for more? I guess I was. Still, I enjoyed it simply for the insights into some of these recordings.

Sorry for the harsh opinion. :(

[Doug Sclar]

(Not a thread crap. Just giving my honest impressions of the DVD.)


I bought it last night. It's okay but seems a little self-promoting. They show way too many obviously staged shots of Tom as lord and master in the studio making genius arrangement decisions on the fly and glorious chord ideas on demand. Seemed a bit much after a while. Got quite embarrassing to me. Think about when he was mixing Layla. Was there any need for him to count the vocal in? Was there any need for him to act like he was directing the musicians again?

As someone who is unfamiliar with much of Tom's work it didn't quite support the glowing statements all these people were making. Why was he the greatest this and why was he the best at that?

What was going on when he was playing with the tracks for Layla? Those guitars were sooooooo out of tune yet he called them beautiful(!). Sure it's a classic tune but let's call things what they are... and that's horribly, drunkenly out of tune. It gave me the impression they were giving everything this amount of freedom, calling mediocre things brilliant simply because of their age (Tom) or because of their classic standing (Layla).

. :(

I agree it was a bit hammy, but so was George Martin when he did this for Sgt. Pepper IMHO. Of course I'm not putting Layla in the same league as anything the Beatles did.

[Felix Martinez]

They show way too many obviously staged shots of Tom as lord and master in the studio making genius arrangement decisions on the fly and glorious chord ideas on demand. Seemed a bit much after a while. Got quite embarrassing to me. Think about when he was mixing Layla. Was there any need for him to count the vocal in? Was there any need for him to act like he was directing the musicians again?

I knew Tom, and that was just his personality. That was just Tom. In fact, I believe at one point he says, "I can do it better; can we do it again?" during the Layla mixing sequence. I always found this aspect of his personality heartwarming. Did he try to impress? Probably, but don't we all? He certainly didn't have to, but frankly, I'm just happy he's receiving the recognition he deserves.

As someone who is unfamiliar with much of Tom's work it didn't quite support the glowing statements all these people were making. Why was he the greatest this and why was he the best at that?

Well, I totally disagree. The docu was educational to me, and I knew the man. I would recommend re-watching the docu, watch the bonus interviews, and search Tom's discography on the web. My goodness, if you're not impressed, I'm not sure what else can convince you!

There's one bit in the bonus interview (re Lynyrd Skynyrd...?) where it's discussed how, in a few hours, Tom took razorblade to the multi-track master and re-arranged a song using bits and pieces of the different tracks to create another verse. I don't know, to me, that's mighty impressive. And as far as the Layla stuff in tune or out of tune...you can bet Tom heard everything, but the one thing paramount to him was the feel of the performance. I personally find those guitar notes dueling cats in heat, but that's what makes that performance. I can't imagine that song any other way - even if I do want to go into Digital Performer or Pro Tools and tweak those lines into tune ;) Somehow, Tom knew when something was appropriate or not, and knew when to correct someone (without making them feel corrected), or leave them alone.

[jahndhi]

watched this tonight, and thought it was awesome to see this kind of
programming on TV - when i happened upon it, I was thoroughly
entertained...

yesman: gloriously drunken out of tune guitars indeed :)

I caught the self aggrandazment as well, but only in passing -
even though he was 'in the right place at the right time' he made
it happen & in addition to being pioneering on many levels, the guy seemed like he
had a very organic vibe, thus influencing a healthy studio atmosphere -

I would've loved to know more about what he understood technically/mathmatically
~ but the average viewer might not feel the same way...

since I only saw the cable broadcast - are the DVD extra's enlightening?

[Robin L]

Sold a copy to a customer today, who saw it and wanted to find a book on Tom Dowd. (I work at a Borders. So sue me. Cool thing is, I do get SACDs at a discount, not to mention a whole lot of other perks.) Is there a book on Tom Dowd? Or a book on Atlantic Records or Jerry Wexler? 'Cause I'd love to read/recommend it.

[Sckott]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-keywords=Atlantic%20Recording%20Corporat ion/ref=br_sub_/104-7783964-9343920

[ZenArcher]

(Not a thread crap. Just giving my honest impressions of the DVD.)


(snip)

What was going on when he was playing with the tracks for Layla? Those guitars were sooooooo out of tune yet he called them beautiful(!). Sure it's a classic tune but let's call things what they are... and that's horribly, drunkenly out of tune. It gave me the impression they were giving everything this amount of freedom, calling mediocre things brilliant simply because of their age (Tom) or because of their classic standing (Layla).

(snip) :(

I saw this on one of the Sundance channels last night, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, it only skimmed the surface, but how can you sum up a life in an hour and a half? What a cool cool life he led, and how much he contributed to so many's enjoyment.

As for Layla's guitar's being out of tune, I prefer to think they invented their own non-Western tuning ;) Like Bill Maher said of heroin - "I've never done it, I wouldn't recommend it, but it hasn't hurt my record collection."

Anytime someone can push the boundaries this much and make a hit, I'm all fer it.

[Jeff H.]

I picked up a copy of this yesterday, and throughly enjoyed it. I'm happy to see anything about people who worked behind the scenes on music that has been an important part of so many peoples' lives.

[BGLeduc]

Watched the last 1/2 or so yesterday on Sundance, and found it completely fascinating. Maybe the Layla solos where out of tune, but I would wager that lots of stuff, pulled out of a mix and left to fend for itself would sound pretty odd.

One pretty major gaff was that during the Skynyrd segments, they were running film of the band in one of its more recent incarnations (but prior to Leon's death), but were playing the music from One More from the Road.

The testimonials from Clapton, Allman, Betts et.al were very reverential, but still a blast to watch. For me, the neatest bit of trivia (assuming its true) was that he suggested that Cream change the beat of Sunshine from something that was not working to what we know today. Wonder if Ginger would agree? :D

BGL

[BGLeduc]

I checked with my Tivo, and it is being re-aired a few more times, but I don't have a listing handy.

BGL

[vintageonevinyl]

I watched the DVD last night and discovered what a great pioneer he was in the industry! This is a must see for everyone who is a lover of this forum.

[Beatle Terr]

This guy was a freakin wizard...THINK ABOUT IT!! :righton:

[Pinknik]

Or a book on Atlantic Records or Jerry Wexler? 'Cause I'd love to read/recommend it.

There's a documentary on Wexler called IMMACULATE FUNK. I don't know what the release status of it is, but I know it exists, because I helped edit an early rough draft promo for it, and have seen the final cut. It's also listed on the Internet Movie Data Base. If yer real interested, I can try and contact the director and pass the info I receive along to you.

[Ronflugelguy]

Bought the DVD yesterday. Enjoyed it very much!!!!!!!!