Review of Muscle Shoals (2013) by Steven K — 13 Oct 2013

Just as the lyrics to The Staple Singers hit "I'll Take You There" say, here is a doc that knows a place and takes you there: Muscle Shoals. It's a fascinating piece of musical history about a sound born out of one man's personal tragedy and a particularly mystical landscape.

(My God, it looks like a beautiful place!) If you are a fan of classic soul music as I am, here is where a lot of those classics were recorded. Particularly moving is the way race played no role in the creation of all this great music; as someone notes in the movie, the Fame studio house band was a bunch of white guys that looked like they should be working in grocery stores.

The reactions of such black artists as Etta James, Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge, etc. to this is priceless. This was the band that accompanied Aretha on "Respect". There were no race issues; the musicians in the 2 studios that evolved were ultimately integrated and it was all about the music.

It is so easy to put all these great records on and listen to them without considering how they were created, but this doc shows the heart, soul, tears, and passion that went into them. This is an excellent, really well done documentary about a magical place and sound and deserves whatever honors it is sure to get.

If you love music, don't miss it; there's not a fake frame in the movie.