Regardless the level of your enjoyment for their individual bands and musical output, this is a very solid documentary on three musicians and their love of music. Mostly guitar-driven. Because the Cow-bell musician documentary might be alright too, but honestly? A bit of a one-note endeavor. But still engrossingly enjoyable here to see their different perspectives with The Edge and his more high-tech approach, Jack White and his inventive lo-fi blues one, and Jimmy Page and his eternal dissection of technique that doesn’t just involve whanging his dual-guitar everywhere.
This is a superb interweaving of three, we shall call them ‘famous’ musicians, with very different backgrounds, locations, time periods, styles and approaches to music. Good interesting focusings on their beginnings in playing, their instruments they love, the influences of the musicians they listened to that influenced them. Did I know that Jack White was the youngest of 10 kids? No. No I did not. No wonder he started a band with his sister. Is it informative that The Edge watched the Spinal Tap movie and cried instead of laughed because of the hard truths it mocked? Well, maybe not informative. Kind of a given, really, but good insight nonetheless given the time period it played out. And did Jimmy actually shoot heroin right before playing his biggest gig? Not covered here, go elsewhere for your tabloid slop! But yeah, he did kinda have a big drug problem there for a spell, but not covered here, this is about the love of MUSIC, not … the other bits.
I am biased, I have for a big part of my life considered Led Zeppelin one of the best rock bands to ever grace the face of this planet (to date). I remember when somebody said Jimmy Page was a total hack and I Recoiled in Horror! WHAT?!? Oh, the follies of youth. In hindsight, yeah, he could be pretty messy but still, a hack? Too far, man. Too far. Jack White, regardless his outside-music life, has always caught my ear as a good musician and enjoy a lot of his different band endeavors that are always throwbacks to lo-fi blues roots no matter the discordancy he dresses it up in. And then there’s the Edge. U2. 80s... Not really my bag per-say, but there is still a moment where he catches both Page and White off-guard with how he approaches playing a particular chord, and the appreciation by them both by his solution and result. It’s pretty alright overall. Plus, it’s the only time Jack White has ever been captured smiling on camera.*
* this may not be technically true
