EAR WHACKS

by Todd Paul

REEL MUSIC II

Last issue, we discussed the Woodstock Film Festival, with its emphasis on music in movies. The topic reminded me of the many fine films about music and musicians, and this month’s column is an opportunity to explore some of the more memorable ones.

Hail! Hail! Rock ‘N’ Roll (1987)
This film is indispensable for fans of Chuck Berry, arguably the inventor of rock ‘n’ roll, but it’s also a fascinating portrait of a man who rose from poverty, survived America’s struggles with desegregation, and took hold of his own destiny through his art. Berry is almost agonizingly articulate (his autobiography contains flights of word play worthy of the classical poets he loves to quote) and savvy about the music industry. Just as revealing is the reverence shown him by Roy Orbison, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton and other blues/rock greats who appear in the film. Jerry Lee Lewis relates the story of how he fought Berry over the title of inventor of rock music (Berry won); Little Richard and Bo Diddley reminisce with Berry about the early days at Chess Records. The film also stars Julian Lennon, Linda Ronstadt, Etta James and Robert Cray in a fine live concert. Keith Richards, who organized the concert, claims Berry is even harder to work with than Mick Jagger… especially when Berry makes him play a riff over and over ‘til he gets it right.
Recommended listening: The Chuck Berry Chess Box (1988). Three CDs deliver a whopping 71 tracks from the guitar master. Sure, you’ve heard “Roll Over Beethoven,” but have you heard the melancholic island ballad “Havana Moon,” the jungle fable “Jo Jo Gunne,” the sly and jazzy “A Deuce,” or the rhapsodic piano-vocal “Bio”?

Genghis Blues (1999)
Paul Pena, a blind guitarist of Cape Verdian descent, began his musical journey by learning Afro-Portuguese music, then studied flamenco in Spain and Portugal. In the ‘60s he became interested in the blues, and played with the likes of T-Bone Walker and John Lee Hooker. In San Francisco, he opened for the Grateful Dead. His song “Jet Airliner” was a hit for Steve Miller.
Yet Pena’s career was nowhere, his days confined to limited perambulations around his neighborhood, when he first heard Tuvan throat singing on a Soviet broadcast he picked up on his shortwave. Fascinated, Pena spent the next eight years trying to track down the source of the sounds. Eventually he obtained a recording and by repeated listenings taught himself to imitate the weird throat harmonics practiced in Tuva. He also taught himself a bit of Tuvan. When Tuvan singer Kongar-ol Ondar appeared in San Francisco, Pena went to hear him and sang for him. Ondar responded by inviting the American to visit Tuva, a tiny country adjacent to Mongolia.
Genghis Blues is the documentary of Pena’s trip to Tuva, culminating in his winning an annual throat-singing contest. The Tuvans, who named him “Earthquake” for his incredibly deep voice, were taken with Pena’s combination of throat singing and traditional blues guitar. The friendship that develops between Pena and the Tuvans elevates this award-winning film.
Recommended listening: Ondar & Pena: Genghis Blues is a collaboration between two throat-singing champions that mixes Ondar’s higher-pitched sygyt style, Pena’s rumbling kargyraa style, American country blues and a touch of Cape Verdian Creole. For more straight-up blues, check out New Train, Pena’s 1973 album that was shelved after recording and only released this year, following the success of the Tuvan project. Featuring Ben Sidran, Harvey Brooks, Gary Malabar, Jerry Garcia, Merle Saunders, The Persuasions and others, New Train still sounds fresh… and features the original recording of “Jet Airliner.”

The Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
This one is almost too obvious to mention. Ry Cooder, whose musical reach only slightly exceeds his grasp, visits Cuba and resurrects a legendary band of pre-revolutionary Havana musicians, who record their lush, romantic songs, reminisce about the good old days, and end up with a triumphant concert at Carnegie Hall. Directed by Wim Wenders, the film was an Academy Award nominee, and the accompanying CD won a Grammy.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep my eyes open during the movie and left halfway through. I understand many who saw it were transported with ecstatic musical and cultural appreciation, and the album is certainly worth hearing, thus the mention.
Recommended listening: Aside from the movie soundtrack, try Talking Timbuktu, a collaboration album between Cooder and West African guitarist Ali Farka Toure. The album also features Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Jim Keltner.

Latcho Drom (1993)
This documentary-without-narration moved people to tears when it played Upstate Films a few years back. The camera follows a band of Gypsy musicians and dancers through Europe and Asia; their culture is completely bound up with journeying and with music. It is clear that while these people never completely fit in with the surrounding culture, they don’t really want to. Calling themselves Roma, the travelers speak and sing in Romany, their native tongue; “Latcho drom” literally translates “good road,” a wish for a happy journey. Directed by Romany filmmaker Tony Gatlif, the movie was followed by Mondo (1996) and Gadgo Dilo (“Crazy Stranger”) (1997). The accompanying soundtrack is listed among the all-time top ten albums on Internet music vendor CDNow.