Finally got to see, on Netflix, this fantastic 2008 documentary on the small group of Los Angeles studio musicians who practically played on almost all of the great singles coming out of America in the early to mid-60s. They made it sound as if groups, The Association for one, didn't really exist in the studio, and that the Wrecking Crew did their entire first two albums. The funniest part is Peter Tork showing up with his guitar to the first Monkees recording session and being told the record was already done.

I highly recommend it, but I have a question: Was there a UK equivalent? We know the Beatles and Stones (with maybe a little help) were the 'real' musicians on their early records, but were there others who were just a sham? The equivalent of Gary Lewis and the Playboys? And I'm assuming Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones would have been part of the British Wrecking Crew. Was there a UK equivalent to the drummer Hal Blaine in America?

I agree, just a fantastic film that should be on everyone's bucket list to see. Really well done.

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24FPS
Was there a UK equivalent to the drummer Hal Blaine in America?

Yes, Bobby Graham: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Graham_(musician)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-08-05 20:04 by Boognish.

A classic session-musician's line-up in a London studio circa 1964, would've looked something like this :-

Jimmy Page - lead guitar
Big Jim Sullivan - rhythm guitar
John Paul Jones - bass guitar
Bobby Graham - drums

Thanks for the review and the reminder 24, I've been meaning to watch it myself. Finally finished Breaking Bad on Netflix, so I'll make The Wrecking Crew my next stop.

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latebloomer
Thanks for the review and the reminder 24, I've been meaning to watch it myself. Finally finished Breaking Bad on Netflix, so I'll make The Wrecking Crew my next stop.

a few thoughts on BB, latebloomer?

what a show...

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Boognish

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24FPS
Was there a UK equivalent to the drummer Hal Blaine in America?

Yes, Bobby Graham: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Graham_(musician)

Thanks for the info. So it looks like this Bobby Graham was the REAL Dave Clark. (Watch a video of the DC5 live and it's obvious). I never knew that he was the first choice for the Beatles over Ringo. I wonder if that's true, and that John, Paul & George agreed?

Just watched the trailer... looks awesome

Thanks for this

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duke richardson

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latebloomer
Thanks for the review and the reminder 24, I've been meaning to watch it myself. Finally finished Breaking Bad on Netflix, so I'll make The Wrecking Crew my next stop.

a few thoughts on BB, latebloomer?

what a show...

Riveting Duke...highlights were Walter admitting it was all for him, seeing Jesse strangle Tod, and Baby Blue was perfecto. I would have liked to have seen more of what was going on with Skyler and Marie, but you can't have everything.

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24FPS

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Boognish

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24FPS
Was there a UK equivalent to the drummer Hal Blaine in America?

Yes, Bobby Graham: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Graham_(musician)

Thanks for the info. So it looks like this Bobby Graham was the REAL Dave Clark. (Watch a video of the DC5 live and it's obvious). I never knew that he was the first choice for the Beatles over Ringo. I wonder if that's true, and that John, Paul & George agreed?

Bobby Graham was fantastic. However i think he has to join the queue when it comes to claims that John, Paul and George wanted him before Ringo. I think i've heard several drummers claiming that the fab 3 wanted them before Ringo agreed. I'm surprised Dave Clarke hasn't claimed that.
BTW. love the Wrecking Crew film, it is excellent though i know that a few of the facts are not actually facts when it comes to who played what with whom and when. Certainly one Beach Boys board got pissed at some of the claims in the film which as it turns out are not borne out by the AFM contracts and session tapes.
Any road up, i love the Wrecking Crew and hardly a day goes by when i'm not listening to them play.
Being a massive Brian Wilson / Smile fan, i'm well aware of these players. It's also worth checking out some of the Phil Spector session bootlegs to hear those guys and gals in action.

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24FPS



Thanks for the info. So it looks like this Bobby Graham was the REAL Dave Clark. (Watch a video of the DC5 live and it's obvious). I never knew that he was the first choice for the Beatles over Ringo. I wonder if that's true, and that John, Paul & George agreed?

Apparently, he would emulate Dave Clark's 'style' in the studio, as Dave Clark was too busy producing the recordings to perform on them. Graham can also be heard on the bulk of the Kinks' 1964 recordings: You Really Got Me, Tired Of Waiting For You, etc.

[www.iorr.org]

Hal Blaine

Carol Kaye

Listen to Joe Osborn on bass at 2:17. AWSOME!!!

Was fortunate enough to be able to attend the world premiere of this film, complete with a Q and A with Danny Tedesco. Great stuff!

AXS is also showing the film. Really enjoyed it, think I'm going to get the book. Carol Kaye is a totally bad ass bass player!

Carol is a great guitarist too.

The Wrecking Crew - World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band?

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alieb
Was fortunate enough to be able to attend the world premiere of this film, complete with a Q and A with Danny Tedesco. Great stuff!

Sweet! Tell us about that Q & A when you get a chance. Thanks.

That was very entertaining.


There are some other really interesting music documentaries recently added to Netflix, e.g.:

* Beware of Mr. Baker (about Ginger Baker, with commentary from Charlie)
* The Other One (about Bob Weir)
* Supermensch (about Shep Gordon, with some Ronnie and Mick references).

Very interesting documentary.

Let's see...

So The Monkees sang, but studio musicians played. That's okay... because everyone knew at the time that the instruments were played by others.

The Beach Boys also sang, but later people find out that studio musicians played the instruments.

Is it like Milli Vanilli?

This is probably a joke going over my head but not really Milli Vanilli.... it's been a while since I've seen it but didn't it say that Brian Wilson would come up with all of the parts in his head, he just needed someone to play them for him? Kind of similar to what Michael Jackson did with his music a little later on. Both were/are inarguably musical geniuses.

And Naturalust, my memory is horrible so I don't remember too much of what was said in the Q and A, but I do remember a couple of things. First, that he gave us an update on Glen Campbell. He also talked about how his father made sure their time together counted since he was working so much. Lastly, he thanked us all for coming and talked about how long he had been trying to get this documentary out there and how difficult it had been trying to find the funding. He praised the Bloor Cinema (where it was premiered) for being an independent theatre, because he said where he lives there aren't any of those around any longer.

I think that Brian Wilson is a musical genius too. I also thought the Beach Boys played their instruments. I don’t think any less of the Beach Boys and their music.
I was just asking a question... not making a joke.

A better question might be... why isn't it viewed like Milli Vanilli?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-08-09 21:51 by schillid.

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schillid
Very interesting documentary.

Let's see...

So The Monkees sang, but studio musicians played. That's okay... because everyone knew at the time that the instruments were played by others.

The Beach Boys also sang, but later people find out that studio musicians played the instruments.

Is it like Milli Vanilli?

Milli vanilli never sang their songs

I realize... that's a big difference

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schillid
I think that Brian Wilson is a musical genius too. I also thought the Beach Boys played their instruments. I don’t think any less of the Beach Boys and their music.
I was just asking a question... not making a joke.

A better question might be... why isn't it viewed like Milli Vanilli?

The Beach Boys DID play their instruments on virtually all of their songs on their first five albums, and on a majority of their hits overall. "Wrecking Crew" folks began to show up on a few songs for their sixth album, "All Summer Long" (in 1964), and then really joined the fray for their next two albums, "Today" and "Summer Days (and Summer Nights)"...although these albums do include two and three tracks, respectively, that don't feature any members of the Wrecking Crew. After that came "Pet Sounds" and the "Smile" sessions (virtually all Wrecking Crew), but even on the albums where the Wrecking Crew dominated the recordings, Carl Wilson still played lead guitar on many songs.

It's great that the Wrecking Crew musicians are getting their deserved recognition after all these years, but in some instances, there's been a bit of revisionist history going too far in the other direction. For instance, in one of the trailers for the film, "Fun, Fun, Fun" is playing in the background...yes, there is some Wrecking Crew participation on the track, but Carl (lead guitar), Brian (Hammond B3 organ solo), Dennis, and Al Jardine all play on it as well.

Thanks for the heads up! I enjoyed it very much, especially the Brian Wilson segments.

Ross