Before Spotify, before the Grammys, before Fleetwood Mac made it cool—Laurel Canyon was the songwriting Olympus.
Watch Jakob Dylan and a killer crew (Tom Petty, Beck, Norah Jones) trace how The Byrds, The Beach Boys, and Mama Cass changed music forever.
It’s like “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” meets “History of the Eagles“ (which I rank 95 out of 100!)
Thx to Eric Sternbach for reminding me to review “Echo”.
Trailer for “Echo in the Canyon”
Watch “Echo in the Canyon”
You can watch “Echo in the Canyon” on Paramount+, Fubo and for free on Kanopy (with a library card).
You can find the latest streaming options at https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/echo-in-the-canyon
Ratings:
- My Rating: 92/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.0/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 92/100 (Users); 90/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note: Andrew Slater, a former record executive and music journalist, makes his directorial debut with this documentary that explores how the folk rock explosion in Los Angeles shaped modern music.
Release Date: May 24, 2019
My Review of “Echo in the Canyon”
The Setup
Andrew Slater directs this 82-minute love letter to the Laurel Canyon music scene of the mid-1960s.
Jakob Dylan (Bob Dylan’s son) serves as our guide for this 82 min. doc on the magical time. It’s when bands like The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, and The Mamas and the Papas all lived and created music within a few miles of each other in the Laurel Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles.
You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up
- Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys became so obsessed with the Beatles’ “Rubber Soul” album that he stopped touring and locked himself away to create “Pet Sounds” as a direct response. “Pet Sounds” was initially considered a commercial failure despite now being regarded as one of the greatest albums ever made
More Highlights from the Doc
- Michelle Phillips and Denny Doherty of The Mamas and the Papas had a secret affair that nearly destroyed the band when her husband John Phillips found out
- The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn bought his first 12-string Rickenbacker guitar after seeing George Harrison play one in the movie “A Hard Day’s Night” – this guitar sound became fundamental to the “Laurel Canyon sound”
- David Crosby was kicked out of The Byrds after hijacking a recording session to push his own song and insulting the band during a performance at the Monterey Pop Festival
- The documentary shows how these musicians all lived within walking distance of each other, often dropping by to jam, share ideas, and influence each other’s work
- Artists borrowed freely from one another’s styles – The Byrds took from the Beatles, who then took from the Byrds on later albums
- The film explains how folk rock emerged when these artists plugged in electric instruments to traditional folk music, creating a new sound
- Many songs were created in direct response to hearing other artists’ new releases, creating a musical conversation between bands
Cameos
The film features an impressive roster of music legends:
- Tom Petty (in one of his final on-camera interviews before his death)
- Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys)
- Roger McGuinn (The Byrds)
- Michelle Phillips (The Mamas and the Papas)
- David Crosby
- Stephen Stills
- Graham Nash
- Eric Clapton
- Ringo Starr
- Jackson Browne
- Fiona Apple
- Beck
- Norah Jones
- Cat Power
Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Lou Adler (legendary producer) reveals that the bathroom at Ciro’s (nightclub where The Byrds played) was used as the “green room” because it was the only private space in the venue
- The Mamas and the Papas’ “Go Where You Wanna Go” was actually written about Michelle Phillips’ infidelities
- Stephen Stills lived in a house with no furniture except his instruments and a mattress on the floor
- The band dynamics were often complicated by romantic relationships – many musicians dated and married each other’s partners
- The Beatles’ publicist Derek Taylor moved to Laurel Canyon specifically to be part of the scene, bringing British connections that helped cross-pollinate musical ideas
Wrap Up
“Echo in the Canyon” captures a magical moment in music history when creativity, competition, and community combined to change music forever. The film shows how these musicians transformed American folk music into something electric and new, creating sounds that would influence generations of artists. While it focuses more on the music than personal drama, the documentary gives viewers an intimate look at how these legendary songs came to be. The mix of archive footage, new performances by Jakob Dylan and friends, and firsthand accounts from the pioneers themselves makes this a must-watch for anyone who loves music history.
Thanks for reading!
Rob Kelly, Chief Maniac, Daily Doc