TxMike My friend Ron recommended this film available on Netflix streaming movies, and I put off watching it for a long time. When I finally did start I found it hard to quit. It surely is one of the most interesting films ever about the music recording business.Muscle Shoals is a small town on the Tennessee river, just across from the bigger town, Florence, in the NW corner of Alabama, and over 100 miles East of Memphis and about the same distance S.W of Nashville. It is the definition of "middle of nowhere." So why and how did this become the center of some of the most significant recordings on the 1960s, 1970s, and on?There is some lore about the river "singing" and some say that is a big reason why Muscle Shoals is perfect for recording music. But it was more the vision and efforts of Rick Hall, the founder of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Hall had a hard childhood. His mother felt incompetent so left to live with an aunt who ran a brothel. Hall grew up not having a mother, made even more difficult knowing what she was doing. His dad was a hard worker, and even though they were dirt poor always told his son the do everything not only as well as he could, but better than anyone anywhere.That guided Hall into forming FAME studios, building it and engineering it himself, gathering a group of nondescript young local musicians, and starting to make records. His goal was simple, make every record sound good enough to become a #1 hit. And many, many of them did, with some of the greatest musicians of the time. Eventually his musicians banded together and left to form their own recording studio across town and, after maybe 8 months of nothing, lucked into several upcoming groups and eventually became super successful also. As word of mouth spread in the industry, the best musicians and groups were asking to go to one of the two studios in Muscle Shoals.FAME studios is on the main drag of the town, on one side is a pharmacy and on the other side a pizza joint. Right across the street is an auto supply store and another pharmacy. It is a nondescript building and if it didn't have the big 'FAME Recording Studios' sign over the entrance you'd never guess it is the landmark studio that it is.Good film!

Vultural ~ Elusive documentary about famed Alabama studios, mother lode of Southern swamp 'n Delta blues. Lots of music clips, as well as recollections / thoughts from Jagger, Richards, Bono, Aretha, Pickett, Sledge, Wexler. Also the original Swampers and FAME studio chief, Rick Hall. After awhile, every time Hall started talking, we braced for the next tragedy: Ma, brother, wife, Pa, one by one the Reaper picked 'em off. Kept waiting for Old Shep to buy it. FAME began to dry up in the 70s, barely mentioned in doc. The Swampers' Muscle Shoals Sound Studio was sold in '85, likewise a scant mention. Incredible amount of hits referenced - "When A Man Loves A Woman" "Land Of 1000 Dances" "Brown Sugar" "Main Street" "Kodachrome" "Respect" "Patches" "Tell Mama" "Mustang Sally" and "Sweet Home Alabama" Highly entertaining, perhaps depending on your age and memories.

romath Early in Muscle Shoals the point is made by all concerned that Rick Hall's studio was color blind, just top quality musicians producing top quality music. A true haven in the 1960s South. But then the Swampers go off to form their own studio in town and along the way pick up and then lose Lynyrd Skynyrd (until after the plane crash). Yet, nothing is even mentioned in passing about the racist substance of the band's music or their presentation as defenders of segregation and, in effect, the Slave South. Director Greg "Freddy" Camalier might have gotten away with that as a simple presentation of musical history were it not for his choice to end the movie, to celebrate Muscle Shoals and all it had accomplished, by using Lynryd Skynyrd's openly racist "Sweet Home Alabama," along with another showing of the Confederate flag behind them, which was their standard practice. Talk about taking a dump on your own movie.

gregking4 Anyone who is interested in rock music should rush to see this fantastic, well made and impeccably researched documentary about the famous recording studios. Muscle Shoals is a nondescript little town with a population of about 8000 along the Tennessee River in Alabama, but it is also home to the the highly influential Fame Studios that has hosted a veritable who's who of the music world and produced lots of memorable number one hits and some of the greatest songs of the past fifty years. The studio was built by Rick Hall, who was basically following his dream. Hall assembled some of the best session musicians who had an instant chemistry and as the in-house backing band provided the rich rhythm and blues sound on many hits. Surprisingly though the musicians were all white, and they worked with artists no matter their colour, creed and ethnicity. The studio broke down some of the racial barriers that existed in America at that time, and the film depicts the divisive racial politics that were raging in Alabama at the time. Artists of the calibre of Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, and even The Rolling Stones all recorded here during their careers, and the songs that emerged from this humble little studio often changed their musical direction and gave them some of their biggest hits. And while the townsfolk barely tolerated the black singers they were openly disdainful of the long haired hippy types, like the members of Lynard Skynard who also briefly recorded there and developed their distinctive swamp rock sound. Muscle Shoals has been directed by Greg Camalier, making his feature film directorial debut here, who incorporates plenty of rich archival footage with some revealing interviews with the likes of Bono, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Aretha Franklin and Clarence Carter. And Hall himself talks at length about his own life and personal tragedies, as well as giving some candid revelations about the humble recording studio that he founded. We also learn about his bitter falling out with legendary record producer Jerry Wexler. Muscle Shoals is jammed full of great music, colourful characters and wonderful anecdotes. A must for music fans!