Music has been a mode used by many to tell stories and teach lessons over the centuries. As new worlds were discovered and there were not many ways, if any, to capture the experience, songs were passed from generation to generation in order to tell the stories of the new discoveries. As people from different parts of the world began to migrate to other sides of the planet, many would take the musical styles of their homes to their new destinations and those sounds would begin to blend with the sounds already there, giving the world something new to hear.
During the formative years of America, African-American slaves brought with them many of the sounds that American music was built on. Slaves would often turn to music to show their joys and pains. One area in the south that slaves would build on their backs and also build a strong musical history is New Orleans. New Orleans is one of the birth places of American music.
Filmmaker Martin Shore, who spent 25 years as a professional musician touring with Bo Diddley, Clarence Clemons, Albert Collins, and countless others has set out to help tell the story of New Orleans music. Telling the history of such an influential city like New Orleans is a huge ordeal to take on and not one that can be summed up in an hour and fifty minutes.
In his new documentary, Take Me to the River: New Orleans, Shore spends his time focusing on some of the legendary musicians from the area that are still with us as he produces them as they record music with some of the up-and-coming musicians who are being passed the torch to keep the rich history of New Orleans music alive.
The film begins with the legendary Irma Thomas telling the origin story of how she began in the music business and her first single “Don’t Mess with My Man.” Thomas records a new rendition of her song “I Wish Someone Would Care” with the 14-time Grammy nominee Ledisi. The pairing of these two powerhouse vocalists shows the creative vision that Stone has as a producer. Ledisi is a superstar in her own right and deserves every accolade that comes her way, but her humbleness and fan-girling around Thomas is a nice revelation to see.
The documentary spends the majority of its nearly two hours in a number of studios spread throughout the city as veterans and newcomers join forces to record some of the historically famous songs the region is known for. During that time there are number of quick history lessons about the area that makes one wish Ken Burns had tagged in for. The time spent on how Katrina changed everything in the city is a story that has been told over and over and could have been better spent on the history of the Mardi Gras Indians and their impact on the music of New Orleans.
The ambitious documentary spends so much time in the studio that it almost comes across as a concert film. With that said, the most important part of the film is the last recording of the Neville Brothers in a studio together. There are many important families in the music world but maybe none as talented as the Neville Brothers. Aaron Neville had a successful solo career running as his brother Art was a founding member of The Meters. The two along with their brothers Charles and Cyril formed the Neville Brothers in 1976 and shared with the world their gumbo pot full of R&B, jazz, soul, and blues. Sadly, not long after the film wrapped the music world lost Art and Charles.
Aaron Neville, whose voice is still as smooth as it was in 1966 when he first recorded “Tell Like It Is,” records with The Dirty Dozen Brass Band in the film which leads to the brothers reuniting for an enthusiastic recording of “(Hey Mama) Wild Tchoupitoulas.” George Landry provided vocals on the original version as the Meters provided the instrumentation. The classic Mardi Gras call-and-response song is one in an extensive line of songs that many African-American bands sing during Mardi Gras as they masquerade as Native Americans while wearing beautiful and elaborate costumes.
One portion of the film spends time telling the history of how African-Americans in New Orleans began to dress like Indians and how it grew to celebrating the two cultures during Mardi Gras. Another hour and fifty minutes could have been spent on just the preparation of the extravagant costumes and the roles each tribe’s Big Chief plays.
Some the of newer or lesser known names of the New Orleans music scene are given the chance to play with the some of the legends that came before them. Bounce star Big Freedia, brass ensemble Soul Rebels, and hip hop artist Cheeky Blakk are some of the artists brought in to help build a bridge from one generation of New Orleans to another. Black’s pairing with Grammy Award winner PJ Morton and the Rebirth Brass Band for a new take on his song “New Orleans Girl” is the highlight of the 26 songs that make up the movie’s soundtrack. The Maroon 5 keyboardists ‘New Orleans Girl” was originally recorded in 2008 and then remixed with Trombone Shorty on his 2016 album Bounce & Soul, Vol. 1. The ode to the 504 is a breath of fresh air in the movie where we see how much Morton enjoys collaborating with Blakk. The singer-songwriter recently moved back to New Orleans with his wife and three children and opened Morton Records in hope to recreate the magic Motown had in Detroit while giving up-and-coming local artists an avenue to release their music.
The movie ends when Stax Records icon William Bell comes together again with his Take Me to the River counterpart Snoop Dogg to record the Allen Toussaint penned “Yes We Can.” Hip-hop artist G-Eazy joins the two music legends as well.
The documentary spends a lot of time focused on the work of the Neville brothers, Allen Toussaint, various Big Chiefs, and the ramifications of Hurricane Katrina while still leaving out so much of the region’s rich music history. The practically complete absence of the Marsalis family is a head scratcher. New Orleans has such a rich history with jazz including its own subgenre called ‘ragtime’ and just a shame that the film does not focus a section of the movie on New Orleans jazz greats like Jelly Roll Morton and Buddy Bolden.
The 1990’s was a great decade for modern music in New Orleans and you would not know it by Take Me to the River: New Orleans. Members of the New Orleans jam band Galactic often serve as studio session musicians during the film as the only contribution shown from the alternative scene in the city in the 90s outside of a brief cameo from Ani DiFranco. Nowhere to be mentioned are New Orleans bands Supagroup, Cowboy Mouth, Better Than Ezra, or The Subdudes.
Take Me to the River: New Orleans is a spirited film that is firmly focused on paying homage to some of the Crescent City’s most celebrated musicians while pairing them with some of the city’s next generation of stars. Martin Shore’s follow up to the Memphis based Take Me to the River may have been better set as more of a concert film as it was often times distracting to see some of the musical number interrupted. Nonetheless, music lovers should enjoy the film and rejoice in knowing that one of America’s great musical cities is alive and well and in really good, talented hands.
Visit www.takemetotheriver.org to see where the movie is playing near you.
Steven McCash is the Lead Music Writer and Utility Man for SoBros Network. Steven is the host of the ‘Drinking With…’ podcast, and the pioneer of New Music Friday, highlighting each week’s new releases in the world of music in addition to the occasional live show review. He also pitches in as a Nashville lifestyle writer and football analyst (hence the ‘Utility Man’ title). Follow on Twitter: @MC_Cash75
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