"Tom Dowd" back on Sundance Channel

[wangdang]

Sundance Channel is again running the documentary of recording engineer Tom Dowd and his impact on contemporary pop and rock music. It includes interviews with Eric Clapton, Ray Charles, the Allmans, Phil Ramone, and the guys who "discovered" Dowd -- Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler.

I was really fascinated by Dowd's work on the Manhatten Project -- hard to believe that one of the guys who developed the atomic bomb was also responsible for some of the best music of the anti-nuke "revolution."

If you want to know more about how the recordings got to the platters and disks, give this a watch.

Here's a blurb from the Eric Clapton Fan Club site:

"Tom Dowd & the Language Of Music is a 90-minute documentary profiling the life and work of a man whose personal history reflects the evolution of modern music and recording technology: legendary producer/ recording engineer Tom Dowd. A former Atlantic Records engineer responsible for some of the most important R&B, rock, and jazz records ever made. Interviews with recording industry icons tell the story of this humble genius, while historical footage, photographs and classic music tracks capture the magic of the recording studio. It's here that Dowd the unaffected master recounts the recording sessions and technical achievements that altered the course of contemporary music.

Filmmaker Mark Moormann premiered this independently produced feature-length documentary at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and the film had its international premiere at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. It has screened at festivals around the world to overwhelmingly enthusiastic audiences and widespread critical acclaim."

[colterphoto1]

Thanks for the heads up. I don't have cable but have asked a forum buddy near me to tape if. Or if anyone else happens to tape it, please email me. I am a big Tom Dowd fan.

THanks,

Michael

[wangdang]

I don't have VCR, but I'll be glad to try to see if I can get DVD copy. A lot will depend, of course, on whether there is copy block on Sundance.

The show is on again next Sunday. If I get it, I'll post message or PM to request your mailing address.

Nice to know someone else has read all those liner notes to so many albums over the years and wondered about that Tom Dowd guy.

DB

[wangdang]

Cable has a lot of drawbacks, but documentary films is not one of them

[colterphoto1]

I used to BUY records in the cutout bins based soley on the liner notes. Oh look, heres a bass player who played with these guys and it was recorded at X studio, and engineered by this guy who did these other bands I like. It's a keeper.

Got into some wild music that way. Some bands, like Frank Zappa and King Crimson were breeding grounds for great musicians. Then you have groups like Yes and Deep Purple who changed personell ever so slightly through the years, making the music that much more enjoyable.

Of course, I was always a knob twiddler myself (engineer/roadie type)

Michael

[theryugobuddy]

I thought they got this documentary wrong. Tom Dowd was an astonishing man--a talented genius. I'm a big fan , but to have him narrate almost the entire story of his life really grated on me after awhile-- Yes, I know if you did it,it ain't bragging, but maybe Clapton, or Gregg Allman, or number of his cohorts could have narrated alot of the story for him. He sure has alot of reverent admirers.

That said, this movie is chock full of killer video of R&B and rock gods which is very entertaining. You hear alot of things about many of the artists that you hadn't heard before, and their is alot music biz and technology talk that illustrates how innovative he was.

Its definitely worth the time, but when Tom is singing about how much he loves his piano, you'll wonder why the editor left it in.