“ECHO IN THE CANYON” — 3 stars — Lou Adler, Fiona Apple, Beck, Jackson Browne, Eric Clapton, Jakob Dylan; PG-13 (drug references and some suggestive content); Broadway; running time: 82 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Framed around a tribute concert of the same name, Andrew Slater’s documentary “Echo in the Canyon” is a loving, star-studded celebration of the folk-rock movement of the mid-to-late 1960s.
Special emphasis should be put on the phrase “star-studded.” “Echo in the Canyon” is one of those documentaries that draws on so many celebrity contributions that it’s probably easier to list the people who aren’t involved than account for those in attendance.
Simply put, between new interviews, file footage and concert clips, just about anyone remotely connected to mid-1960s' top-40 rock and roll makes at least a fleeting appearance, and the majority contribute a lot more than that.
We see the film through the eyes of Jakob Dylan, son of Bob, and frontman for his own band the Wallflowers. He drives around the L.A. area in a period-appropriate convertible while Slater intercuts his journey with matching footage from a 1969 film called “Model Shop.” At various stops, we see him in studios and homes in the area, recording tribute covers of key songs of the era and interviewing the people who brought them to life.
Eventually the film settles in on a secluded spot outside of town called Laurel Canyon, where bands like the Byrds and the Mamas and the Papas turned the neighborhood into a hotbed of creative musical activity. Step by step, “Echo in the Canyon” walks us through the major landmarks of a journey that merged traditional folk music with elements of rock and roll, going on to reshape popular music.
We learn about Roger McGuinn’s experimentation with 12-string electric guitar in the Byrds, Brian Wilson’s landmark instrumental work on the “Pet Sounds” album (which was inspired by the Beatles’ “Rubber Soul,” and in turn inspired their “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”), and the dynamic tension between Neil Young and Stephen Stills in Buffalo Springfield.
At various points, we get stories about important studios like Hollywood's United Western Recorders, and tales behind songs such as the Mamas and the Papas' “Go Where You Wanna Go,” which was inspired by an affair within their ranks. All of this is intercut with footage of the younger Jakob Dylan collaborating with various contemporary artists like Beck, Fiona Apple and Norah Jones in studios and on stage, performing new versions of songs such as Buffalo Springfield’s “Learning to Fly” and the Beach Boys’ “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times.”
If you’re the type who watches a lot of music documentaries, or reads the liner notes of your album and CD collection, a lot of the anecdotes will seem familiar, even if the interviews are new. At the same time, Dylan’s covers have a tendency to focus on deep album cuts over well-known standards, which might favor hardcore fans but feel strange for more casual viewers.
Overall, “Echo in the Canyon” works more as a fond tribute than the kind of documentary that breaks new ground, but it’s hard to imagine anyone being disappointed by the results, especially during precious moments when we see artists like Tom Petty appear for what must have been one of his last official interviews.
In the end, Slater’s film is a thoughtful reminder of some of the great music that has refused to vanish into history.
Rating explained: “Echo in the Canyon” draws a PG-13 rating from some sporadic profanity and discussion of adult subject matter, including drug references and the aforementioned band infidelities.