Canyoneros

Echo in the Canyon (2019) is one of those music documentaries that we love, about a period in music that we love. But it has some problems that make it hard for us to love.

It is narrated by Jakob Dylan, who had the idea for the movie when watching Model Shop, the Jacques Demy movie which we are going to watch once we watch Lola, to which it is sort of a sequel. It takes place in Vietnam-era Los Angeles and it got him thinking about that time - especially the music. So he decided to make a film about the Echo Canyon scene. Being a Dylan, he can call on a lot of musicians.

So he gets interviews with David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, Steven Stills, Brian Wilson, Tom Petty, Michelle Phillips, Jackson Browne, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and a host of others. He also gets some friends together to sing and talk about the songs of the time, including Cat Power, Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, and Beck. They talk about Buffalo Springfield and the Byrds, how they inspired the Mamas and the Papas, the Beach Boys and how they inspired the Beatles and vice versa. They play archival footage of the bands and play their own versions. One very sweet scene has them playing “I Guess I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times” with Brian Wilson. When they start he asks what key they are playing in, and Dylan says Eb. Brian says - there’s your problem, you’re in the wrong key. Never mind, play it in any key you want.

This is all very cool as far as it goes. The old guys tell great stories (especially Crosby, who admits that he was an asshole). Since I’m old, I don’t really know the new kids, but their renditions are mostly great. At least there are women in the young crowd. Of the older generation, only Michelle represents the female persuasion, and she only talks about who she was sleeping with. Someone (Stills?) mentions Judy Collins, only to say he stole a few bars of one of her songs to make one of his own. Joni Mitchell, who wrote “Ladies of the Canyon” about this scene, is not mentioned.

Of course, other canyon dwellers who don’t really fit the mold, like Jim Morrison, Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart aren’t mentioned either. So this take is far from definitive. I was hoping for a broader look at the time and place. Also, Dylan seems personable and doesn’t impose himself on the narrative, but is just a little too blank for me. Good looking, though, like his dad.