Scenes From The Swamp: Muscle Shoals

Thanks to the subjective nature of music it's very difficult to label films about rock, pop or any other genres as 'universally enjoyable'. Indeed, gods in the eyes of one man (or woman) may not even be relevant to another, and with very few exceptions sitting down to watch two hours of footage - whether fact or fiction - dedicated to a particular sound comes with one pre-requisite; we must appreciate, if not ardently follow that style in order to bother sticking around for the duration of the movie. 
With that in mind Muscle Shoals, which just arrived to own on DVD, is something of an exception to the rule. Greg 'Freddy' Camalier's documentary isn't necessarily better than, say, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, and nor is it any worse, but the focal point is far wider. In that instance, as in most music-related screen stories, variety is forsaken in favour of getting up close and personal with heroes of one specific scene. In this case, variety itself is the scene, what with the spotlight landing on FAME Studios, situated in the tiny town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and not before time in our humble opinion. 
Whilst we've all heard of U.K. big hitters like Abbey Road, Olympic and Maida Vale, and American institutions such as Hitstown, USA - the home of Motown - have a world famous reputation, in contrast the vast majority of Britons are probably unaware of quite how influential FAME has been. This is despite the fact most people with ears and the ability to hear will be familiar with a huge portion of the output this facility has been responsible for. Over the years since it was founded in a still-segregated Deep South artists including Jimmy Cliff, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Lynard Skynard and The Rolling Stones have all cut chart-topping tracks here, and so the film itself is resplendent with interviews, live performances and songs from this rather staggering range of players. 
There's also a fascinating backgroud history to the place, which here actually takes close to centre stage. In addition to the usual recollections of when Superstar X was recording and Incident Y occurred, due to the geographical location of FAME there's plenty for Camalier to explore in terms of its wider impact on society. Cotton plantations were still open for business in the fields visible from the studio window when Wilson Pickett, one of the most successful black musicians of his day, stopped by to lay down a few tunes. At the time, 'white folk' working alongside African American artists was tantamount to treachery in the eyes of many, with this being the third wave Ku Klux Klan era. Nevertheless. Yet notions of race and ethnicity never factored in the studio, providing an example to others of how those differences are both irrelevant when it comes to industry and creativity, but also completely skewed in terms of perspective. 
As a viewer then you can't help but feel a real sense of admiration for the founder Rick Hall, who provides the closest thing to a protagonist in this yarn. Aside from the obvious risks taken in terms of his politics and stance on segregation, the potential pitfalls in running a studio of any kind shouldn't be underestimated. The very definition of a speculative start up, only with dedication, passion and a genuine desire to give the world a fantastic aural product would any of this have been possible. And what products they have been- at once varied and yet coherent; the kind of fare that could only have been made at FAME Studios. A worthwhile investigation into this comparatively unsung, and yet universally influential endeavour, we highly recommend picking up a copy and taking a look for yourself.

Muscle Shoals is available to buy on DVD now, courtesy of Dogwoof