Review Summary: A fun trip through music history...
Dave Grohl is a man of many projects. From his musical endeavors (Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Them Crooked Vultures et al.) to the upcoming HBO series about the eighth Foo Fighters studio album, the man literally does not stop creating in some form or another. Of course, he is also the man responsible for the documentary Sound City. The film looks at one of music's all-time legendary recording studios, the Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California. The film featured retrospectives from an esteemed lineup of artists and producers who have recorded there, including Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, and Sir Paul McCartney. While putting together the film, Grohl hit upon the idea of recording a soundtrack to Sound City, featuring some of the artists who recorded at the studio. The resulting album, Sound City: Real To Reel, was released shortly after the film's theatrical release.
There are a wide range of artists on Sound City: Real To Reel, ranging from modern-day artists like frequent Grohl collaborator Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, Nine Inch Nails leader Trent Reznor, and Slipknot/Stone Sour singer Corey Taylor, to legendary artists like Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks and Paul McCartney. The album is rooted in Foo Fighters-esque rock n' roll, although it does experiment a bit. Mostly, Grohl and co. gear the songs towards the sounds the singers are known for. For example, opening track "Heaven And All" sounds a lot like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club due to the presence of BRMC members Robert Levon Been and Peter Hayes. However, a couple songs buck the trend: Corey Taylor's track "From Can To Can't", which also features Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen and Kyuss bassist Scott Reeder is much more classic rock oriented than anything Taylor is known for, even if it does hint at a bit of that signature Corey Taylor darkness. Rick Springfield's collaboration "The Man That Never Was" is up-tempo and very Foo Fighters-ish.
For my money, the best track on Sound City: Real To Reel is "You Can't Fix This". The song, which features Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks, is a gorgeous nearly six-minute track that takes the classic Fleetwood Mac sound and puts a '90's spin on it. Nicks owns the song completely, her voice still strong despite being slightly weathered by age. Personally, my second favorite track here is "A Trick With No Sleeve". Occasional QOTSA member Alain Johannes takes the mic here, and the song's formula of quieter verses and an absolutely euphoric chorus seals it for me. "Cut Me Some Slack" is probably the single-most hyped track here, featuring the one and only Sir Paul McCartney along with Grohl's Nirvana bandmates Pat Smear and Krist Novoselic in a lineup that was dubbed "Sirvana" by fans. The track combines prime Beatles fuzziness with Nirvana's darker twist, but you almost feel like a track featuring a lineup like this should be something all-time great,but unfortunately it is not. It's still pretty damn good song though, and intrigues me as to what a possible "Sirvana" album would be like.
Hitting on that note, Sound City: Real To Reel is by no means perfect. For one thing, "Your Wife Is Calling" feels sloppy as all hell. The track features Fear vocalist Lee Ving, who spends his time babbling like a lunatic. The music isn't much better and almost feels like a teen garage band wrote it. The song has no real flow to it beyond that annoying-ass riff. "If I Were Me", also known as "Once Upon A Time... The End" is an acoustic track with Grohl on vocals. The song would've been a perfect fit on the acoustic disc of the In Your Honour album, but here it feels out of place. Piggy-backing off "If I Were Me" is the last track "Mantra". The track, which features a potentially amazing collaboration between Grohl, Josh Homme, and Trent Reznor insteads falls way short. For one thing, it's really long, and secondly, the trio doesn't really do much during the song's nearly eight-minute running time. Befitting the title, "Mantra" is long and droning, but is ultimately is so long and droning that it grows boring. It feels more like an outtake or demo track than a fully formed song.
Interestingly enough: there is one very notable name that does not show up anywhere on Sound City: Real To Reel: Tom Petty. I say this because he recorded seven albums in total at Sound City Studios, making him the artist who probably spent the most time there. I also say this for a purely personal reason: I'm a huge fan of Tom Petty, and I think it would've been cool to hear a potential collaboration between him and Grohl.
Overall, Sound City: Real To Reel succeeds in it's mission as a soundtrack for the film. Like most soundtracks, there are a few obvious highlights ("You Can't Fix This", "From Can To Can't", "A Trick With No Sleeve") and a couple duds ("Mantra" and "Your Wife Is Calling"). It's a fun trip through music history, and for that Grohl should be commended for getting such a good lineup of artists together for one project. Hopefully, anyone who listens to Sound City: Real To Reel will be inspired to check out the documentary is companionizes, as the film itself is pretty ***in' great.
