The Boys In The Band

While 25 years have sheared away any immediacy that the film once had, it now looks like what it is-a documentary of a particular band at a certain point in cultural history. This was a time when you could put a bluesman like Muddy Waters, a folkie like Joni Mitchell, rhythm-and-blues singer-songwriters like Bobby Charles and Dr. John and rockers like Neil Young and Ron Wood on the same stage and have it all make sense. Musical labels were more free floating then, musical possibilities were more open. Few of those people got on the radio much back then, because Top 40 still ruled. Now they all have their niche stations, because nearly all music comes with a handy label these days, but the audience is fragmented, not to say dissipated. I wouldn't say the music was better then, but it was more interesting because you literally never knew what was going to happen next. "The Last Waltz," as a movie and a soundtrack, captures that feeling perfectly.

© 2002