IT ALL BEGINS WITH A SONG

Directed by: Chusy

A documentary focusing on the songwriting community in Nashville Tennessee, the people behind some of the biggest hit songs of your favourite stars…

I'll admit to being very skeptical and wary of agreeing to review a documentary about Country music. However a couple of snippets in the trailer intrigued me - just how many of those chart-topping songs we know and love, whether Country or not, stemmed from this community? It turns out a hell of a lot!

The documentary portrays the city of Nashville as the sort of Mecca for songwriters that Hollywood is for actors. There's some nice historical footage (or staged and made to look old) of people hitching their way, guitar strapped to their backs. Many of the interviewees talk about making that "pilgrimage" to the city, drawn to it's inherent creativity. And just like actors, these guys talk about the hardships they've faced and the menial jobs they've done to make ends meet while trying to catch a break and have a song picked up and recorded.

We also get a glimpse into some of the songwriting processes these people use and they reminisce about how famous songs got their start (Journey's Jonathan Cain talking about the inception of "Don't Stop Believin'"). There's footage of songwriters coming together to write "Try", which was a big hit for Pink. One young guy is challenged with a bunch of random sentences, which he is then able to craft into the beginnings of a song within ten minutes. There is something peculiarly intimate about these scenes, watching this creative process.

The film follows the tried and tested format of talking heads spliced with fly-on-the-wall filmmaking (such as the songwriting scenes, where the camera is as unobtrusive as possible). The content is really fascinating and to see these musicians play is quite wonderful. I was in awe with some of the guitarists and how they can play chords and invent lyrics at the same time, finding the right tunes for their songs.

Two thirds of the way in, the film started to lose me, however, when we're told about the inception of  a song called "I drive your truck" (an award winning song by Lee Brice). The song was inspired by a man calling a radio show, who had lost his son in Afghanistan and who drove his son's truck in memorium. This is all very interesting and in keeping with the documentary up to this point. However the film-makers push further and not only interview the very person the song was inspired by, but also  arrange for the songwriters to meet him as well. For me, this was intrusive, manipulative and as schmaltzy as hell, but at the same time I could see how the stunt would be irresistible to the film-makers. And who knows, it might inspire another hit.

THE VERDICT

For the most part, this is a fascinating look at both the community of songwriters in Nashville and the music that's borne out of it. It doesn't matter if you are a Country fan or not, this is a solid documentary which held my attention all the way through, even if I do have misgivings about the schmaltz towards the end

7 out of 10 MikeOutWest