4 out of 5 Stars
Director: Dave Grohl
Category: Documentary Premiers
Recommended to: Music buffs with an interest in the behind-the-scenes stories behind one of the worlds greatest (and most missed) recording studios.

Sound City is essentially Dave Grohls love letter to the defunct recording studio Sound City and its analog recording desk (which he now owns). The film explores the studios creation and its early successes (Tom Petty, Neil Young), its domination of the musical landscape during the 1980s and its decline and untimely demise as the industry shifted to a digital model. Its also a peak into a series of recording sessions that Grohl orchestrated that brought together some of the worlds most famous and talented artists with Sound City connections to collaborate on new songs (including Stevie Nicks, Trent Reznor, Paul McCartney, Rick Springfield and Robert Been and Peter Hayes of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club).

If youre a fan of music history and the evolution of the recording process youll love every second of this film. If youre the sort that has a casual interest in music or really couldnt care less about the recording process theres not much here for you. Being a massive music fan I enjoyed the movie, even if some of the artists arent my cup of tea. I would have liked more interview footage from Robert Been, but thats a personal bias and not a real criticism of the film.

-Ryan Michael Painter

(Copyright 2013 Sinclair Broadcast Group)