Description
TOM DOWD & THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC profiles the extraordinary life and legendary work of music producer / recording engineer Tom Dowd. Historical footage, vintage photographs and interviews with a who’s who list of musical giants from the worlds of jazz, soul and classic rock shine a spotlight on the brilliance of Tom Dowd, whose creative spirit and passion for innovative technology helped shape the course of modern music. Tom Dowd’s credits include recording sessions with … More >>
Tags: brilliance, creative spirit, innovative technology, jazz soul, Language, legendary work, modern music, music, music producer, music profiles, musical giants, passion, recording engineer, sessions, spotlight, tom dowd, vintage photographs
#1 by Loya Jirga on April 10, 2010 - 11:10 am
Yeah, yeah, Tom’s a REAL NICE GUY according to everyone. He’s recorded all the big names in modern music in the “M” cities. Ok, now…how did he do it? Where’d he place the mics? Sure, he emphasized the low end, but can we have some examples. For a documentary on a recording engineer it sure was light on his actual work. Save for the breakdown on the multi-tracks of “Layla”, you get nada. As a musician and home-recorder I was hoping to gain some insight. Guess I’ll have to stick with my Tape-Op mags and the “Classic Album” dvd series.
Rating: 2 / 5
#2 by Jamie Tate on April 10, 2010 - 2:01 pm
I bought it last night. It’s okay but seems a little self-promoting. They show way too many obviously staged shots of Tom as lord and master in the studio making genius arrangement decisions on the fly and glorious chord ideas on demand. Seemed a bit much after a while. Got quite embarrassing to me. Think about when he was mixing Layla. Was there any need for him to count the vocal in? Was there any need for him to act like he was directing the musicians again?
As someone who is unfamiliar with much of Tom’s work it didn’t quite support the glowing statements all these people were making. Why was he the greatest this and why was he the best at that?
What was going on when he was playing with the tracks for Layla? Those guitars were sooooooo out of tune yet he called them beautiful(!). Sure it’s a classic tune but let’s call things what they are… and that’s horribly, drunkenly out of tune. It gave me the impression they were giving everything this amount of freedom, calling mediocre things brilliant simply because of their age (Tom) or because of their classic standing (Layla).
Was I hoping for more? I guess I was. Still, I enjoyed it simply for the insights into some of these recordings.
Sorry for the harsh opinion.
Rating: 3 / 5
#3 by Y. S. Kuindersma on April 10, 2010 - 2:36 pm
This dvd is a stupid one. You have to read everything before you buy it!
Rating: 1 / 5
#4 by Robert A. Bushnell on April 10, 2010 - 4:38 pm
I had the pleasure of working with and for Tom some years ago. The producers’ account of the record business is accurate, but somewhat glorified. Tommy worked very well with the Ertegun brothers, and well as Herb Abramson, and was a contributor to their success.
I recommend this DVD to anyone interested in learning about the record business, even though the down and dirty isn’t discussed.
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by Ricky Chilcott on April 10, 2010 - 5:31 pm
I have this on VHS and it tells the great life of Tom Dowd. He was truly an amazing engineer, producer, and person. His work has impacted many of us, watch this movie and it will show you who he has worked with. Everything he created was genius. I definately recommend this to any musician, engineer, producer, or music fan.
Rating: 5 / 5