HIFF Review: The Wrecking Crew
Image courtesy Denny Tedesco
Review by John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com
“The Wrecking Crew” (2008)
United States, 2008
Reviewer’s rating: Four stars
It is probably impossible to exaggerate the impact that a handful of Los Angeles studio musicians had on American pop music in the 1960s.
At some point in time – no one now is quite sure when – they became known as “the Wrecking Crew,” and this lovingly crafted documentary is a must-see for anyone who appreciates the music of the era.
Director Danny Tedesco focuses the film first and foremost on his father, guitarist Tommy Tedesco, and then on three other members of the group. From there he casts a much wider net – with numerous interviews and some classic performance footage – to establish beyond doubt the importance of the Wrecking Crew on American music.
The Wrecking Crew came to prominence at a time – somewhat like now in Hawaii – when many groups were OK playing live but didn’t really have the chops to record. Record producers needed studio musicians who could stand in for these acts at the recording sessions, and also provide the instrumental backing for vocal groups – and get the tracks down in minutes rather than hours.
The members of the Wrecking Crew were better than that – they could get the tracks down in minutes, and improve on the original arrangements as they did it.
They were so good that that’s the Wrecking Crew, not the Beach Boys, playing on all the early Beach Boys hits including “Good Vibrations.” They also played for a long list of artists that included the Tijuana Brass, Gary Lewis & The Playboys, the Byrds, the Monkees, the Mamas & The Papas, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, the Association, and Sonny & Cher.
They were also the musicians Phil Spector relied on to create his incomparable “Wall of Sound.” Spector was one of the few producers of the time who included their names in the album credits.
Director Tedesco uses a round-table discussion between his father, drummer Hal Blaine, saxophonist Plas Johnson and guitarist/bassist Carol Kaye as the foundation of his coverage of other Wrecking Crew members. A long list of American music industry legends – Dick Clark, Brian Wilson, Larry Levine, Lou Adler and Snuff Garrett, to name but five – share their insights and memories as well.
And there’s more!
Vintage photos, sound bites and performance clips provide the look and sound of the Crew’s heyday in the ’60s. Home movies of Tommy Tedesco, and clips from a seminar he conducted in the ‘80s, complete the director’s homage to his father. If “The Wrecking Crew” were rated, it would be rated G.
I give it four stars out of four – and it deserves an extra one.
“The Wrecking Crew” screens at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday at Dole Cannery.
