It Might Get Loud

IMGL

IMGL

It Might Get Loud – I didn’t have high hopes for this, and even those were disappointed, somehow. A corny Jimmy Page meets with The Edge of U2, who strikes me as a very hard-working musician, and Jack White, who has real soul and the only one of the three who sings as well as he plays (and who has the coolest, most innovative gear). Page looks a bit stodgy throughout, especially when he backs of from opening his mouth – clearly intimidated by having worked for the best – but how bad could his singing voice be? Well, let’s just find out, shall we?

The 90-minute film is already short, but its presentation of content of worth (ie the reason we bought the ticket in the first place) is made shorter by the fact that it takes 27 minutes for the three to even get to their January 23rd 2008 meeting. The documentary feels the need to go through quite a lot of back story, reality TV-like in some parts, and to start with Jack White’s fascinating but gimmicky construction of a slide guitar out of a plank and a few nails. The credits are interminable, spiced up by some cool guitar playing that turns out to be Jimmy Page’s. Edge is shown doing Welsh yoga. The three guys play a little, Page does a weird rendition of “Ramble On.” Edge listens to demo cassettes of “Where The Streets Have No Name” (side note: Bono’s presence clearly hangs over the proceedings, given his larger-than-life persona, but he’s not to be seen). Edge goes back to the old school where they did one of their earliest performances, claims he hasn’t been back since that performance (we’ve seen this scene before in “Beyond The Lighted Stage”, the Rush documentary). Clips of “Street Mission” by a young pre-U2 The Hype. Page re-visits the room where “When The Levee Breaks” was recorded. James Page as a young boy on TV (note him singing backup in the second half!!), then rockin’ out to Link Wray’s “Rumble” single. An animated clip of the young Jack White’s room, 7′ x 7′, with a reel to reel, two drum sets, and no bed – he slept on a mat at an angle between the equipment. Jack White describes the Mexican neighborhood he grew up in Detroit in the hip hop-dominated 1980s, when playing an actual instrument was considered way uncool, and where there were no guitar shops or records shops. Jack White and Brian Muldoon as The Upholsterers, Makers of High Grade Suites.”

Jack White talks more about his influences than anyone else, and raves about the inspiration of seeing the Flat Duo Jets, playing with just a guitar and a drum, making a helluva lotta noise. Cool. The documentary momentarily explores the history of these guys’ first guitars, The Edge’s Explorer (got it when the family went to New York City), Jack’s Kay, and Jimmy’s Strat. Probably the best part of the film is when they show Jack getting his new modified Gretsch Anniversary Jr, dubbed the “Triple Green Machine”, with its built-in theremin and retractible microphone. Nice. Cool scene of The Edge and Jimmy intently watching Jack play “Dead Leaves On The Dirty Ground”. White notes that his favorite song is Son House’s “cialis phoenix arizona“, which he’s been re-making through his whole career. The three guitarists do the intro to “In My Time Of Dying”, mean slide guitar heaven. It’s when they are playing The Band’s “The Weight” that Page moans that he can’t sing (no loss – Jack and the Edge make up for it). White is playing an acoustic guitar with a double pick guard (made to look like a Brunette’s head) that has an illustration from a tattoo artist on the back. Pretty cool, man, pretty cool!

The DVD comes with 26 minutes of extras. One clip shows Jimmy playing sloppy acoustic in a white room, “Four Sticks” on an acoustic in a studio, “Kashmir” lesson for the other two guys, three-way discussion about guitar strings (?!?), some manic theremin noise (very cool, this one). The Edge talks about nick names that the band members have had, probably something of severe interest for U2 fans. The Edge plays “Stairway To Heaven”, while also telling a pretty funny “Stairway To Heaven” anecdote about his classical guitar teacher. The Edge’s soundcheck with his wall-o-pedals. Jack White teaches the other guys the ridiculously easy “Seven Nation Army”. There’s a patch of very brief, very useless animation. The DVD also comes with a 38-minute press conference from the Toronto International Film Festival that I just didn’t have the stomach to sit through.

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