![]() Can you tell us what the inspiration from that film was and why that had an effect on you? In your film, you mentioned the film, The Model Shop, which came out in, I think, it was in 1968. So those rooms all have character and hopefully they will be there in 60 years. And the echo itself was really, the echo chambers of those rooms that create that depth around the human voice when you use it the right way. And so, one of the things about the film was that it’s, in one sense it’s about the echo of people’s ideas, but it’s also about the echo itself. Some of them are single story buildings, which may not be there in 10 years. Sunset Sounds, Capital, Western United which are still there today. There’s a coyote in your backyard, there’s a racoon crawling across your front door and yeah, Laurel Canyon was situated above the concentrated area where all the studios were that these records were made. ![]() And the thing about Los Angeles that’s always so interesting is that you’re always confronted by the edge of nature while you’re in this metropolis. So, you’re up in the hills, you’re in a rural setting, but you’re close to all these incredibly good studios. Well, it’s an amazing location because it’s close to the centre of Los Angeles. It’s got its dividing line of Mulholland Drive – one side’s Hollywood and the other side is the San Fernando Valley – and there were people when I came to California – musicians, actors – that lived up there but it really represents something greater than just the topography of canyon life. Laurel Canyon is a place that I think we all traverse to try to get around Los Angeles. Laurel Canyon is a unique location isn’t it? Can you tell us about it? When I caught up with Andrew Slater to talk about his film he was in Santa Barbara – about 90 minutes up the Pacific Coast Highway from Laurel Canyon – looking out over the Pacific Ocean on a bright, sunny Californian day. Slater was head of Capitol Records and his experience is evident on the soundtrack because the concert and studio audio is nothing less than superb on faithful renditions of the songs that also include a great reading of ‘Goin’ Back’ by Dylan and Beck that proves that the other main star of the show, apart from Laurel Canyon and Jakob Dylan, is the Rickenbacker guitar. It would have been nice to include Joni Mitchell but her recording career started a little later. Eric Clapton weighs in on the influence of the music while Stephen Stills attributes a warning to ‘Expecting to Fly’ which assumes an importance that had probably not been evident before. Jackson Browne tells how when he first saw the Beach Boys he thought their image was ‘lame’. Michelle Phillips reveals all about relationships in the Mamas & Papas. ![]() The ever-garrulous David Crosby chimes in about life in the canyon and within the Byrds (it is easy to see why the recent doco about him is so revealing). ![]() “ Whether it’s the music or the Hollywood history, in terms of showbiz, it’s one of the chakras of showbiz, for sure.” “Historically, it’s an amazing part of the world, musically,” he said. ![]() When I recently interviewed Rufus Wainwright he was at home in the Canyon looking across at a house once owned by silent screen star Louise Brooks. It is easy to understand the attraction that lives on. The thing that amazed me was that this almost rural setting was just a couple of miles from Sunset Strip, West Hollywood, and the centre of the recording industry. In fact, Laurel Canyon was the first place I went to in Los Angeles when I got a motorbike for a West Coast trip. You only have to listen to gold radio to hear many of the songs from that era still resonating. Laurel Canyon was not only responsible for some of the greatest pop and rock music to come out of America in the ‘60s and ‘70s but also some of its most successful and enduring names: Joni Mitchell, Brian Wilson, Jackson Browne, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Carole King, John Mayall, Eagles, James Taylor, The Mamas & Papas, Love, Frank Zappa, Jim Morrison, Harry Nilsson. Echo In The Canyon (Greenwich Entertainment/Mirror Films)Īvailable on: Amazon Prime/ Apple, PSN, Microsoft, Google and Fetch ![]()
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