Muscle Shoals is a good companion piece to Standing in the Shadows of Motown, both docs detail the unsung heroes who played on most of the songs we have come to know & love at some point in our lives. It details the ins & outs of what made the studio what it is by the hard scrabble direction of its owner & the various artists who came to record there & their memories on what made that studio so special. A nice piece of work.

Elusive documentary about famed Alabama studios, mother lode of Southern swamp 'n Delta blues. Lots of music clips, as well as recollections / thoughts from Jagger, Richards, Bono, Aretha, Pickett, Sledge, Wexler. Also the original Swampers and FAME studio chief, Rick Hall. After awhile, every time Hall started talking, we braced for the next tragedy: Ma, brother, wife, Pa, one by one the Reaper picked 'em off. Kept waiting for Old Shep to buy it. FAME began to dry up in the 70s, barely mentioned in doc. The Swampers' Muscle Shoals Sound Studio was sold in '85, likewise a scant mention. Incredible amount of hits referenced - "When A Man Loves A Woman" "Land Of 1000 Dances" "Brown Sugar" "Main Street" "Kodachrome" "Respect" "Patches" "Tell Mama" "Mustang Sally" and "Sweet Home Alabama" Highly entertaining, perhaps depending on your age and memories.

Of the several recent documentaries made about singers, musicians and producers of rhythm and blues, this 2013 production and the Pennebaker-Hegedus film, "Only the Strong Survive", are probably the best. Musically "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" has no equal, for it was conceived as a concert film, a record of a historical reunion of Detroit's jazz musicians known as The Funk Brothers, with guest appearances from great contemporary vocalists, all recorded with care; while "Twenty Feet from Stardom" is surely the weakest, a lost opportunity to make an outstanding documentary, starring some of the best background vocalists of yesterday (and a few from the present), due to an average approach, like an extended television report. Not that "Muscle Shoals" and "Only the Strong Survive" are cinematic masterpieces, but both cover controversial facts surrounding some of their subjects, including producer Rick Hall in the first case, or Sam Moore in the second. Their personalities and stories lift these works from the common place, and help to make them very fine achievements. Hall is indeed a very complex man, from his childhood in poverty, living in the wilderness, to his success as owner of Fame recording studio in Muscle Shoals, the city where Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Etta James and many others recorded hits. He omits nothing, revealing dark details from his family and work, and even making reflections about himself that reveal how the shortcomings and rejections he faced led him to achieve success. Due to the format there is fantastic R&B and rock and roll music that unfortunately is not enjoyed in its fullness (from Aretha to Duane Allman, among the many artists that recorded in Muscle Shoals), and very little live, new material, as the outstanding performance by Alicia Keys, several of the original session musicians and a gospel choir. But these are little complaints compared to the joy of seeing at last, a work on the fantastic music produced in those small recording studios in Alabama, and the group known as The Swampers. Don't miss it.

If you thought Sun Recording Studios defined the birth of American popular music you've never given Muscle Shoals adequate due. You can also reduce Stax Records and Recording Studios to a very potent, but lesser, footnote. Muscle Shoals is ground zero for what propelled the great colorless American music revolution. It took way too long for this to come to forefront in the guise of a big-screen movie, but it's here and it can't be denied.Truth is I always wondered why my little Alabama town never ascended to the musical heights of Muscle Shoals. I only live an hour and change away. In my life I'd seen more than a few local musicians that seemed to have some kind of gift. I'd even passed Hank Williams Jr. more than once on our city sidewalks. The thing I didn't realize, until watching this nigh on perfect documentary, is that we didn't have a river and we were lacking a native son along the lines of Rick Hall.Rick Hall's life story is that as a survivor against the darkest of odds. Growing up beyond poor, being beset by the personal tragedies of of both the loss of his younger brother and abandonment of his mother, Hall;s drive was forged by life's cruel hard knocks. All he had at his lowest point was his music. It's that music that saved him and created a world-class music mecca known simply as "the Muscle Shoals Sound". Hall parlayed that into one the all-time great American success stories. But, no man is an island. Rick had his compatriots in the journey that beat a path to the world's radios. His musicians, humbly known as "The Swampers" created a sound that wouldn't be denied.For a time in the 60's through 70's Muscle Shoals was, perhaps, the best known studio with a signature sound in the entire world. And, the world came. Diverse artists arrived and recorded ground-breaking albums that become not only hits, but touchstone recordings in each artist's canon at Muscle Shoals. What Rick Hall started grew exponentially beyond the man himself. You can't make up stuff like this. In the movie it is said it was a "perfect storm", and so it was.If you are emotionally stirred by music you simply must watch this. It is, in a nutshell, what music really is. It transcends time, places, and the differences of race and religion. It unifies, it bonds people and cements life's experiences. I've watched many music documentaries, of which the BBC has a wonderful cadre, but, I've never felt a connection and pure sense of love like the documentary "Muscle Shoals" enlightens me to. This is simply the best music documentary I've ever witnessed. A must see for all music lovers as well as a damn fine human interest story to boot!