The Wrecking Crew were an elite group of top-notch musicians on the West Coast who reigned supreme as the go-to folks to hire throughout the 1960's. It's astounding the sheer volume of hit songs that they played on that includes everything from "Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys to "California Dreamin'" by The Mama and the Papas to "The Beat Goes On" by Sonny and Cher. While Carol Kaye, Hal Blaine, Don Randi, Plas Johnson, Joe Osborn, Earl Palmer, and other members of this anonymous, yet illustrious bunch might not have ever achieved household name status, they nonetheless had an important and influential role in the crafting and recording of many classic songs that stands tall as a legacy to be proud of.Director Danny Tedesco, who's the son of noted Wrecking Crew guitarist Tommy Tedesco, covers plenty of fascinating ground on these extraordinary musicians that includes the origin of their nickname stemming from the fact that they wore casual apparel, their involvement in Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, putting long hours in the studio which for some took a heavy toll on their personal lives, recording stuff for fake bands or bands who didn't know how to play their instruments well (yep, we do indeed get the straight scoop on The Monkees), working sans credit on countless hit records, and how things came to an end once bands became more able to play their own instruments at the end of the 1960's. Best of all, this documentary not only gives the Wrecking Crew their long overdue due, but also serves as a marvelously entertaining and enlightening chronicle of the evolution of rock'n'roll music throughout the 1950's and 1960's. Loaded with terrific behind the scenes footage and further enhanced by a spot-on soundtrack (naturally), this honey rates as a total treat.

For anybody who has an interest in the music of the 60's, this is a must-see documentary. This one - along with Standing In The Shadows of Motown - show you the real musical talent behind some of the greatest Pop hits of the 60's. At least with Motown - we knew it was the musicians in the studio that created the sound the sound that we loved to hear on the radio and on our 45's - even if we didn't know the musicians by name.With the Wrecking Crew, they played the instruments in the studio on so many big Pop hits of the 60's while we watched bands looking as though they played them!! For me, it doesn't detract from how great those songs were then - and now!!! It was surprising to realize that a lot of the Beach Boys hits were created by the Wrecking Crew under the guidance of Brian Wilson while the band were out on the road touring! The anecdotes by several members of these session musicians were very entertaining. I doubt they got paid anywhere near their real worth - but for these guys, it was a labor of love - and as long as they had enough money to pay the bills, that was fine by them.When you re-visit some of these old hits from the 60's you will listen to them with a different set of ears!!! That intro riff to Wichita Lineman by Carol Kaye is one example. The artistry of all these musicians needs to be recognized and acknowledged - and it is through this documentary.

This is a very nice documentary made by Denny Tedesco, to honor the memory of his father, Tommy Tedesco who died in 1997 at the age of 67. Tommy was arguably the best studio guitarist back in the 1950s and 1960s and was part of a rag-tag group of studio musicians in Los Angeles that became affectionately known as "the wrecking crew." It was a name older coat-and-tie musicians bestowed on them, as in they were wrecking the established image of studio musicians.This documentary is especially poignant for a guy like me, who is also a musician and who grew up on the music of the 1960s. You see, the wrecking crew played the backup music in studio recordings of many of the biggest hit records of the late 1950s and the 1960s. When we listened to a hit record back then we never gave much thought to where the backup music came from. I suppose we just figured that the singer or the group had some musicians and we were hearing them play.That absolutely was NOT the way it worked. The 20 or 30 or so guys and gals that collectively were known as the wrecking crew were hired to play for recording sessions for all the big groups and most of the record labels. They were real musicians, they may only have a chord sheet or a simple line to work with and they would often invent musical lines that they thought would work well with the song. Seeing this documentary also makes it clear why groups often lip synced their records when they made live appearances or were on a TV show. Their traveling band could not play what was recorded in the studio, if they had tried to do it live it just wouldn't sound very good.Excellent film, I really admire those musicians and will think of them every time I now listen to music recorded in the 1960s.

The Wrecking Crew chronicles the stories of a wide, ever-changing group of session musicians in the 1950s and 60s that are hailed as some of the greatest musicians of all time. The kicker is that these great artists were never given proper credit for their work. Tedesco mainly focuses and sits down with his late father Tommy and his pals and fellow Wrecking Crew musicians Carol Kaye, Plas Johnson, and Hal Blaine. Together, these musicians recall countless stories from their time in the studio. The essence of this movie is the fact that many popular groups of the times weren't the best of musicians themselves and The Wrecking Crew were the uncredited band behind the music. A few poignant examples feature Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, of The Monkees, and Roger McGuinn of The Byrds speaking at length complementing the sound of these session musicians. Brian Wilson, in creating genius works such as Pet Sounds, recruited The Wrecking Crew because he knew the guys in his band couldn't reproduce the sounds he wanted for the album. McGuinn echoed Wilson's sentiments and recruited the band for the classic Byrds recording Mr. Tambourine Man. Dolenz's story was even more enlightening as he reveals The Monkees were strictly a novelty band whose music was entirely created by The Wrecking Crew musicians. The Monkees themselves were forced to take music lessons in order to replicate the music for the road. Even more revealing, the classic tune, Windy by The Association was entirely performed by The Wrecking Crew, who received no credit and The Association couldn't even play their instruments. This film shared a lot of parallels in that regard and many other with another Little Theatre special, 20 Feet From Stardom, which I reviewed here. Much like 20 Feet From Stardom, classic tracks and their most memorable parts were created by unknown and uncredited artists. Female bassist, Carol Kaye, left her mark on plenty of hit songs in this fashion. Take, for example, Sonny and Cher's classic, The Beat Goes On. Kaye explains that the original sound had a basic, boring bass lick, which she improved to what you hear on the recording. Kaye's story is also one of the most fascinating because she broke through the boy's club to do such incredible work. The Wrecking Crew also parallels 20 Feet From Stardom for its reference to Phil Spector's legendary "wall of sound" recordings. Spector tapped these session musicians for the majority of his recordings to capture the majestic sound he slaved for. His recordings jump started the careers of the likes of Glen Campbell and Leon Russell.Campbell's story is crucial to this film, as he was the first session player to break out and become a hit maker in his own right. The country great tapped his old pals to play on his solo debut and future recordings as his popularity grew. At the same time, the notion of the session music began to fade into obscurity, as more bands began recording for themselves. The phone stopped ringing for The Wrecking Crew, though their legacy lives on in this film. Though film from the era (which is nonexistent for the most part) would have been more engaging for the viewer, The Wrecking Crew is an excellent film and serves as a great piece of music history. Rock critics and musicians rave about this film having the likes of Elvis Costello saying, "A wonderful, touching and hilarious film about the unsung stars of so many records that you carry in your heart." This film is a must see for any music enthusiast. Also, check out the outtakes for some great unused footage!