Memphis has long been one of America's greatest cities for music; it's hard to imagine what the history of blues, jazz, soul, gospel, R&B, or rock would be without the input of the many legendary musicians who came out of Memphis over the years, from
Rufus Thomas to
Alex Chilton. Even if you narrowed Memphis' role in popular music to the output of the Stax Records studio and Royal Recording Studios (the home of the Hi Records Rhythm Section), you would still have a mighty legacy to contend with, and filmmaker
Martin Shore sets out to honors the past and present of Memphis music in his documentary
Take Me to the River. In part, the film documents a series of sessions held at the Royal Studios where a number of legendary Memphis musicians recorded alongside a younger generation of Southern artists, including several where legendary vocalists like
William Bell,
Bobby "Blue" Bland, and
Otis Clay teamed up with rap artists
Snoop Dogg,
Yo Gotti, and P-Nut. The best moments on
Take Me to the River belong to
Mavis Staples, who sings two numbers with
the North Mississippi Allstars in which they play up a storm and she sounds like the glorious force of nature she truly is; in addition, the Stax Music Academy, a group of youngsters steeped in classic Memphis soul, show the city still can groove hard as they back
William Bell on "Knock on Wood."
Take Me to the River shows that the giants of Memphis soul can still shake the earth, and pays homage to
Bobby "Blue" Bland, Teenie Hodges, and
Charles "Skip" Pitts, participants who passed on between the recording and release of these sessions. ~ Mark Deming