Written by Eric Barrett & Andrew Slater. Directed by Andrew Slater. A documentary style film following Jakob Dylan and his conversations with various musicians from The Byrds, The Beach Boys, The Mamas and The Papas, and Buffalo Springfield.
Jakob Dylan is creating a music event celebrating music from the 60s era and visits various musicians to hear what the music scene was like in the days when many of them lived in Laurel Canyon. What I found interesting was how collaborative musicians were during that time. They lived in close proximity, spent time at each others homes, played music together, took new ideas to play for one another as they developed new songs for their records. Many of them remember playing chord progressions and then hearing some of them in someone else’s music. They experimented, they knew few boundaries as couples and partners, and they LOVED music. Every one seemed to be fans of one another and were inspired or influenced by one another.
This film includes archived footage and Jakob’s band playing classic songs from this era. Songs in the film include: “Go Where You Wanna Go”, originally recorded by The Mamas and The Papas, featuring Jade Castrinos. “The Bells of Rhymney”, originally recorded by The Byrds, featuring Beck. “You Showed Me”, originally recorded by The Byrds, featuring Cat Power. “She”, originally recorded by The Monkees, featuring Josh Homme. “In My Room”, originally recorded by The Beach Boys, featuring Fiona Apple. “Goin’ Back”, originally recorded by The Byrds, featuring Beck. “Never My Love”, originally recorded by The Association, featuring Norah Jones. “It Won’t Be Wrong”, originally recorded by The Byrds, featuring Fiona Apple. “No Matter What You Do”, originally recorded by The Mamas and The Papas, featuring Regina Spektor. “Questions”, originally recorded by Buffalo Springfield, featuring Eric Clapton. “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times”, originally recorded by The Byrds, featuring Neil Young. “Expecting to Fly”, originally recorded by Buffalo Springfield, featuring Regina Spektor. “What’s Happening”, originally recorded by The Byrds, featuring Jakob Dylan.
If you love music from this era, or are curious about the magic of music making during this era, you’ll enjoy Echo in the Canyon. The history is presented from a loving point of view and each person involved has a nostalgic look at the past while celebrating the music from the era. The soundtrack of the song covers is available on Amazon. Available on Netflix. Watch the trailer below: