DVD – “Tom Dowd & The Language of Music”

The language of music indeed… Recently watched this DVD about the legendary engineer/producer and all-around music man Tom Dowd and I have to say that this is the best music documentary/DVD I’ve seen in years. The life this man led and the scope and span of music and musicians he was involved with is simply staggering… I wish I could have done one-tenth of the things this man as done. We’ve all seen his name countless times on 45s, LPs, CDs, but we never really knew who he was and what he was capable of, until now? From jazz to rock, from soul to blues, from Dizzy Gillespie to Eric Clapton, this man has seen it all and heard it all and been there behind the scenes. The only comparison that comes to mind in this genre-spanning, decades-long category is discoverer-producer John Hammond, Sr. Dowd proves himself to be not only a worthy study because of his musical history but also because he is a thoroughly wonderful human being. From his involvement in the Manhattan project (no, not the vocal group the Manhattans), to his innovations in the technical aspects of recording music, the man is awesomely talented. But it ends on a ironic and sad note, Mr. Dowd passed away shortly after the film was completed and originally shown. Buy this, rent this, steal this…. do anything, just see this wonderful documentary. Note: I noticed once in a while it shows up on PBS outlets and things like Bravo.

Here’s the link on Amazon.