Highly Recommended: Tom Dowd and the Language of Music
About a month after I started this blog, my then-boss recommended the documentary Tom Dowd and the Language of Music. Two and a half years later, I finally took his advice (thanks to my new subscription to Netflix).
Tom Dowd (1925-2002) was a legendary engineer and producer for Atlantic Records and worked with some of the greats in recorded music. Let’s name a few: Eric Clapton (Cream / Derek and the Dominos), the Allman Brothers, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Led Zeppelin, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, the Drifters, and countless others.
The documentary follows his life, in Dowd’s own words, from his work as a nuclear physicist on the Manhattan Project (while he was a teenager!), to his emergence as a technical (not to mention musical) genius in the studio.
By the end of the film, you’ll be blown away by his warm and personable character, the childlike enthusiasm he has for music, and the love and respect that some of the biggest names in music have for him.
The end of the film shows him late in life, in front of the console at Criteria Studios in Miami, playing around with the mix for “Layla”, which he produced for Derek and the Dominos. He isolates the guitar parts played by Eric Clapton and Duane Allman (whom he introduced), fools around with the levels, and is like a kid in a candy store.
If you have a Netflix account, put this one at the top of your queue now, or buy it below. As a music lover, this one will affect you.
Check out the staggering list of Tom Dowd’s production and engineering credits on AllMusic.
Dowd was the recording engineer for Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”. But he was also the engineer when Otis Redding recorded it a couple years earlier than Aretha. Here it is…
Listen here:
From: Otis Blue – Otis Sings Soul.
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.
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