Echoes of Laurel Canyon

Echoes of Laurel Canyon is a 2018 documentary about the musicians of the 1960s who congregated in the Laurel Canyon neighborhood of the Hollywood Hills. It is now streaming on Netflix. 

This was the time of The Byrds, The Mommas and the Poppas, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, CSN, and many others.

Jakob Dylan conducts interviews with several of the original musicians from that era and some contemporaries influenced by them. These are mixed with archival footage. There are also some redos of the old songs by Jakob and others mixed in. 

It comes through that there was a lot of cross-pollination and influences among the groups. The fact that many of these folks were neighbors facilitated that. Musicians also moved from one group to another.

One interesting factoid relayed by Brian Wilson is that Rubber Soul begat Pet Sounds. The Beatles say that Pet Sounds begat Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Each pushing the other.  This confirms what I had heard before and have always thought. Three pretty good albums.

This is far from a perfect documentary. Some early influencers and neighbors like Joni Mitchell are completely ignored. The revivals of the old songs by Jakob Dylan and company are not always very good. That opinion may be because I grew up with the originals and they are hard to improve on. I would have preferred more original music and in-depth interviews with those who inhabited Laurel Canyon back in the day. 

Still, if you are a fan of this music, it is a worthwhile look. You will probably learn something plus there is some good music. I rate this documentary a B. 

wjh