This is one of my favorite films of 2008. I think my opinion is skewed by the fact that I admire the work of its principle players so much. I've been with The Edge the longest, having followed U2 since nearly the beginning. His guitars are certainly one of the main reasons, if not THE one that that drew me to the band. I discovered Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Page's work in 1990 when their expansive "crop circle" box set came out. Then of course is Jack White, who seems to be everywhere these days and has carved himself a place into today's music monument with his guitar playing. And the concept of this film--I admire Davis Guggenheim for bringing this all together to honor the legacies of these men, the formation of songs, music careers, and what it takes to be successful in music (lots of talent, then even more luck--and heaps of it). Many reviewers have commented on Page playing air guitar to 'Rumble' by Link Wray, which is one of the finer moments of this. It's one example of how Page becomes the ol' softie of the bunch, the sentimental one. He may have gotten more out of this than anyone involved. White emerges as the unexpected tone-setter and leader. Edge, well...(I write this with a silent laugh) he looks a bit lost at times and often gets schooled. Or it may be that he's the only one not reared in blues form playing. Both the White Stripes and Zeppelin pattern their music on blues interpretation. U2 came straight out of punk and melded it with New Wave. Edge also started playing later in life than the others. Page and White devoted themselves to the craft at very young ages. No doubt though that they are all very accomplished musicians in their own ways. You see the pattern of all beginning early in life and paying their dues, and not giving up when times were tough. The thread that connects their stories is that each just wanted to play guitar. Whatever opportunity allowed that was where they dug in. The concept is nice, as I said. Guggenheim sets out to call together these three godfathers of electric guitar, let the cameras roll, and see what transpires. It's a gamble that pays off.
Review of It Might Get Loud
