What would you do if you could have an intimate music session with three of the most prolific guitarists in rock n’ roll history? Director David Guggeheim’s fascinating documentary, It Might Get Loud, could be the next best thing to a front row seat to see Jack White (the Raconteurs, The White Stripes), The Edge (U2) and Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds).All three modern rock icons helped redefine what it means to play the electric guitar. “I didn’t always want to play the guitar, now I look at it as the means to connecting everything together,” The Edge said in the film. This is a poignant statement since he is now widely considered mastermind behind the world’s most heralded “Super Band.”
Guggenheim succeeds in creatively splicing in footage of each musician’s successful singles, hidden gems, favorite rock icons and archived video from their upbringing. The film also provides rock aficionados an up-close look at the making of several U2 songs, including the recent single Get On Your Boots (from No Line On The Horizon).
During the later stages of the film, it becomes conspicuous that both Page and The Edge share a close rapport, while White is viewed as an avant-garde neophyte trying to enter an exclusive mens club. Some cutaways and archived footage should have been left on the cutting room floor, including Page’s lengthy tour through a now empty house where Zeppelin recorded the epic album When The Levee Breaks.But this an exclusive look at the past (Page), the present (The Edge) and the future (White) of three music legends that have reshaped the guitarist’s role in a modern band. If fan’s stay for the closing credits, they will be rewarded when the trio performs an acoustic cover of The Band’s Weight.
Grade: A-
In Selected Theaters Now. Rated: PG
Posted 9/5/09
