Troubadours

My adoration for the players of Laurel Canyon has probably bored everyone I know to death.

Recently I got hold of a copy of 'Troubadours', a new DVD documenting the rise of singer-songwriters in early 70s L.A. It tells the wonderful story of how rock and roll took a breather after the Manson murders and the problems encountered with the Hells Angels at Altamont, to make way for the unplugged wordsmiths who changed a generation.

It seems that people needed something personal to once again attach them to the heart of music. While rock and roll was thriving, and we cannot take anything from that, there was something incredibly authentic and personal about the songs Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Joni and Carole King were writing. These sincere emotions were not accessible in the riffs of rock music that pranced about in egotistical poses, however, when Taylor penned 'Fire and Rain' those who had seen the L.A riots, the Vietnam War and the oppression of modern day America could relate to something, albeit sinister and heart-breaking...



The film also looks into The Troubadour itself. A club owned by Doug Weston on Sunset Boulevard that later spawned the likes of the Whiskey Go Go and The Roxy, owned by label titan, David Geffen.

Uncovering the dream is a beautiful and upsetting journey. As Crosby says, 'Free love and pot are a good thing but they're not the basis for a functional society.