Film Review: ‘Muscle Shoals’ Conveys Magic of Musical Hotbed

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Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Greg Camalier’s “Muscle Shoals” is a robust, entertaining piece of work that captures the power of a place that has produced some of the most remarkable music in the history of the recorded form. It’s a testament to power of the “Muscle Shoals sound” that so many music legends sat down for Camalier to discuss it but the director wisely doesn’t turn this into cavalcade of stars, keeping the focus as much on the man who built this hotbed of creativity and the musicians who played behind the household names.

The tiny little Alabama town of Muscle Shoals seemed an unlikely place to birth so much amazing music from finding the soul of Aretha Franklin to some of The Rolling Stones best recordings to really the whole sound of Lynyrd Skynyrd. There are only 8,000 residents in this tiny burgh but millions have been impacted by what has come out of it, largely due to the hard, dedicated work to the form from Rich Hall, the man who founded one of the most important studios in music history.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Muscle Shoals” in our reviews section.

Hall is a character and Camalier wisely keeps a lot of “Muscle Shoals” focused on him, including his dark family background (his family and first wife died horribly) and his unique approach to talent. It’s about the art, the creative drive for Hall, and he never let that get in the way of the celebrities or larger-than-life personalities that came through his door. When someone like Wilson Pickett challenged him or his musicians, he didn’t cave. When Aretha Franklin’s husband demanded change, he didn’t give in, and a rift grew between Franklin and her beau that led to, you guessed it, “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.”

Continue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Muscle Shoals” review.

Muscle Shoals
Photo credit: Magnolia Pictures