Let’s continue our dive into music documentaries, snapshots of musical process and lasting impact from notable musicians. On deck today: Little Richard and 90s band Morphine.
Little Richard: I amEverything is well-titled. Gay. Black. Visionary. Check. Check. Check. But was Richard the king of rock? More on that later. The film explores his career chronologically as well as spiritually, following his development as a performer, bringing gospel’s fire to rock, vice versa, and tons more: like Teaching Paul McCartney to hammer away side by side on the piano keyboard and wail the gospel of rock. To put it plainly: no Little Richard, no I’m Down. And Paul wouldn’t have spent his entire career executing his trademark screams so well before key Beats like George’s guitar solos. John Lennon was also a fan, covering Rip It Up and Ready Teddy (which Elvis also covered) later in his career.
Richard was very conflicted. And Lisa Cortes’ direction conveys this well by letting the icon speak for himself. Interview footage, mostly from talk shows, sees Richard coming out…then slamming that door shut, lurching into Evangelical Christianity. Coming out as gay, then walking that back. Painfully frustrating, especially considering his cultural importance.
And Richard’s reach is huge. Gay icon, speaker, host, author, and self-described “pope of trash” filmmaker John Waters credits Richard for not only his “bad boy” attitude and the spirit of everything that is rock ‘n’ roll. But also for his own little (Richard) mustache. Contemporary Broadway legend Billy Porter (also gay, also black) makes similar claims that without Richard, no Billy.
Is I Am Everything a perfect document? Close. A couple of weird moments where the screen fills with glitter and someone-who-is-not-Richard-but-exhibits-his-influence bewilder. Luminaries rife with Richard influence like Valerie June and Cory Henry jerk you out of the milieu until you realize this is what Cortes is going for. These are at best confusingly heavy-handed juxtaposition. At worst, they bring the thing to a grinding halt.
Who’s the king? Elvis Presley, right? Elvis once told Richard “You will always be the true king of rock and roll!” After 98 spellbinding minutes, you will be convinced.
…will break your heart. Without trying. Sorry, Wilco.
Mark Sandman led one of the most successful and unique indie rock bands of the 90’s. Fashioning his own two-string slide bass, Sandman, drummers Jerome Deupree & Billy Conway, and saxophonist Dana Colley alchemized a strange magic. Dark. Hipster. A Beatnick’s brew of jazz and blues. Yet alongside an irresistible pop groove. Morphine.
And we get to see that trio groove, and grow! Local and international performances from 1989 as bluesy Boston alternative group Treat Her Right all the way to their last album, 1999’s The Night shows what this power trio lacked in guitars, they made up in creativity, evolving a “low rock” sound no one else had. They made a splash, featured in a hot indie film of the moment by future award-winning director David O. Russell. Morphine confused those who like to put music in genres, but thrilled their fans and luminaries, among them The Clash’s Joe Strummer & Black Flag’s Henry Rollins, who effuse right alongside Sandman’s family, friends, and associates.
Even though Mark died while onstage in Italy at a 1999 music festival, Journey of Dreams ends on a high note. Out of a love of the music and an homage to Sandman, the surviving band members toured as Orchestra Morphine and then Vapors of Morphine. Without both drummers (Conway died in 2021 and Deupree retired in 2018) Morphine’s future is uncertain. But this loving documentary truly stands as eternal tribute to this strange, wonderful band.
~ posted by Alan J.
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