‘Melody Makers’ and other films.
Though dating to the 1920s, the weekly British music magazine Melody Maker didn’t become a cultural force until the mid-1960s, when it started competing with the rival New Musical Express to become the most trusted voice in rock criticism. From the heyday of the Who to the dawn of punk, Melody Maker helped determine what mattered to music buffs in the U.K.
There are many worthwhile stories for filmmaker Leslie Ann Coles to tell with her documentary “Melody Makers.” Coles collects fascinating and often pointed anecdotes about the years when rock journalists were at their peak influence and gathers comments from musicians like Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson and the Animals’ Eric Burdon, whose careers were affected by what Melody Maker published.
But “Melody Makers” never becomes more than a set of disconnected sound bites and photos. At times, it feels like outtakes from another, more cohesive look at Melody Maker’s legacy.
Interviewees talk about the influential bands that found each other thanks to the magazine’s classified ads. The doc is nostalgic for the time when there was a fair power balance between rockers and reporters.
And although it covers the way the magazine’s preference for glam and prog rock left it slow to respond to punk, this is still a story without much of an arc. The old photos are cool, and the reminiscences are duly fond, but there’s a bigger picture here that this film catches only in glimpses.
“Melody Makers.” Not rated. Running time: 1 hour, 19 minutes. Playing: Arena Cinelounge, Hollywood, available Dec. 17 on VOD.