[.ca] Billy Bragg & Wilco: Man in the Sand

A Mouth Full Of Sand:
No doubt this disc is going to be positioned in the bins as a documentary on the making of the two Billy Bragg & Wilco "Mermaid Avenue" records. I think there's a bit more to it. In a grand sense, this is a road movie. We have a person on a quest (of sorts). Billy Bragg comes to the United States to get a handle/perspective on his project: The creation and recording of some new songs, built on 40+ year old lyrics from Woody Guthrie that have been barely seen and never heard. "Man In The Sand" has a few rough spots. As Bragg does his "Driveabout" in OK and TX, it's both funny and tragic watching him behave like he's on safari in the 1890s, rather than traveling to a not so foreign country in the 1990s. While trying to pay respect to Guthrie, Bragg's cultural/class snobbery is both intact and palpable (along with the irony). The filmmakers get a pat on the back for showing that bit. The filmmakers do get it wrong in places. Frankly, I could have done without Bragg's home life, and instead used the time for delving into three areas/topics. First, show more of the music making process. Second, more explanation of how and why Wilco and Natalie Merchant were brought into the project. Third, if you are going to introduce the idea of creative strife at all, lay it all out. Don't dance around it, then suggest the reason you're going low key is that you don't want to overshadow the music. All of this can be easily attributed to being a BBC production. Meaning, we don't know the original intent of the documentary. On the other hand, I've come to expect nothing but top drawer from the Beeb. "Man In The Sand" falls short. But, we were talking about a road movie. A road movie needs the participants to be in love with something elusive, and this movie has got it to spare. It is so obvious that Bragg, Wilco, and Merchant are totally in love with making the music. It's also wonderful to watch Nora (Woody's daughter) fall in love with her father, despite all of his shortcomings, on a level that she never could if he were alive. This movie is about the search in (of) making music, and, what everybody finds. Not only do we get a glimpse of where the muse led Guthrie yesterday, but we see several people courting the muse today. By the end of the movie, the context Bragg was searching for begins to sink in. Perhaps more important, we see it's because of Nora and her stories, not Bragg following his road map and waiting for lightning to strike. The disc looks and sounds wonderful. The five extra tracks (Bragg's demos for "Birds And Ships," "She Came Along To See," "I Guess I Planted," "Eisler On The Go," and "The Unwelcome Guest.") are certainly worth a spin. Fans of Bragg's may wince a bit, and Wilco worshippers are going to feel cheated. Those interested in the process of making music, period, are going to be the ones who come out ahead.

Bragging rights?:
OK, perhaps the British have a hard time suppressing their contempt for Americans, but isn't it disingenuous to let it show through in a documentary centering around Woody Guthrie? I enjoyed much of this documentary in spite of the limited talents of the filmmakers, as Mr. Bragg, Mr. Guthrie, and Wilco were all compelling enough to hold my attention. But it is rather ignorant of the filmmakers to assume that those wishing to see such a document would have little to no interest in Wilco, who were more than minor participants in the project. Instead, they attempt to present typical British tabloid journalism, trying to recreate "Let It Be" by fomenting a minor dispute between the songwriters. The best parts of this, for me, were the tidbits of Jeff Tweedy singing Guthrie's words, but they were scarce. The filmmakers never even said anything about how Wilco were brought into the project to begin with.

scattered with some gems:
the premise of "man in the sand," namely the making of the two mermaid avenue sessions, could have been a really interesting rock documentary, like "gimme shelter," "don't look back," or "meeting people is easy," to name a few. what is great about this picture are the bits of rehearsals and footages of recording sessions. jeff tweedy of wilco is just breathtaking in these brief moments. but the attempt at fusing a documentary about woodie guthrie & the trials, tribulations, and inspirations of making the two stunning albums just doesn't work. i would have preferred a telling of woodie guthrie through these live recording and collaborative moments alone: to let the tremendous creative energy and the tensions that arose in the meeting of two great artists (wilco and billy) speak for woodie. there are many allusions here to the strife behind the scenes, of different views on what the big picture of woodie guthrie's music should be. this movie fails to articulate what these conflicts were. how did we get such gems through such an overwhelming process? to end with some good observations: the performances here are tremendous and well worth keeping in your library if you are a fan of wilco or billy. again: jeff tweedy is breathtaking.

About Time:
Man in the Sand should sit beside The Last Waltz, Let it Be and Ladies and Gentlemen the Rolling Stones. Not Since Rattle and Hum has there been a movie that captures the true craftsmenship that Bragg and Wilco bring to this project. Bragg spoke: "I'm on a quest. I'm searching for the spirit of Woody Guthrie", and that's where they (Wilco/Bragg) take us. So sit back and enjoy two of todays gretest songwriters as they take us on a musical journy towards the spirt hope and love that was brought forth by non other then Woody Guthrie.