Neil Minturn (University of Missouri-Columbia)

$32.00.  CMS Member Price: $25.60
ISBN: 1-57647-093-8

Neil Minturn addresses the phenomenon of rock and roll with a serious investigation of Martin Scorsese's documentary film The Last Waltz (1978). This celebrated "rockumentary" artfully captures for posterity the final public performance of The Band, a partnership of one American and four Canadians that yielded an impressive body of popular song in the rock idiom between 1961 and 1976. Joining its members for their farewell was a variety of friends and guests who—like the music of The Band itself—reflected the rich array of vernacular expressions that have nourished rock and roll since its emergence. Professor Minturn approaches the performances and the film itself in terms of the concepts of intimacy and tradition. He presents the San Francisco concert as the summation of an extraordinary musical pilgrimage and prefaces his scene-by-scene analysis of Scorsese's cinematic creation with a cogent introduction to issues surrounding documentary film-making. Selected performances are discussed in detail.