Loud Mouths

Near the end of the new documentary It Might Get Loud, Jimmy Page (of Led Zeppelin, of course) says something like, "I don't know if I picked it, or if it picked me, but I've really enjoyed it." He's talking about the guitar, but the sentiment could apply to this movie — which I definitely chose to see. An intimate look at three of the greatest guitar players in rock — Page, the Edge (from U2), and Jack White (from the White Stripes) — Loud is indeed a very enjoyable movie and I dare say essential viewing for any music fan.

Directed by Davis Guggenheim (the Al Gore doc An Inconvenient Truth), Loud zeroes in on these three men, showing them individually talking about their influences and what led them to discover the guitar, and together comparing notes and playing their respective instruments. You get interesting anecdotes about the early days of U2, insights about the recording of classic Led Zep tunes like "The Battle of Evermore," a look at White's writing process, and much more. While some of it may not be earth-shaking or new for longtime fans of these men and their bands, it's still a kick to see them tell their own stories in the same locations that they happened. And no surprise, the soundtrack really rocks. So that's why I'm giving Loud a strong B+.