Sound City: Reel To Reel

Real To Reel soundtrack is the nicest man in rock’s mixtape made in honour of the Neve 8028 analog mixing console which now resides in his own personal studio.

It would be unfair to label the soundtrack as an ‘album’as it’s  hardly cohesive with an all star lineup contributing to the 11 tracks.

While you mightn’t  expect it to be consistent sonically, most would bank on Real To Reel paying homage to the variations of rock ‘n’ roll that was originally recorded in the Sound City Studios before it closed in 2011.

Boy does it deliver. The soundtrack is rock ‘n’ roll to its core. From the grungeiest offering of ‘Cut Me Some Slack’ with Paul McCartney on vocals to the Foo Fighters-esque ‘The Man That Never Was’.

Stevie Nicks adds the sole, yet sublime female vocals on ‘You Can’t Fix’ and the songs stands out because of its Fleetwood Mac qualities.

While Lee Ving’s punk rock vocals appear on ‘Your Wife Is Calling’ Grohl contrasts the heaviest moment on the album with the ballad formation of ‘If I Were Me’.

‘Mantra’ closes with poise in a steadily building rock tune, and thanks to Trent Reznor’s work alongside Grohl, they leave the album’s best until last.

But while the soundtrack is home to some great examples of rock music, the weaker moments that fill the album, with tracks such as ‘Time Slowing Down’ and ‘A Trick With No Sleeve’, hold it back from being truly memorable.

Sure, Real To Reel lacks proper cohesiveness, but there are moments of brilliance here that do justice to the history of Sound City Studios and as compliment to Grohl’s documentary.

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