To begin with, this film seems to be the typical promo that people tend to reconcile with, something that people are probably waiting for once they know about it. How many more narratives, interview style, biographical graphic music documentaries do we want to see? But Sundance became the place to present the music docs not simply about musicians reminiscing about their glory days. I will never be able to get off my mind the energy which was present during the night premiere of the documentary “Twenty Feet From Stardom” or the home excitement which started when the documentary, ‘Summer of Soul (Or When the Revolution Would Not be Televised)’ was released online at the Time of the Sundance festival in the year twenty twenty one. Documentaries with topics based on Little Richard and the Indigo Girls were aired just the other time last year. So it is very logical to present a film dedicated to the shooting of the clip ‘We Are the World,’ which was shot last other year and will be shown on the large screens this upcoming weekend as we approach the Netflix premiere. The good news is that by and large, it alters the course of unrealized expectations on what a rock doc is. It is at its most effective when it is methodical, detailing the two’s recording activities, some lyrics that were almost written, some arguments between the people involved, and even a participant who was inebriated from the wine.
Viewers will soon realize that Quincy Jones is an absolute genius. Sure, “We Are the World’ had to do with Lionel Richie (who is the focal interviewer here) or Michael Jackson. But it is Quincy who managed to bring all of those personalities together into one of the monumental recordings of the 1980s. It’s great to watch him in action, a musical genius who is almost the best at what he does. (And Bob Geldof rules too.)
Before that, “The Greatest Night in Pop’ underlines a lot of context about the music culture and the important figures in the year 1984, leading up to the moment of Harry Belafonte, and arguably one of the most important persons of the 20th century, causing a response to the question of Britons, ‘Do they know it’s Christmas?’, by calling out for Americans to release a single to combat hunger in Africa. Richie and Jackson were indeed the singers who penned much of the tracks Richie has some good stories about being in MJ’s house with Bubbles the monkey and unless I’ve missed something, it was Ken Krage the music manager who had the most inspired timing.
On January 21st, 1985, the American Music Awards took place with Richie’s hosting. After the show, Krage invited every performer and audience member in attendance to go to a studio to create musical history.
The Greatest Night in Pop’s first act does quite the work of reminding the audience about several important figures. How come this involvement of Stevie Wonder was so crucial? Why did they choose Lauper instead of Madonna? Did they pursue Prince? Just how terrified was Huey Lewis? It’s a tragedy how nobody explains why Dan Aykroyd appeared there.
After that self explanatory VH1 preshow, when everyone’s at the studio, “The Greatest Night in Pop” lives up to its expectations. There’s also plenty of footage from the night and great trivia, much of it getting told by participants like Sheila E., Bruce Springsteen, Huey Lewis, Smokey Robinson who tells how he managed to prevent some bad changes of lyrics to Jackson because he was one of those who dared the King of Pop. From Richie’s schooling on how girls eat to Dylan’s fear that he wouldn’t be able to hit the required vocal range for the lyrics he invented on the spot, if you adore music process docs, get ready to be captivated. Yes, there are signs that the genre of music bio docs may be getting to its last legs but “The Greatest Night in Pop” being detail oriented and informative does the trick.
One can’t help but wonder, however, whether something like “We Are the World” would fly in today’s climate (and don’t even think about bringing up that horrendous ‘Imagine’ cover). It does feel like something remarkable occurred in that space, in that very 1985 studio. Was it the greatest night? I don’t know. But this film will leave you in no doubt it was an unusual one.
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