Netflix comes over all musical with great documentary additions

Netflix is known for its award-winning original series, including political drama House Of Cards and prison dramedy Orange Is The New Black. But it’s also rapidly becoming an invaluable resource for documentary makers. This month sees the Netflix release of multi-award winning documentary Blackfish, which is apparently getting huge hits. It also marks the release of a wealth of music documentaries.

First up is Neil Young’s Journeys, out on March 30. The film has Young visiting his childhood home of Omemee, Ontario with his brother. He arrives at his old haunts and shares recollections about people from his past. We also see Young perform a concert at Massey Hall in Toronto, where he offers new compositions as well as classics such as ‘Ohio’. The performance is accompanied by archival footage of the tragic incident that inspired the track: the fatal shootings in Kent State University in 1970. The emotive song is shown with photographs of the four students who were killed, and is a hugely evocative viewing experience.

Another highlight is Beware Of Mr.Baker, which captures the tumultuous life and career of indestructible rock drummer Ginger Baker. He proves as mercurial an interviewee as a musician. The Zen Of Bennett sees iconic crooner Tony Bennett all nostalgic on the eve of his 85th birthday, as he shares his thoughts on music, art and the crazy rhythm of life. Reincarnation, Andy Capper’s unctuous and superficial portrait of Snoop Dogg, proves less insightful, as the rapper spends a “pilgrimage” to Jamaica inhaling a lot of weed. Still, die-hard fans might buy into his stoned musings on spirituality. The sixteen musicthemed TED Talks may reignite those cerebral fires, however, while Still Bill [easy-listening MOR soul icon Withers], Kurt & Courtney, The Secret Disco Revolution and Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet are also worth a gander.