Dream of California
June 01, 2020

'Laurel Canyon' documentary - "pure bliss"

Michelle Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas, in 1967

"'Laurel Canyon' is a nearly four-hour exercise in bliss, throwing us back to a fleeting time when musical warmth and formal excellence went hand in hand and made the whole world want to go “California Dreamin’". With apologies to Joni Mitchell, this, not Woodstock, is the garden you’ll be left wanting to get back to" - Variety writes in a review of a new documentary by Alison Ellwood (first episode aired on Epix on Sunday). The Los Angeles neighborhood has in the ‘60s and ‘70 housed rising artists including Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Frank Zappa, James Taylor, Jackson Browne and members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the Doors, the Mamas & the Papas, the Monkees, Love, the Eagles and dozens of other soon-to-be-famous artists. Hollywood Reporter says "the director has a sure feel for the essence of the period and its players, and for the social and emotional impact of their songs".