‘Brown Sugar’, ‘Mustang Sally’, ‘When A Man Loves A Woman’: the string of hits to emerge from the sleepy Alabama ‘burb that gives this documentary its title would fill a dozen jukeboxes.
But it’s the story behind the music that elevates Greg Camalier’s film, focusing as it does on go-getting producer Rick Hall, his in-house band The Swampers and the wheeler-dealing that made their humble ‘Fame’ studio punch so dramatically above its weight.
Archive footage is spliced with talking head interviews to fashion a fascinating snapshot of an era-defining sound.
As Aretha might say, respect.
