The Wrecking Crew: Denny Tedesco’s doco looks back on music’s unsung heroes

REVIEW: The Wrecking Crew is a fascinating story that deserves to be seen — and most importantly, heard — on the big screen.

The Wrecking Crew (PG)

Director : Denny Tedesco (documentary debut)

Starring : Brian Wilson, Cher, Glen Campbell, Nancy Sinatra, Carol Kaye.

Rating: 2.5/5

They were the ultimate sound investment

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What do you mean you have never heard of The Wrecking Crew?

This lively and infectious music documentary proves conclusively that yes, you have.

The title refers to the nickname given to a covert collective of Los Angeles session musicians that played on many of the greatest pop music recordings of the 1960s and 70s.

Most famously, the Crew (whose stellar membership included the great Glen Campbell on guitar) took the place of The Beach Boys on their album masterpiece Pet Sounds (and that band’s equally amazing single Good Vibrations).

Legends ... the greatest musicians of the Sixties, including George Harrison, worked with The Wrecking Crew.

However, their wide web of influence and inspiration regularly ensnared the best in the business (including Frank Sinatra, Simon and Garfunkel, the Byrds and Barbara Streisand). The crew also regularly reinforced producer Phil Spector’s famous ‘Wall of Sound.’

First-time director Denny Tedesco began shooting this doco in the mid-1990s, while his father and founding Crew member Tommy (a prolific guitar-slinger whose most-played performance is actually the theme from the TV series M*A*S*H*) was still alive.

The slow incubation of the project (further held up for the past five years by multiple music-rights disputes) has worked in the filmmaker’s favour, as it seems like everyone from the Crew’s halcyon days has a ripping anecdote or two to share.

A fascinating story that deserves to be seen - and most importantly, heard - on the big screen.

Originally published as The Wrecking Crew: Denny Tedesco’s doco looks back on music’s unsung heroes