Five great music documentaries to stream right now

The ugly reality of life away from the microphone for American singing legend Whitney Houston makes for compelling viewing in Whitney. Here’s the music docos you should put on your must-watch list.

With the beguiling Mystify: Michael Hutchence illuminating Australian cinemas this week, here are five other music documentaries where the story behind the sounds is quite a sight.

THE GO-BETWEENS: RIGHT HERE (2017)

Amazon

****

A revealing exploration of the rich musical legacy of Australian band The Go-Betweens. This is a warm, inviting, frank and self-deprecating chronicle capable of engrossing hardliners and first-timers alike.

At the peak of their powers, the dual singer-songwriter nuclei of Robert Forster and the late Grant McLennan emitted a knowing, yet heartfelt glow that has not diminished over time.

QUINCY (2018)

Netflix

****

Netflix doco Quincy lets the all-round musical genius’s work speak for itself.

Now 84 years of age, Quincy Jones is still a presence in the biz as a producer, arranger, songwriter and all-round music guru of the highest repute.

This is one of those docos content to let its subject’s track record do most of the talking, and seminal collaborations with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson and Ray Charles speak volumes to Jones’ undeniable influence on popular music.

20 FEET FROM STARDOM (2013)

Foxtel Now, Stan

***1/2

Both a sight for sore eyes, and a clearing of blocked ears.

Filmmaker Morgan Neville turns the spotlight on those who have often been the reason a good song becomes a great song: the finest female backup vocalists in the history of popular music.

Finally, it is they that get to do the talking after decades of leaving the stage (and the recording studio) in silence. Wonderful.

WHITNEY (2018)

Foxtel Now, Stan

****

The irresistible rise and irreversible demise of American singing legend Whitney Houston.

The doco reminds us there was more to Houston than an extensive vocal range, or precision pitching.

There was passion. There was soul. There was belief. There was beauty.

However, whenever Houston stepped away from the microphone, an ugly reality was soon there to surround and consume her.

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MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. (2018)

Google, iTunes

***1/2

Fittingly, this intriguing, frustrating and lively documentary on te trailblazing Sri Lankan-born recording artist M.I.A. sends many a mixed message.

This would usually mean game-over for any movie dealing in verified facts, but not this time. For throughout the influential career of M.I.A. (real name Matangi Arulpragasam), the obvious contradictions have never been hidden.