For our next Music Movie Night we're delighted to be have the brand new, high-res restoration of the fantastic, all-star concert movie 'Soul To Soul'. Filmed in Ghana in 1971, it shows such legends as Ike & Tina Turner, Santana, Wilson Pickett and the Staple Singers at the peak of their powers. Our screening comes just after the cinematic release of the film on March 6th, which coincided with Independence Day in Ghana. Music from the soundtrack arrived on vinyl LP, CD & digital on the same date. The reissue has already had incredible reviews, with the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw awarding it four stars and describing it as an "exuberant, distinctively high-minded documentary" https://bit.ly/4ssPHoE(opens in a new tab) Music journalist Garth Cartwright called it "the best music movie of this - or maybe any? - year". More details:
In February 1971, several dozen African American soul, jazz, and gospel artists embarked on a journey that would change the lives of everyone involved. They travelled from New York City to Ghana, West Africa to take part in a 13-hour concert entitled 'Soul To Soul.' The concert was a celebration of 14 years of Ghana’s independence from British rule. For most of these artists, it would be their first trip to Africa. For the African American musicians, this was a journey about personal roots, the ancestral homeland, history, discovery, loss, pain and joy.
Directed by Academy AwardⓇwinner Denis Sanders and produced by Tom Mosk & Richard Bock, the resulting concert film/documentary had a limited theatrical run in late 1971.
Now, 55 years later, 'Soul to Soul' will have another chance to connect with audiences worldwide. Steve Scoville of Blue H2O Productions, restored the original edit by reconstructing each scene using the high quality 2K transfers from the original film elements, which were shot in the 4:3 aspect ratio. The film’s soundtrack has been digitally remastered by Randy Perry.
Above all, 'Soul To Soul' is an electrifying concert film that features its players at the peak of their powers. Over 100,000 Ghanaians attended the celebration of the meeting of the cultures of the two continents. The Ike & Tina Turner Revue, featuring frontwoman Tina furiously shimmying alongside the Ikettes, delivers fiery renditions of “River Deep-Mountain High,” “Soul to Soul,” a cut specifically written for this concert; and a cover of Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long”.
Wilson Pickett, the most popular American artist known to West Africans at the time, took the stage at 4:30 AM to deliver a rousing finale of “In the Midnight Hour,” “Funky Broadway,” and “Land of a 1000 Dances.” Gospel, soul, and R&B family group the Staples Singers were on hand to perform “When Will Be We Paid” and “Are You Sure” just five months before they recorded their legendary hits “I’ll Take You There” and “Respect Yourself.” Pianist Les McCann and tenor saxophonist Eddie Harris introduced many members of the audience to jazz via spirited performances of “The Price You Gotta Pay to Be Free” and “Hey Jorler" featuring local Ghanaian artist Amoah Azangeo.
Santana, with guest percussionist Willie Bobo, was the wild card. The San Francisco group only had one African American member but, paradoxically, given its reliance on Afro-Cuban and other Latin American rhythm constructs, played the most African-sounding music (“Black Magic Woman”/”Gypsy Queen,” “Jungle Strut”) of any of the American guests. Interspersed between these stunning performances, the camera crew followed the American musicians as they visited local villages, met kings, and shared food and dance with the Ghanaian community.
In his August 19, 1971 film review for the New York Times, critic Howard Thompson wrote: “'Soul to Soul' will hook you. We defy anybody to watch the final half hour of this color documentary of a soul and gospel music concert, performed in Ghana, without tapping a foot. But it is the sea of rapturous black faces, those of the visiting American artists and their Ghana audiences, that makes this movie a haunting experience...mainly and compactly, the film sticks to the concert, brilliantly evoking the performances and crowd reactions in a flow of closeups and panoramic shots, to the stabbing, pounding pulse of the music.”
Event Venue
216-220 High Street, SM1 1NU Sutton, United Kingdom, 220 High Street, Sutton, SM1 1, United Kingdom
Tickets
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.
