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Wild Combination is director Matt Wolf's visually absorbing portrait of the seminal avant-garde composer, singer-songwriter, cellist, and disco producer Arthur Russell. Before his untimely death from AIDS in 1992, Arthur prolifically created music that spanned an extraordinary diversity of styles and won the love of artistic communities that would seem utterly disparate. His collaborators and most ardent supporters ranged from Philip Glass and Allen Ginsberg to rock bands like The Talking Heads and The Modern Lovers; the pre-Studio 54 disco scene of Nicky Siano's Gallery and David Mancuso's Loft; and DJ-producers like Francois Kevorkian and Larry Levan, among others. Arthur's music spanned both pop and the transcendent possibilities of abstract art and now, over fifteen years since his passing, his work is still being embraced by new and ever growing audiences Wolf incorporates rare archival footage and commentary from Arthur's family, friends, and closest collaborators including (in order of appearance) the musician and writer David Toop (who did the last print interview with Russell), parents Chuck and Emily Russell, Allen Ginsberg, Ernie Brooks (The Modern Lovers, The Necessaries), Philip Glass, Russell's partner Tom Lee, Steve Knutson of Audika Records (responsible for reissuing Russell's work in recent years),the singer-songwriter Jens Lekman and others. The package will feature over 65 minutes including 25 minutes of archival Arthur Russell performance footage; Allen Ginsberg chants a mantra at Arthur's funeral; an audiocassette letter from Arthur to his parents; covers of Arthur Russell songs by Jens Lekman, Verity from Electrelane, Joel Gibb (of idden Cameras) and Arthur's Landing.
Review
This story begins, as many good ones do, with a gay man from Oskaloosa, Iowa, playing cello in a closet in a Buddhist seminary. It ends with a gentle and brilliant musician dying in New York long before his time. In between, the cellist, Arthur Russell, wrote orchestral music, produced disco hits, and recorded a body of solo cello-and-voice songs that fit somewhere between lullabies and art songs. --The New Yorker
An extremely compelling story of one man's artistic vision and achievement. Wolf offers a series of invaluable insights into a remarkable musician who lived and spoke mainly through his transcendental music. --The Wire
An extremely compelling story of one man's artistic vision and achievement. Wolf offers a series of invaluable insights into a remarkable musician who lived and spoke mainly through his transcendental music. --The Wire
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Intimate portrayal of a fascinating and talented man. Lots of great examples of his work, in depth conversations with those close to him, details of his formative years that give a rare glimpse of Mr. Russell as a young man, amazing archive footage, all of which leads to an unavoidably moving conclusion. This is an indispensable account of a very important artist of the 20th century. It has been painstakingly put together and, such is the engaging style by which it has been constructed, would appeal to diehard fans, casual music fans and complete newcomers alike. Awesome.
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Amazon.com:
1 review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Why didn't this win an Academy Award - ?
4 Nov 2010
Format:DVD
What an amazing documentary of an amazing musical talent! Arthur Russell was one of the seminal influences in disco and 1970s-1980s avant garde music, yet most people have never heard of him. Matt Wolf's documentary brings Arthur and his music back to life through the eyes of his friends, family, and collaborators - and, of course, through his music.
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