IMGL, was made as a documentary of the electric guitar and the filmmakers went about it in a really cool way. Instead of going through the history of the electric guitar and it's various phases, they instead chose to focus on three guitarists, from 3 generations and 3 somewhat different styles, and make the story about how they experienced the guitar. In doing so they really brought out what makes the electric guitar special and able to meld itself to different styles and tastes, bringing out feelings and emotions, along with the talent and virtuosity of the musician. The Edge makes a statement in the film, which I'll summarize, "I keep feeling like the guitar has ended its run in rock music and expect to see if fade out, then new bands come forward with a new take on the guitar and continue to forge new ground with it. The Edge goes on to say that he almost gets more excited seeing a 17 year old exploring the guitar than he does watching some legendary guitar master.
The film shuttles between the 3 different guitarists and highlights both their history of first getting and playing a guitar as well as the way the go about playing it now. I've read numerous places that Jack White, of the White Stripes in case you were unaware, likes things to be a struggle. He feels he gets more out of himself and the instrument, if he has to struggle and fight with it. His favorite guitar is a cheap plastic model from the early 60's, sold by Montgomery Ward. He favors guitars that don't stay in tune or have other physical imperfections. One of the guitars he played a lot in the film was the first guitar he owned. It was a sad guitar with a top that looked like it was made out of something slightly more substantial than cardboard. One of the F holes had been crushed in a bit. The guitar had a raw tone, but wasn't that great. Jack often refers to playing the guitar as "Attacking" it. He said that's the way he goes about it, fights and struggles until he pulls what he wants out of it.
The sections of the film that focus on Jimmy Page show him playing some of his favorite vinyl that influenced his early playing. He also talks about the various recording methods they used on Led Zeppelin's 4th album, specifically "When the Levee Breaks", one of my favorite songs. He talks about his time as a session musician and how it started to kill him; he was literally playing Muzak. It was then he realized he had to do something different and ended in the Yardbirds before Led Zeppelin was formed. IMGL shows the 3 of them sitting on a small stage set up in a large vacant sound stage in Burbank CA. At various times they talk about a particular riff they came up with or how they like to play the guitar. One of my favorite sequences is when Jimmy Page is playing "Ramble On" and the look on Jack and The Edge's faces is priceless. You can clearly see these two masters of the guitar thinking, "I'm watching Jimmy Page play "Ramble On." The look was a combination of stunned and giddy school boy with a pocket full of firecrackers.
The Edge shows off his amazing rack of effects. He is truly a master of using the guitar for texture. His massive effects board, with around 30 effects is programmed to select the appropriate series of effects for each of the songs that U2 plays. This allows The Edge to shuttle through with the push of a button to find "Pride" and have all of the wah, echo, and reverb effects and their settings so it sounds perfect every time. He shows how with his set of effects he can turn what is really a boring guitar riff into something that sounds like an amazing wall of sound.
IMGL doesn't last nearly long enough at one hour thirty six minutes. Luckily there is another hour of extras that are just as amazing as the actual film. Highlights for me are the press conference at the Toronto Film festival where you get to hear what the film makers and guitarists though of the experience and what they learned from it. There is an awesome section that shows The Edge asking Jack White to show him how to play the main riff from "Seven Nation Army", the three of them jamming away to "Seven Nation Army" is priceless. Jimmy Page has a couple of acoustic guitar sections that were cut, but show his amazing guitar playing abilities. At one point he's playing a riff that if I were just hearing the audio I would have thought at least 2 or maybe 3 people were playing, and here he was just playing it by himself. Jimmy also demonstrates to Jack and The Edge how to play the main riff from "Kashmir", in yet another of the amazing moments of the film.
You don't really have to be a fan of any of the three guitarists featured in the film, if you just have an appreciation for music and how it's made you'll find this film interesting and entertaining. If you are a fan of even one, or all three of these men you'll be even more enthralled.
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