SOUND & VISION
If I Leave Here To- morrow A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd (Showtime) One would think
that by now everything has been said and written that there is to say about the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Over the course of several books,
many TV specials and radio specials, and a few documentary films, the story of Skynyrd’s rise from the poorest section of West Jack- sonville, Florida to to top of the charts has been chronicled, including a recent documen- tary called Gone with the Wind, a pretty good one. Well, I asm here to tell you that the de- finitive documentary has finally arrived in If I Leave Here Tomorrow. Kudzoo contributor Rick Broyles has
been video taping interviews with Skynyrd band members and associates for years, and some of his footage was utilized in the making of this fine film. Broyles managed to inter- view a lot of the band folks before they passed away, so the footage is pure gold to fans. As a personal friend to Bob Burns and Jo Jo Billingsley, it is a thrill for me to have this film. The producer did an excellent job of piecing together clips, many never before seen. Now, many critics say there is “nothing new” in the movie, and while this may be true, the story has never been told in a better way in my opinion. If I had one criticism of the film, it would be that too much time was spent on the plane crash, especially the footage of walking around the crash site look- ing for pieces of the airplane that killed Ron- nie and company. It bothers me that such a
great rock band is mostly remembered for dying in an airplane crash. Can I get an amen? Still, If I Leave Here Tomorrowis an excellent film.
-Michael Buffalo Smith
Melanie Live at the Meltdown Festival, 2007 (MVD) At the age of 71,
Melanie Safka still owns the stage. When she first garnered the attention of the masses, she was play- ing a morning set at the
Woodstock Festival in 1969. She won over that audience and has continued to win over fans every since. The concert film from the 2007 Melt-
down Festival in the UK finds Melanie on stage with her acoustic guitar, accomponied only by her youngest son Beau, a red hot gui- tar player. Yes, a few songs in she does indeed deliver her biggest Top Ten hit “Brand New Key,” sounding as quirky as it did so many years ago. For anyone who judges Melanie by that one song, they are indeed in for a sur- prise. The rest of her music is much more folk oriented, and much of it is a bit more serious. She delivers her rendition of “ Ruby
Tuesday”and her hit “Look What They’ve Done to My Song, Ma” with passion. Several of the songs performed were co-written with her son Beau, including “The Ballad of Crazy Love,” a good one. “Lay Down,” a song she wrote about performing at Woodstock,is just as powerful lyrically today as it was in ‘69. Her cover of James Taylor’s “Carolina in My
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