Monday, September 16, 2019

'Country Music' reviews: What critics are saying about Ken Burns' new documentary

"What the documentary gets right overwhelms the caveats. Burns’s chief takeaway from his immersion in the genre is spot on: country music is not, and has never been, static." — The New Yorker
"... most of all, this epic, essential survey (which premieres on September 15th) is both a history lesson of an American art form and 20th century U.S.A. itself. Like Burns’ 2001 deep dive Jazz, it puts the music’s cultural and geographic roots front and center." — Rolling Stone
"... 'Country Music' makes it plain that the story of the genre is merely a pocket version of the story of the American musical experiment writ large: Everyone trying on poses and costumes, borrowing wildly at every turn, pointing fingers at others trying similar things, and, as soon as things become complacent, agitating for something new." — New York Times
"... in Country Music, Burns goes wide, not deep; it's rare for any musical excerpt to last more than 20 seconds, making it impossible for a singer to make an impression on a viewer unfamiliar with his or her work.This time around, Burns has traveled down Hank Williams' 'Lost Highway' with a busted GPS." — NPR
"Country Music is a wide subject that Burns painstakingly brushes through. But there's not enough paint for that picture. You're going to see the canvas and the blotches. If you know that going in, it helps." — Hollywood Reporter
"Ken Burns’s eight-part, 16-hour series paints tells an expansive, inclusive story of the narrative-driven music." — Wall Street Journal
"The new docuseries is reverent and exhaustive in its attempt to summarize almost a century of American music." — Variety
" ... Burns delivers an enlightening, educational and often emotionally stirring account of country’s essential evolution (still in progress), from traditional immigrant and church songs heard in the misty mountain hollers to a powerful, Nashville-centric industry that grew to favor predictable hits over authentic origins. I cried three times while making my way through it, moved by the music but also by the common thread of suffering that travels through those who create it." — Washington Post

No comments: