William Samuel A real treat for any rock fan. The focus is on three of today's top guitarists: Jack White of the White Stripes, The Edge of U2, and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. Through extensive interviews you learn about the technical aspects of producing the perfect guitar rift, and the creative process that goes into making music that's distinctly your own.The stars also discuss how they and their band mates got started, and how they developed their distinctive sounds and personas. I personally never would have guessed that Jack White's chief inspiration was old southern blues rock, but it probably should have occurred to me how the Irish "Troubles" helped shape the music of U2.They don't just talk about their music of course, they play it as well. There's plenty of footage from concerts and recording sessions, plus new demonstrations of their prowess, the best being when Page, White, and the Edge have a jam session towards the end.I didn't agree with everything said during the interviews, especially White's statement that the tone and message of the music are more important than whether it's any good. I also might have ordered some of the segments differently. Overall however "It Might Get Loud" was both informative and entertaining from start to finish.

adrongardner It Might Get Loud is just awesome. If you're looking for some candid behind the scenes expose, epic procedural dissection or handbook of how these guys do it, or a intricate timeline of rock history - you're barking up the wrong tree. There's the nice arc of seeing the old innovator Page and his journey from Brit radio pop and orchestra backup guitar on Bond's Goldfinger who, in the end, only wanted to play the blues. You learn Edge running off with that sense of innovation in the decades following to absolute madness tuning his synth. And you learn the pendulum swings back to where it came with Jack and his drive to just play his favorite blues song over and over while dressing up in red clothes so he wouldn't be "just another white boy" blues band. Interesting stuff without a forced narrative or script, you don't even need to watch. Just pop the movie in and go about your house chores with the sound all the way up. The movie really is just about the music. It's worth it beyond all words and recommendation - and then some - for one scene in particular. There's a laugh out loud joy to see Jack and Edge star struck like a couple of four-year-olds seeing Santa Claus for the first time when Jimmy rips off Whole Lotta Love. It's OK guys, we are all doing it too sitting on the couch. It's Jimmy F*****G page playing Whole Lotta Love!Just priceless.

moonbus-982-519398 This was a good idea for a film, but I found the editing poor; it lacks continuity, the film jumps around incoherently. I would have preferred three separate complete interviews with each of the guitarists, punctuated by their meeting and jamming together at the end of the film. I found it annoying that there was not a single song played through to the end, just snippets and riffs. I found it annoying that not single thought during the interview sections was pursued-- again, just bits and pieces chopped apart and juxtaposed between bits and snippets from the other interviewees. There are some wonderful moments though; for example, the opening sequence in which Jack White constructs a functional e-guitar from bits of wire and a soda pop bottle. The final jam session is great--I wish it were longer than a mere three minutes. The overall impression of the film is that of a confused jumble of tantalizing adumbrations, with nothing done thoroughly. The Edge looks like the odd man out in this trio; a strange choice of musicians--one can't even call it a tribute to guitar heroes ("Jack who??"). Page- Beck-Clapton would have made more sense. Or just Page alone-- he is certainly an interesting enough person, and a creative and innovative enough musician, to have deserved a documentary to himself, if done thoroughly.

nixskits My summary is about excessive volume leading to permanent hearing loss. When guitar icons like Pete Townshend and Ted Nugent tell the world their partial deafness came from not protecting themselves onstage with the right ear gear, it's not exactly funny stuff. This film is loud, albeit at a more appropriate level.When popular music is thought of, the electric guitar is the standard most base the last fifty years on. And three figures at the forefront of getting a sound out of an amplifier are part of this exploration of the instrument and it's private and public roles in musician's lives. How a riff originally recorded on a cassette can turn into a song millions try to learn on their axe is a long and winding highway.Jimmy Page, David "The Edge" Evans and Jack White are three different generations of players who have a love of music in common. Their places in the guitar's pantheon are firm, but you can just tell they will always be tinkering away in their homes, studios, sound checks and hotel rooms, looking and listening for a way to try established forms another day, another way. The true virtuoso never settles for the easy route when the side roads and dark alleys give them their most satisfying journey.The worlds of Led Zeppelin, U2 and The White Stripes are each crossing over one another in their orbits. How many primary fans of one group on that list are also into the others as well? Page had many influences and in turn influenced many with his style which took in the whole world of sounds around him and whipped them into the quintessential hard edged band model still popular today. The Edge proved less can be more with an approach that's earnest and rooted in the first wave of reaction to overblown supergroups. He uses guitar effects to enhance, not overwhelm his playing. And White gets bloody by harshly rearranging pretty (in other lesser pickers hands) melodies into aggressive, crazed eruptions from the three chord volcano rock is forever flowing from. It would be great to have a television series in this style, with axe wielders from all over the map meeting and playing together. Strip away fashion and the business of entertainment and you'll see most musicians are operating on the same basic principles of wanting less corporate interference and more freedom to just perform without too many strings attached.Can I hope for a film in this style about drummers or bassists too? That would mean so much more than yet another flick about robots or grown men in superhero costumes!