The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 676

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Number 676 - The Commitments

Number 676

The Commitments

"Take Me To The River"

(1991)

Genre:Soul

With perhaps more four-letter words than any other film ever made, The Commitments oozes authenticity. The relentless profanity is part of a rich, hilarious, musically satisfying portrait of a fictional working-class Irish band whose mission is to bring American soul music to Dublin. Avoiding the customary romantic view of Ireland and most clichés about the music industry, rebellious director Alan Parker presents a gritty, alcohol-soaked, often inspired portrait of an Emerald Isle most tourists never see: the alleys and bars of decidely unpicturesque urban ghettoes. The band, fronted by a Joe Cocker-like husky-voiced lead singer, is fabulous, and the music is as powerful as the rhythm-and-blues greats whose songs the band covers -- so good, in fact, that the band released two excellent CDs. This Is Spinal Tap introduced the genre of the rock mockumentary, but The Commitments is a stronger, more genuine, and musically superior film. In fact, it's among the best music films ever made, including those fashioned by "real" bands.

The Irish are the blacks of Europe, Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland, and the North Siders are the blacks of Dublin ... so say it loud -- I'm black and I'm proud!" Or so Jimmy Rabbitte (Robert Arkins) tells his slightly puzzled friends as he tries to assemble a rhythm & blues show band in a working class community in Dublin in Alan Parker's film The Commitments. Jimmy is a would-be music business wheeler and dealer, and he's decided what Dublin needs is a top-shelf soul band. However, top-shelf soul musicians are hard to find in Dublin, so he has to make do with what he can find. However, after a long round of auditions, Jimmy makes two inspired discoveries: Deco (Andrew Strong), an abrasive and alcoholic streetcar conductor who nevertheless has a voice like the risen ghost of Otis Redding, and Joey "The Lips" Fagan (Johnny Murphy), a horn player who knows soul music backwards and forwards and claims to have played with everyone from Wilson Pickett to Elvis Presley. Before long, the band -- called the Commitments -- is packing them in at local clubs. But do they have what it takes to make the big time? Based on the novel by Roddy Doyle, who also co-wrote the screenplay, The Commitments is sparked by fine performances by its young cast and enthusiastic performances of a number of '60s soul classics; the cast, who play their own instruments, reassembled the band for a concert tour after the film became a hit. ~ [Mark Deming]

For Joe Cocker see Number 633

For Otis Redding see Number 623

For Spinal Tap see Number 659

For Elvis Presley see Number 501 & Number 840

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Nah Uh, and no way) and the album ranked at (We dont value soundtracks brother) what was Tommy then ?