All Things Must Pass

Growing up in the sixties and seventies for me, as with most young people then, records were a part of our daily life. Possibly more so than ever before music shaped us and molded us. It was a part of our daily lives as transistor radios made it easy for us to have access to music. That paved the path for us to seek out the music we loved and in so doing directed us to the record store, that glorious haven of vinyl that drained us of money earned mowing lawns. While record stores were mostly mom and pop joints at the same time chains began to pop up. Locally there was Karma Records and Peaches. But perhaps the most famous well known record store was Tower Records. Tower Records was the store in LA that was featured in numerous movies I saw in the 70s. The building with the huge replicas of album covers posted on the outside of the building, where rock stars showed for release parties and where they could also be found picking up the latest hits was well known no matter where you lived. When I saw this documentary was coming out I was excited to hear about their story. Vinyl had disappeared from the music scene by compact discs but that didn't destroy the music store business. Then along came digital downloads. No longer did you have to go to the store to purchase your music. You could just get online and there it was. That brought about, to me at least, the end of the music store business. But watching this documentary I learned that wasn't exactly the case with Tower Records. The movie starts at the beginning of the business, how it was small like all businesses are and then grew over time. It shows the gradual progression of the small business into the conglomerate that it was, an influence in the world of music it was so big. There was a time when Tower Records boasted that it made $1 billion dollars in a single year. But then things begin to change and the fortunes once thought to be never ending slowly changed. This movie is incredibly well made. Some documentaries have that boring tone to them, a slow meandering pace that makes you anxious for it to get to the point. This film draws you in from the start with smooth storytelling and great visuals that take you back to the time when record stores ruled the world of music. While watching the movie I found myself recalling all those hours spent in record stores looking at album art, many of those albums which I have retained for that very reason. I thought of looking at the new releases up front and the cut out albums I could purchase for less if funds were tight. I realized how many songs bring back certain memories to this day. I can't hear "Band on the Run" without thinking back to walking in a parking lot as I left a free outdoor concert and it blared from the sound system between acts. All of these thing tie in to visits to the record store. And this movie brought back memories of that desire to see the mecca of all record stores, Tower Records. It was there in Rolling Stone magazine. It was featured in movies like FM. It was always there and now like many things from the past it is gone. Talk to young people today and they have no idea what Tower Records was and less about what a record store is. The movie is well crafted and holds your interest from start to final credits. It includes some memorable music as well as commentary from various music royalty. It tells the story not only of the store but the history of records and the music business as well. Best of all it never gets boring. So watch this with someone young so they can see what it was all about. Show them what going to the record store was like. And relive some of those great memories you still have. Dream of what it would have been like to visit that best of all record stores, Tower Records while watching.

All Things Must Pass, no not the utterly fantastic George Harrison landmark triple LP, the story of Tower Records. In the title there's a melancholy sadness since we know it alludes to the passing of the LP, then the decline of all other physical music media. It's only fitting a documentary of an amazing music related business is entitled after an equally amazing actual album, one that broke new ground being an over-the-top triple-LP set by a Beatle. Tom Hank's son Colin is behind this lovingly put together visual journey of the Tower Record story. If ever a there was an untapped gargantuan market at a particular time in history that was expertly tapped it has to be the record business as defined by Tower Records. What a ride it was. Probably the most loosely structured billion-dollar business empire ever created that wasn't based on criminal intent. Quite the opposite, it was based on the joy of music and how it enhanced life. Watching the documentary you get the feeling it wasn't entirely the loose management, the sometimes ill-advised entry to strange foreign markets, or even musical tastes of the times that killed Tower Records. It was the changing technology as we now see taken even further with on line streaming. Could the company have survived, like Japan, and flourished even as the physical media sales sagged? That's the huge question. Things started to break, perhaps, before the exit of founder;s Russ Soloman's right hand accountant having to exit due to health. His exit, however, started a new chapter where the banks took over. Everything the bank dictated broke a little more of the foundation that built the company while never, actually, fixing anything. As I sit and write this I read LP sales are growing once more. Jack White has actually built a new record pressing plant in Detroit. Granted, it's just a small thing, but it's a sign. The real sign will be when once more there's just a single Tower Records store somewhere in the United States. Music is such a powerful medium I wouldn't bet against it. If you have a love of music and have good memories of spending time in any record store you simply must watch this. A great American success story that runs against most everything they teach in business school.

It is not often you see a documentary that combines business, history, music, but most importantly nearly every viewer over the age of 30 living all over the world has a deeply personal connection to the film. The old footage and photos I'm sure have never been seen by many people before, yet we all can relate to nearly everything. Watching this film took me back to my own life experience when I was young. Given Tower had been accessible to so many people on the planet Earth during its existence between the 1960's up until 2004, nearly everyone walked into one of their stores at least once, if not 100 times before they closed their doors. The film does an amazing job of letting the viewer into the private side of Tower Records yet at the same time, celebrates everyone's own unique and personal experience of pursuing their exploration and celebration of the love of music. The interviews with the staff of Tower combined with the first hand accounts of the actual musicians who both made a living selling their records and acquiring records of other musicians they were inspired by is incredibly entertaining. In retrospect, the film is a beautiful time capsule exploring the personal and public history of many generations of music fans, (my generation and probably yours) musicians, music industry insiders, and a poignant experience describing the real life story of the highs and lows of those who started an entire industry told by those who actually lived it. Its a must see for 2016.

This a feature documentary film taking a good glimpse at the rise and fall of a legacy. Tower Records dominated the retail music market for decades coming to rise in 1960. The birth child of the flamboyant and rebellious founder Russ Solomon. Humble beginnings becoming a powerhouse in the industry. By 2000, Tower records was worth $1 billion and six years later fell victim to the Internet and free streaming music sites, proving a major lesson of objectivity to how business is at the fate of realities in the ever changing marketplace. In 2006, as Tower Records faded in the sunset of bankruptcy, two hundred stores in thirty countries, the heart and soul of the music world stopped beating. But the legacy remains. Some of the music featured: Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys, Perry Como, The Rooftop Singers, the Beach Boys, T. Rex, Steve Miller Band, Rolling Stones and George Harrison. Sharing commentary are: David Geffen, Steve Knopper, David Grohl, Chris Cornell, Elton John, Chuck D., Bruce Springteen, Heidi Cotler, Steve Nikkel, Mike Ferrace and Russ Solomon.

For anyone that remembers growing up in the second half of the 20th century, going to the local record/CD store was a big deal. Perusing all the different albums, finding that one backcatalogue CD you'd been looking for, listening to something new was a lot of fun. In the US, the big name was Tower Records. The history given in this documentary is mostly given from former employees, most of which started with the company early and stayed until the bitter end (or at least as close to the bitter end that they were allowed). There are also interviews with musicians such as Dave Grohl, Elton John and Bruce Springsteen. These interviews help shape the way we're supposed to look at the history presented. It all seems pretty accurate, and is definitely entertaining. For those that used to shop at record stores it's even nostalgic. That said, the one big hole is that the main interviewee is Russ Solomon, the founder of the company. And while he makes for a great interview, one can't help but wonder if there's a part of the story not being told. The fall is kind of glossed over a little bit, pointing blame outward, when more can be pointed inward. Having a record executive admit that they killed the cheaper single to drive sales to a $20 album when most people didn't want the whole thing should have been dug into more. In sum: If you have memories of shopping for CDs or records it's a documentary well worth watching. Just don't expect the full picture.

I recall being excited to visit the Tower Records store in LA in the mid 1990s on my first visit to the west coast of the USA. When I returned a decade later to their San Francisco store, it somehow felt less exciting, the store looked a little too ordinary and it seems they were having a fire sale on. A few months later Tower Records had gone bust. Colin Hanks documentary examines the growth of this record chain from its early years from founder's Russ Solomon's dad's drug store where he had a section which sold records. Russ took over the business in the 1960s, starting in the west coast and moving to the east coast and then internationally to Japan. As is the case, these heady years of the counterculture was a supposedly drug and drink fuelled hazy party for the staff (it always seem to be the case with maverick start ups.) Live hard and party hard was the motto. The staff I saw in the 1990s seemed to be mainly bored teenagers on minimum wage. At the turn of the millennium Tower Records was valued at $1 billion. Their seemed to be no end to its success and they were determined to sell albums, preferably CDs. The impact of online shopping was a body blow. The Apple Store allowed you to buy singles you wanted for 99 cents. Tower Records wanted you to buy the whole album for an ever increasing price and their online servers was on AOL. Even worse the young IT savvy consumer could now get music for free from Napster and other torrent sites. Combined with the company's debt laden expansion, choppy waters awaited them. The documentary interviews key staff from the early days as well as the man himself Russ Soloman who comes across as a charismatic maverick. We also get to hear from musicians such as Dave Grohl, Elton John and Bruce Springsteen about their joy in visiting the Tower Record stores, browsing, talking to aficionados. Elton admits he spent a fortune in their shops. The documentary was a bit messy, in fact a little overlong. We see a former executive being fired by a new management team and how Russ took him out for a meal after a Christmas party which bought him to tears. I wanted to know why he was fired, why he could not get another job, what happened after he went for a meal with Russ and then the same executive turns up later on when the attention shifts to the company's declining fortunes. In fact seeing some of the staff being interviewed I was impressed how they managed to become so big, it seemed to be more by serendipity than design.

Growing up in Los Angeles, Tower Records was the one stop megastore to hit for the latest LP's, imports, posters etc. It definitely has its place in the lexicon of California culture, and the Sunset Boulevard store had a nice selection of indie punk rock 45s during the late 70s where you could stop in after a show at the Whisky a-go-go and find the latest vinyl. I don't know how much truth there truly is in the story offered here, although the cover notes state that it was not the internet that brought about this company's demise. Sorry, I find that very hard to believe. While other reviewers have noted greed and price fixing was responsible, ultimately it was the internet, and digital technology and the obsoleting of the cassette and, in one word, progress. The founder Mr. Solomon remained mistakenly sold on the fact the buyers would always want to have a library collection of music in their homes in the form of vinyl LP's boxed sets, CDs and the like, but this would not apply to later generation of buyers with their new gadgets i.e. iphones, ipads, e-pods, a-frames, tampads, etc etc ad nauseum. And then add Napster, Kazaa and all the other "wares" to the mix, the writing was on the wall. They were nice store personnel and more often knew their stuff, styles, genres, and history, but it just couldn't last without a product to sell. Much in the same way that X-rated theaters went the way of all flesh with the boom of the videocassette and the DVD, technology eventually trumped it all. Nevertheless, they remain a wonderful memory in the annuls of history and made a difference in the lives of so many music fans during the earlier days of rock and roll and they should be proud.

In what's a documentary that's likely to appeal to music tragic, collectors and those longing for the bygone era of in store shopping that moonlighted as an excuse to go and hang out with real people in a real environment, son of Tom Colin Hanks's documentary examination of the rise and fall of Tower Records may not achieve anything of a true noteworthy nature but it's certainly a thorough and insightful examination of the one-time retail juggernaut and a reminder that with our attention now on online retail and social media interaction, we are losing and missing out on a wonderful experience that used to be readily available to all shapes and sizes. All Things Must Pass (inspired from a sign posted on a closing Tower Records store and no doubt the famous song) utilises extensive archival photos of the expanding businesses stores, over locations from the USA, Japan (where the name continues to do decent business) and England and Hanks finds a winning formula with a range of talking heads that were involved for many a year with Tower Records. We get to spend a large portion of the docos runtime with founder and colourful character Russ Solomon who with nothing more than ambition and drive created a world spanning retail empire that's focus was on music for music lovers that extended from staff through to everyday customers or the not so every day like frequent store visitors such as Elton John and Eric Clapton. It seems like such a foreign thing in today's climate that employees started as packing room clerks to high end management and the focus Tower had on encouraging each store to have its own flavour and as long as the job gets done, who cares what happens before, after or in-between is something that is highly unlikely to be a practice of retail chains of the modern era. All Things Must Pass will be a lovely walk down memory lane for those that use to count their visits to Tower Record stores as a weekly or monthly highlight and for those of us like me that never got to experience the wandering up and down of their aisles it's a pleasant and workmanlike examination of what made the name such a power in its early days and also a sad reminder of what today's consumers are missing out on 3 purchase happy Elton John's out of 5

Colin Hanks directs a documentary about the iconic retailer Tower Records. In 1999, the company racked up $1 billion in sales. Five years later, it would file for bankruptcy. In the 50's, Russ Solomon got into selling used jukebox records in his father's drug store. It's a start of a business which grew into a social icon, international retailer, and a sales powerhouse. However, it grew too big with too much debt. A sick Russ tries to hand off the company to his son Mike. The businessman part of the company Bud had to retire due to illness. Napster and the internet is the final death knell. This is a fine production by Hanks. It lays out the story of the family retailer very well. The story is representative of many other retailers as well as showing an unique slice of the music industry. Some may get more out of this movie especially former workers or constant customers. It's also a bit more of a California story. At its heart, it is a story about the passing of an era.

Liberation. That is what music is all about. Always has been, always will be. It brings people together, it creates a community, a family. It changes, it evolves, and never dies. This is the central message, the heart, of Colin Hank's tremendous documentary, "All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records." Founded in 1960 by Russ Solomon, Tower Records grew to become one of the most monumental record franchises in the history of the industry. From its very humble beginnings, as an extension of Solomon's father's drugstore, to its international expansion, Tower Records was a cornerstone of the musical world for half a century. Load video Hank's explored the history of Tower Records through interviews with those in Soloman's inner circle's of 30 plus years, some from the inception to accounts from music industry giants such as, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, and Dave Grohl. The store's lax attitude and nonchalant way of business proved pivotal to its success, a business strategy that would sink any business today. Elton John recounts Tower Records being his primary record provider, while Grohl worked at a Tower Records in Washington D.C. before his music career took off and recognized its significance in his musical journey. One particular anecdote that highlighted Tower Record's influence was that when it opened in a particularly desolate neighborhood in Manhattan, the streets flourished and became revitalized in the years following its opening. It is hard to imagine any store, particularly any record store having that power today. The demise of Tower Records also speaks volumes about the last decade of decline in the music industry. Though Napster and the rise of pirating music is notorious for the music industries steady decline, truly the rise in record prices was the downfall of record stores in general, as is touched on in the film. Though not entirely the reason for Tower Records ultimate demise, it was a crucial shift in business. The slow death of the industry staple was an emotional climax of the film, as it truly captured the importance of Tower Records to many individuals who invested their life to be apart of this journey, and family. No music, no life.