Sidemen: Long Road to Glory

An exceptional documentary about some of the greatest unsung heroes of the music world, whose influence extends far beyond the blues.Before watching this film, I had little appreciation for the “anonymous” band members who performed with Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, and certainly never realized how much influence they exerted not only over the music of these great artists, but on the evolution of rock and roll and the sound of legendary musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards, Bonnie Raitt, Levon Helm, Warren Haynes, and so many more.After realizing how talented and influential these “Sidemen” were, their relative obscurity seems even more tragic. Hubert Sumlin, in particular, who seems like a shoe-in for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, hasn’t even been nominated despite his incredible contributions to the sound and style of generations of blues and rock and roll artists.Overall, the film is beautifully shot, the story is well-told, the main characters are portrayed beautifully, and Mark Maron’s narration is excellent. This is a film every music fan ought to see and ranks right up there with “20 Feet from Stardom” as one of the essential music documentaries.

This documentary is an obvious labor of love for three extraordinary sidemen ,that received their turn in the spotlight in their twilight years. Pinetop Perkins on piano,Willie Big Eyes Smith on drums and Hubert Sumlin on guitar all worked with Muddy Waters ,although Sumlin spent most of his sideman career with Howlin' Wolf. Here each man gets his just due and Perkins and Smith recieve a Grammy for their duo CD. Sadly, during production, all three men passed away within months of each other. So we are left with this documentary as an excellent memory of what they brought to the blues. That said, the ending was a surprise to me. Austin Young in the fields ,playing musical tribute to the fallen bluesmen, performing alongside a musician I have never heard of before. I've seen Austin play around Colorado for many years,since he was in junior high. These two young men have the future of the blues in their skilled hands.This documentary is a MUST see !

If you’re into Blues music this is a must see. Some vintage video and a nice look into some guys who were legends in the electric blues genre.

Being Muddy Waters fan, and seeing these men perform back in the day, this was wonderful.

Hi. A great concert from Sidemen. The blu-ray have a perfect sound, image and music. Thank you. Abílio

For all blues lovers, this is a must see. The players who were sidemen to two of the best in blues (Howlin Wolf & Muddy Waters),deserve every recognition they received in this film. Great incite to their rise to being the best sidemen to great interviews from some of the most current blues players. Can’t stop watching!

I thought the production was not the best. Rather scattered, they jumped from artist to artist without much cohesion. The film mostly focused on Hubert Sumlin, and I thought they could have done a better job of featuring all 3 men. The film felt sorta directionless, like they really hadn't planned it out all that well. If you're a fan of these guys, it's worth seeing. But I probably won't watch it very often...too bad.

A well written, well directed documentary of how famous musicians got that way. A lot of history to accompany the music. Very well balanced between educational and entertaining. Highly recommend for someone wanting to learn more about the blues.

Superbe DVD qui témoigne de l'importance de personnalités comme Hubert Sumlin, toujours resté dans l'ombre d'Howlin' Wolf (entre autre), mais sans qui le Blues, le rock et plus encore, n'aurait certainement pas existé sous la forme que nous connaissons. Pinetop Perkins, pianiste de Muddy Waters pendant de très nombreuses années... beaucoup de témoignages très intéressants, n'hésitez pas !