Review: Take Me To The River

City Paper grade: C-

The fertile musical soil of Memphis, Tenn., nourished some of the most remarkable and influential sounds of the last century. Its location on the Mississippi River led to the congregation of black and white, country and blues, spiritual and secular — all coming together to become the roots of soul and rock ’n’ roll. Take Me to the River seems to set out to trace that history, but detours into documenting the recording of an album that brings together some of the legendary figures of Memphis music with young hip-hop counterparts. The collaborations are heavily weighted on the elders’ side, with little-known rappers like Frayser Boy and Lil P-Nut easily eclipsed by the still-vital talents of Mavis Staples, Charlie Musselwhite or Bobby “Blue” Bland. Studio veterans from Stax Records and Willie Mitchell’s Royal Studios reconvene and summon the classic Memphis sound in performance footage, but the film’s focus is too erratic to give them a standing-in-the-shadows-of-Motown-style moment in the sun. Record producer Martin Shore directs aimlessly, not sure if he is making a history of Memphis music, a celebration of its musicians, or a home movie of a session. The camera simply runs on as artists drop into the studio and chit-chat, occasionally interrupted by an unnecessary visit from executive producer Snoop Dogg or a bit of context from narrator Terrence Howard. Early on, Howard refers to Memphis as an “integrated musical utopia,” but that story is only told peripherally.