The Wrecking Crew 2008

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Fascinating ... Read more

Joe Leydon, Variety: The unsung heroes who played on stacks of wax during the '60s pop era are celebrated in a hugely entertaining documentary. Read more

Mark Feeney, Boston Globe: Denny Tedesco's lively and loving documentary takes its title from the name collectively applied to the group of two to three dozen Los Angeles studio musicians who dominated rock and pop recordings there during the 1960s and early '70s. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: With its release held up for seven years because of rights issues, Denny Tedesco's illuminating documentary about the unsung L.A. session musicians who provided the backbeat for some of the greatest songs from the '50s through the '80s can now be seen. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Though their story has taken decades to reach the screen, it has been worth the wait. Read more

Jim Harrington, San Jose Mercury News: It can be uncomfortable to pull back the curtain on some of the most beloved rock songs of all time. Yet, it's worth it in order to meet The Wrecking Crew. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Good-natured look at the virtuoso workhorses of classic rock and pop. Read more

Ella Taylor, NPR: The studio musicians rarely got credit on or off the albums. In The Wrecking Crew, Denny Tedesco, whose father was a Wrecking Crew guitarist, rights that wrong. Read more

Jim Farber, New York Daily News: These unsung heroes are the subject of an illuminating, witty and comprehensive documentary by Denny Tedesco, son of the Crew's inventive guitarist, the late Tommy Tedesco. Read more

Jon Caramanica, New York Times: Mostly, it's hagiography, with stars like Cher and Brian Wilson used as character witnesses to the players' greatness. Read more

Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com: It'll make you listen to "Good Vibrations," a song you've heard a million times, with fresh ears. Read more

Jon Bream, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A must-see for liner-note readers. Read more

Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail: The enchanting Kaye - "I was making more money than the President" - probably deserves her own film. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Long on nostalgia, the film does shed further light on the genius of Brian Wilson and the unfair uproar over the Monkees' need for musical backup. Turns out even the Beach Boys required the Wrecking Crew to rock. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: It all feels more like an ambitious home video than a 'proper' film. Read more

Jim Slotek, Toronto Sun: It's astounding to consider how many eternal earworms are in our brains, courtesy of this accomplished group of West Coast musicians. Read more

Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice: With a son's love and duty, Tedesco ... breezily celebrates the team that laid down a thousand riffs back just before pop became too serious for anonymous craftsmanship. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: "The Wrecking Crew" succeeds as important cultural history. But it's also deeply personal for Tedesco ... Read more