A nostalgia filled reflection on a time and place where the music of the ‘60s counter-culture shone the brightest, Echo in the Canyon makes excellent use of its star-studded roster of musicians and their music that shaped generations.

When watching Echo in the Canyon, there is a feeling that these men and women who made perhaps the most influential movement in modern pop music, let paradise not only slip through their hands, but crash into a million pieces. Focusing on the years 1964-1967 in the idyllic California town of Laurel Canyon, it would not be long for this “scene” to be engulfed by the repercussions of drugs and infidelity, and a madman named Charles Manson.

Of course, director Andrew Slater, and narrator/guide Jakob Dylan (son of Bob Dylan, singer of the Wallflowers) do not touch this dark side of the Canyon. The focus of Echo in the Canyon is the music and the artists that made the “”California sound” in the mountainous neighbourhoods of Laurel Canyon, insulated in the Hollywood Hills, a world away from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, although geographically close.

A deluge of The Beatles-inspired musicians ranging from David Crosby (The Byrds), Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys), and Michelle Phillips (Mamas and the Papas) share antidotes and intimate details about not only their songs, but the community of friends and friendly rivals that made Laurel Canyon the place to be. Further star power is added in the form of British contemporaries Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr, and slightly younger followers of the scene in Jackson Browne and Tom Petty (his last interview). To call it a ‘60s rock fan delight would be an understatement, and all deliver as storytellers.

Jacob Dylan does a fine job as the films guide and inquisitor, no doubt his standing as rock royalty, not to mention his own pedigree, allowing his esteemed interviewees to let down their guards and share stories and reflections that would entertain fans and novices alike. Of particular mention is the frank observations of David Crosby, whose decades of rock n roll scars create tales of wisdom and caution.

Also featured throughout is a concert film in tribute to the Laurel Canyon ‘60s sound, with Dylan’s band The Wallflowers playing back-up to contemporaries such as Beck, Fionna Apple, and Catpower, as well as the legends that the documentary covers. One memorable moment is when Brian Wilson enters the studio, as Dylan and his bandmates look on in awe and trepidation at one of the finest songwriters of his (and any other) generation.

Slater captures it all with a deft touch, with Echo in the Canyon a joyous celebration of the California sound and the people who created it.