Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)
  • Guitars
  • Amps
  • Pedals
  • Drums
  • Synths
  • Software
  • Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Recording
  • Buyer’s guides
  • Live
  • DJ
  • Advice
  • Acoustic
  • Bass
  • About us
  • More
    • Reviews
Magazines
  • Computer Music
  • Electronic Musician
  • Future Music
  • Keyboard Magazine
  • Guitarist (opens in new tab)
  • Guitar Techniques (opens in new tab)
  • Total Guitar (opens in new tab)
  • Bass Player (opens in new tab)
More
  • 5 Jeff Beck songs you need to hear
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Free music samples
  • Best free music-making software
  • 24 free chord lessons

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Total Guitar

10 must-see rockumentaries

By Total Guitar
published 7 August 2013

Essential viewing

  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
Anvil!
The dream that wouldn't die

Anvil!

Equal parts pathos and schadenfreude, director Sacha Gervasi’s 2008 sleeper hit trails thrash-metal’s aging coulda-beens as they bicker, bungle tour arrangements, sleep rough, remortgage their homes, disappoint their loved ones and play to tumbleweed at Transylvanian metal festivals. Warning: this film may make you reconsider your proposed career in rock ’n’ roll.

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll
Chuck vs Keef

Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll

The stars turned out for this 1987 circle-jerk to Chuck Berry, as the rock ’n’ roll pioneer toasts his 60th with two concerts in St Louis. Chuck doesn’t come across too well (all right, he’s a petulant, hair-splitting old goat), but it’s worth watching for Keith Richards shooting him down in rehearsals.

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
Starshaped
Early Blur: not always pretty

Starshaped

Pre-Parklife, Blur were art-school lushes within a whisker of being dropped. This 1993 doc doesn’t spare their blushes, with Damon Albarn vomiting inches from the lens, Graham Coxon going missing at a festival and the band playing so badly they make The Libertines sound like the G3 boys.

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
C**ksucker Blues
Those dirty Stones do their thing
(Image credit: Neal Preston/CORBIS)

C**ksucker Blues

This semi-banned Stones tour film from 1972 is so animalistic it should have been directed by David Attenborough. Keef’s TV-toss off a hotel balcony is the pick of the debauchery, but it’s the Stones’ best line-up tearing into Midnight Rambler that makes it worth hunting down on YouTube.

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Sound City
Dave does directing

Sound City

In 1991, Nirvana recorded Nevermind at LA’s Sound City, and two decades later, first-time director Dave Grohl turns out his little black book to help him ponder why a defunct, down-at-heel analogue dump managed to spit out so many classics. Not as geeky as it sounds...

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Lemmy
Mr Kilmister does his thing

Lemmy

Commandeering a Panzer tank, guesting with Metallica, hammering JD at the Rainbow Bar & Grill – all in a day’s work for Motörhead’s deathless berserker. The cherry on top is the revelation that Lemmy shares girlfriends with his son.

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
BB King: The Life Of Riley
The life of a legend

BB King: The Life Of Riley

While heavyweight talking heads from Joe Bonamassa to Carlos Santana praise King’s legendary “one note” touch on his Lucille 355, Bono recalls the bluesman’s Achilles heel while recording When Love Comes To Town: “He says, ‘Gentlemen, I don’t do chords...’”

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Lord Don't Slow Me Down
Noel holds court

Lord Don't Slow Me Down

No surprise, Noel Gallagher is the star of Oasis’s 2007 travelogue, butting heads with clueless yank DJs, partying with dwarves, sniping at Charlotte Church’s entourage and dealing out the best one- liners. “One day, Liam will go bald,” he considers of the band’s touring lifespan, “and that will be it.”

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Some Kind Of Monster
When Metallica got therapy

Some Kind Of Monster

As Metallica polish 2002’s career-stalling St Anger, they hire ‘performance coach’ Phil Towle to referee the toxic bromance between Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield. In the classic scene, the furious drummer paces the room, before going nose-to-nose with his frontman and screaming, ‘F**k!’

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
It Might Get Loud
The ultimate (musical) threesome

It Might Get Loud

So, here's the pitch: lock three pan-generational guitar titans in a warehouse and let riffage commence. The highlight of Davis Guggenheim’s 2009 doc is Jimmy Page rolling out the Whole Lotta Love riff while Jack White and The Edge gape like schoolboys – and the most baffling moment is The White Stripes man being shadowed by his own prepubescent doppelgänger.

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
Total Guitar
Total Guitar

Total Guitar is Europe's best-selling guitar magazine.

Every month we feature interviews with the biggest names and hottest new acts in guitar land, plus Guest Lessons from the stars.

Finally, our Rocked & Rated section is the place to go for reviews, round-ups and help setting up your guitars and gear.

Subscribe: http://bit.ly/totalguitar (opens in new tab)

  1. Oasis
    1
    "It's was written, recorded and mixed in about six hours" – Noel Gallagher names the Oasis and solo songs he'd take to a desert island
  2. 2
    John Oates on 10 albums that changed his life, and the guitar that now feels like a part of him: "I bought my ‘58 Strat in 1972 for a hundred and twenty-five bucks and I’ve played it ever since"
  3. 3
    Jeff Mills and Daft Punk's mastering engineer shares mixing advice with followers
  4. 4
    Gene Simmons explains what makes Abba great and why – if pushed – he’d take early Jeff Beck Group over early Led Zep
  5. 5
    16 inspiring guitar chords that are great for clean tones
  1. John Oates
    1
    John Oates on 10 albums that changed his life, and the guitar that now feels like a part of him: "I bought my ‘58 Strat in 1972 for a hundred and twenty-five bucks and I’ve played it ever since"
  2. 2
    Jeff Mills and Daft Punk's mastering engineer shares mixing advice with followers
  3. 3
    See Jack White's daughter join him on bass to play White Stripes song
  4. 4
    "It's was written, recorded and mixed in about six hours" – Noel Gallagher names the Oasis and solo songs he'd take to a desert island
  5. 5
    Gene Simmons explains what makes Abba great and why – if pushed – he’d take early Jeff Beck Group over early Led Zep

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab).

  • About Us (opens in new tab)
  • Terms and conditions (opens in new tab)
  • Privacy policy (opens in new tab)
  • Cookies policy (opens in new tab)
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers (opens in new tab)

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.