We watched Cadillac Records today on DVD with Candy and Stagg. The very best thing about it was that we got to hang out with Candy and Stagg. Prior to Christmas, we hadn’t seen them in about two years. The movie was pretty good too.
When I say pretty good, I mean it tells a compelling story – the story of Chess Records and some of the key figures that were part of that story such as Leonard Chess, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Willie Dixon and Etta James. It was fairly well acted. The music was excellent. There were some choice scenes throughout the film. I think this film would have been better for people who know little about this period in American blues history than for the blues freaks in the audience who know a lot more detail than the movie recounts.
On the five fish anchovy rating scale, I give this one 3 and a half salties.
27th Street 
I found it to be a hard watch. I would’ve liked it better if I’d known less about the history of Chess records,and the people portrayed in the movie. Beyonce most certainly would NOT have been my choice for Etta James, but then, I’m not a fan of Ms. Knowles….
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Hammond B3, soul and jazz galore….good stuff here! 🙂
Well, that’s the thing, isn’t it. They made it into a simplified story for a general audience. I’m sure Beyonce sold a lot of tickets, though.
I liked that film and, as a music dilettante, learned a lot, too. Glad you got to spend some quality time with Minx and Stagg.
It’s frustrating when you know way more about a subject than the film maker, isn’t it?