Electric Purgatory: The Fate of the Black Rocker (2005) User Reviews

Excellent Documentary

[andyrose_tx · 9/10 · 4 July 2009]

Electric Purgatory kicked ass man.. great documentary. I even learned of a few bands I knew little about like 24-7 Spyz and Burnt Sugar.

There really was very little that I could argue with .. from the labels not knowing how to market black rockers to the black musician's influence on rock to the label of "sell out" given to black musicians that aren't doing R&B or hip hop by blacks as a general rule.

The history of the black musician and the influence the black musician has on rock and roll is thoroughly explored. Most folks know that the true roots of rock and roll are found in the Mississippi Delta from bluesmen like Robert Johnson. But, there were so many other black influences on rock music.

Very cool documentary and definitely one that I'd recommend all fans of rock check out.

The best true music documentary in recent years...hands down.

[thejameser · 10/10 · 10 August 2005]

Electric Purgatory may be one of the more pivotal music documentaries in recent years. It documents the displaced existence of black rock musicians in America. Much like black jazz musicians of the '50's and '60's who were not accepted by white establishments and suffered social neglect by black Americans more interested in Motown music, Electric Purgatory depicts the existence of black rock musicians "caught in the middle" of a pop culture war in America over what is an acceptable image for black music artists. "I feel that this was the decade of being black and we weren't invited." - a quote from the documentary that is representative of the angst and displacement in the music industry that black rock musicians deal with on an everyday basis. The film wonderfully uses the famed black rock group, Fishbone, as the "vehicle" to personalize this struggle for the audience. I was even more impressed with how much empirical information was in the film. I think it would be a great film for any music professor to use in teaching his or her college students. The film also includes interviews with Vernon Reid, Spacey-T, Fishbone singer Angelo, Doug Pinnick of King's X and a formidable grouping of other black rock musicians and music critics who illustrate with great accuracy the state of black rock musicians in rock music and the state of rock music to some extent. The director did a solid job on this film. You can tell he put his heart into this film. Thumbs up for me.