ALL THINGS MUST PASS: THE RISE AND FALL OF TOWER RECORDS (review)

Review by Joe Yezukevich

I used to travel for an old job.

As soon as I arrived at my  hotel, I would open a phone book and look for the record  stores. I knew that if I found a cluster, I would find all of the other cool and weird things that city had to offer nearby.

This tactic rarely if ever failed me and I owe this to the early success of Tower Records.

At the time that I had this job, I was also working part-time for an independently owned chain of record stores.  Those were some of the most joyous times in my life, exchanging the histories of bands and record labels with customers and co-workers.

We traded with each other the secrets that lit fires in our souls and kindled the flames of friendships with the discovery of a shared emotional response. I hold this experience near and dear to my heart.

This was not Empire Records, though that movie got some aspects of the environment right.

This, according to the great new Colin Hanks directed documentary All Things Must Pass, was more akin to the Tower Records experience.  The raucous, familial atmosphere is covered with an admiration that borders on being reverent.  This worship might make the story too precious, but Hanks tempers this by openly discussing the warts and all aspect of working at Tower.

It’s not all about the atmosphere in the store. 

Founder Russ Solomon is prominently featured in interviews throughout the film as well as many of his surviving corporate staff.  Most started by working in stores and worked their way up to Vice-President and director positions by helping with the worldwide expansion of Tower in the 70s and 80s.  Possibly my favorite part of the movie involved the story of Tower Japan And Ken Viducich, the shipping/receiving clerk who went to Japan and opened their Asian flagship because he understood shipping logistics.

The story of Tower’s demise is one that should feature prominently in MBA programs.  Unlike the starry eyed Sound City documentary, All Things Must Pass is the kind of documentary that is technically informative while still remaining accessible and generally entertaining.  

If this is is the directorial debut of Colin Hanks, I cannot wait to see what he does next.