Speaking of Peter Asher…

I was reluctant to watch this movie, because Peter is a friend and this music is so near and dear to my heart. I guess I didn’t want anybody in on my secrets, I wanted to hold them and my passions alone.

And a lot of those stories are here, about hearing the initial version of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” in the basement of the Asher house and…

I guess I was surprised how much I learned. About Indica, the bookstore and art gallery. As much as you know, there’s always more, and it’s in this film. Sure, some of this stuff is probably available on YouTube somewhere, but it’s the curators, those who make sense of it, who draw attention and reap the rewards today.

You know Peter was in Peter and Gordon. But Gordon comes alive here, is fleshed out in a way I’ve never seen previously. Peter was the intellectual, Gordon was the dreamboat who wanted to partake of the goodies of the road.

And speaking of the road…

The first time I met Peter I told him about seeing him and Gordon at Atlantic City’s Steel Pier, and they’ve got a promotional poster for that show in the movie, bringing it all back.

But that’s not the only thing that was brought back…

You see the girls screaming… This is why those of us who were around during the days of Beatlemania wince and then shrug our shoulders when the success of any act of today is compared to that classic era. The music was everything, you’d buy a 45 and spin it until it was gray, you knew it by heart, just like the oldsters singing along in City Winery at the end of this film. This stuff is embedded in our DNA.

So Paul McCartney meeting Jane… That’s here.

And as much as we know about James Taylor, there are nuances we were unaware of. And what was going on at Apple…

And then we’ve got Southern California in the seventies… It was a dream. Funny to think it’s labeled a hellhole by many today. It’s not, but back then there were no smartphones, never mind no internet. You were either in or you were out. Either you had access or you didn’t. We all wanted access, we all wanted to get closer, but all we had were these records and tidbits of information. We would have died to be inside the room back then.

And Carole King before “Tapestry”… Sure, she’d written all those songs, but she was just a member of James Taylor’s band. And when she goes on the road with him and she’s banging the notes out on the piano, you get it, the magic.

And that’s what it was all about, magic. And Peter was there.

And a surprisingly large number of people are still alive, able to testify. But Linda Ronstadt is hobbled by illness and other are worse for wear, but back then…

When they talk about the breaking of James Taylor…it’s not that it’s not emphasized enough, it’s just that if you were there!!

You heard about these albums, bought them and played them until they were part of you. Forget the hits, “Country Road,” Lo and Behold,” those were as important to us as “Fire and Rain.” And music just doesn’t hold the same place in society as it once did. There are many other options for entertainment and the stars are not at arm’s length as they once were but back then it was only about the music, not the penumbra, not the brand extensions.

But that was a long, long time ago.

That’s what shook me up.

I give Peter credit, he’s keepin’ on. Not only going on the road with this one man show after Gordon’s death, but working with Steve Martin and…

It’s different from yesteryear. Everybody makes records at home, on the cheap. Whereas before it was all about getting a deal and going into the studio, where you ran into other musicians and were inspired and stuff was made that changed the culture. It was rarefied air, that we had no access to. But you get a peek inside in this movie.

And you learn stuff like “Her Town Too” was about the breakup of Peter and his first wife Betsy, I always thought it had something to do with James Taylor and Carly Simon…

I’m stunned at all the images that were saved and collected.

But I was left with a a somewhat disappointed feeling, that it was a long time ago and it meant so much to me and so many others and means so much less to younger generations… Linda Ronstadt was a rock chick, yet America’s sweetheart. And doing cocaine like everybody else, whilst dating the governor, Jerry Brown.

That’s right, the acts weren’t sideshows, they were the MAIN SHOW! Politicians could not compete.

Will people see this film and get this impression, understand how it was?

Oldsters certainly will, they’ll be instantly connected and reminisce, but this movie would open the eyes of youngsters, assuming they see it.

That’s the hardest challenge today, getting your material heard/seen. Even if it’s great it may not surface, or it could be years before it does, that’s how long word of mouth takes.

So this is a document of what once was.

And Peter Asher was like Zelig, he was there, in so many spots.

I’m sophisticated, enough of an insider to know this doesn’t happen by accident. Not only do you have to have the goods, you’ve got to make the relationships, seize the opportunities, deliver, and know that there’s no safety net.

All of which Peter did. He was not Zelig in that he was not an interloper, but part of the main show.

And we wished we all were.

Well, watching this movie you will feel like you are. The story is there and Peter has no airs and…

Oh, what a long, strange trip it’s been.