Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21128 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-04-02
• Formats: NTSC, Surround Sound, Widescreen
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 50 minutes

Review
It's been rock 'n' roll's version of Coke vs. Pepsi, the Yankees vs. the Red Sox, almost since the music's start. And the battle is still being fought every day in garages, studios, and music clubs across America. It's the guitar wars: Fender vs. Gibson. That ongoing struggle is documented in the new 50-minute DVD SOLDIBODIES, the 50 YEAR GUITAR WAR. The title refers to the way the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul electric guitars redefined pop music. Their solid bodies gave them a big, thick sound that allowed guitarists to become dominant players, not just the background rhythm instruments of the Big Band era. A lot of big-name guitarists are highlighted in the documentary - Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page is a Les Paul man, Hendrix lived with his Stratocaster - but few are actually quoted. Instead, many of the best interviews are with guitar retailers and tech folks, which works in a way, since musicians aren't always the most well-spoken crew. There is an odd Bay State flavor to the DVD, because among the axmen interviewed are local players Gary Hoey and Johnny A, along with Derek Trucks, who is married to onetime Boston-area blues singer Susan Tedeschi. SOLIDBODIES is for the serious music fan, not the general public, though it will appeal to more than just guitar players and geeks. It effectively captures the up-and-down history, the rivalry, the back-and-forth tug of two of the most powerful images in modern music. According to Hoey, it's all about 'the quest for the holy tone.' --Boston Globe

Review
They are dueling icons locked in a five-decade battle. The Fender Stratocaster is sleek and contoured, and, as Los Lonely Boys Henry Garza says, it fits up against you like a girl's body. Picture Jimi Hendrix with a white Fender Stratocaster, muscling its fret board on Purple Haze. The Gibson Les Paul is heavier and curvy, with a fatter sound and a more responsive feel, its look defined by a maple body and sunburst finish. Think Jimmy Page, a Les Paul slung low as he rips it up on Rock and Roll. Their beauty is clearly a matter of tastes you can find people who will wax poetic about the superiority of the Strat over the Les Paul, or vice versa, for hours but both have come to define the look, and more importantly, the sound of rock and roll. Solidbodies, the 50 Year Guitar War DVD dissects the evolution of both instruments since the late 50s, providing an insightful look at how both guitars came to prominence. It's a rise-and-fall-and-rise-again story as both companies went through severe growing pains after initially becoming the instruments of choice for rockers in the 1950s & 1960s. Written and directed by Guy Hornbuckle, an award-winning journalist who lives in Mississippi, the hour-long documentary features interviews with historians and guitar experts, in addition to musicians such as Garza, Allman Brothers Band guitarist Derek Trucks, and blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa. The tone is informative and conversational, and you don't have to be a guitar wonk to appreciate the story Hornbuckle tells. Both companies got off on parallel paths in the late 50s with Fender first to recognize the burgeoning rock market as guitar players looked for ways to play loud without lots of annoying feedback. Kids in garage bands everywhere had to have the same instruments the big boys were playing, and the guitar wars began when the Stratocaster a more rocking version of the Telecaster came out. Gibson got into the fray with a multi-pickup system on its Les Paul that provided a fat, meaty sound that blues players like Hubert Sumlin of Muddy Waters band were looking for. And who was watching those old blues guys? Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Peter Green, et al. over in England, and so they all had to have the Les Paul, which sparked a resurgence in its interest. It wasn't just about marketing, though, which 50 Year Guitar War makes clear in cool vignettes in which excellent players are set up in an old beer plant playing each of the instruments. The differences in the Stratocaster versus the Les Paul are subtle, but the players demonstrate how you can hear them if you listen closely. Over the years both Fender and Gibson were sold to bigger companies, which the documentary says led to inferior versions of their iconic guitars. By the 80s, guitar makers such as Kramer and Ibanez came along and gave both of the old-school companies a thrashing. Many of the hair metal bands of that era favored the sleeker new brands. Both were saved by new buyers in the 80s, and the market collapsed for the usurpers when hair metal fell out of favor. Guitarists made their way back to the Strat and Les Paul as the quality improved to the original standards which brings us to today. Find a guitar god and he's likely playing a Fender or Gibson. Keith Richards plays Telecasters and Strats. Bruce Springsteen, Telecasters. Pete Townshend used to play the Les Paul's little brother the SG, but now he plays Strats. Slash: Les Pauls. Jimmy Page: still playing the Les Paul. Hornbuckle's documentary is one that any guitar aficionado is going to want to check out and it's a breezy hour well-spent for music fans who aren't aware of the intense loyalties players develop for the two guitars. --Toledo Blade

Review
The film focuses on the 50 year 'Cold War' between the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul guitars, and the impact of those two instruments on music culture. In spite of all the changes in the world, not even to mention the music & gear industries over the past few decades, those two guitars look the same as always. Just try going to a Chevy dealer to buy a 2008 Bel Air with fins! Few objects are as archetypal and iconic as these two guitars which have defined a large spectrum of modern guitar design and music culture. Strat fans and Les Paul fans alike can gain valuable perspectives and knowledge about why it is we prefer one over the other, or both. --Strat-O-Blogster guitar blog

Customer Reviews

Solidboides, the 50 year Guitar War
Outstanding documentary on the history of the two most well known electric guitars in history. The Les Paul from Gibson and the Stratocaster from Fender each have their own dedicated followers and probably none of them will change allegiance but for guitar lovers this is on great story and a great history on how each instrument came to be an icon of American popular culture. Essential viewing for any guitar enthusiast.

Solid Guitar Film for Everyone
I like the film because in addition to giving some interesting history, it showcases new players too. The Strat and the Les Paul are given equal time. This film is great for guitar players and non guitar players alike. Everyone will come away with things they didn't know previously, yet the film isn't too esoteric. A great orientation for new and younger players, with more than a few interesting points for experienced guitar geeks.

GUITAR WARS
I had seen this product offered online several months ago and from what the advertisement said, knew that it was something I would like. What really piqued my curiosity was to find that others were interested in just a documentary over the solidbody vs. the hollowbody! I have always loved the music of the guitar- and although this video does not show any songs being played in their entirety, the focus is primarily in the documentary-style! I can appreciate the beauty of the guitar and approve its form as a work of art! If you see the guitar in the light I have presented, then you too, will enjoy this product for what it is: a documentary!