All Things Must Pass - The Rise and Fall of Tower Records

After moving to LA in 1979, Tower Records on Sunset was, of course, a natural destination for any music lover. Just down the street from the Whiskey-a-Go-Go, Ben Franks and much of the famous Sunset Strip, it was an iconic store. The bigger than life size album covers painted on the outside promoted the latest releases and the store was the largest in town. Of course, we would all haunt some of the smaller, more localized stores probably more often than we would venture here, but it was part of our lives and everyone at least knew someone who worked there, as many of the LA musicians did at one time or another.

This documentary tells the story of how Russ Solomon founded the company in Northern California (most of us assumed it was started in Hollywood) and its exponential growth through its unorthodox business methods. Of course, the tales of record company excesses abound since the chain was one of the nation's largest and so they were wined and dined, among other things. Solomon was leading the charge in his own personal excesses, but kept the company going with his creative visions and his faith in his staff.

Naturally, all of the excess and unbridled growth eventually caught up with Tower and the record industry in general and Tower's over-reach - they not only became nationwide, but worldwide - eventually meant that they had to file bankruptcy and dissolve.

(Personally, it seems that greed on the part of the record companies and the record stores caused their demise, as they charged exorbitant prices for CD's, which were cheaper to manufacture than LP's, and the customers rebelled to the point of getting their music free through streaming and giving a big fuck you to the labels and the stores.)

There is a bit of a happy ending, though, as Tower in the Asians markets are still going strong and recognize Solomon as the visionary behind it all.

Another gratifying documentary about the music business that highlights a bit of our youth. Check it out!