Jakob Dylan had never conducted an interview before Echo in the Canyon, the new documentary he hosts on the Sixties Laurel Canyon music scene, which hits theaters nationwide this week. But Dylan — who breaks down the film and his musical career on the new episode of our podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now — has an easy rapport with the music legends he gently interrogates, among them Ringo Starr, Michelle Phillips, Brian Wilson, Eric Clapton, Roger McGuinn and, in his last filmed interview, Tom Petty. (The only awkward moment: David Crosby mentions the importance of “Dylan” to folk rock, and Jakob jokes, “You’ll have to be more specific.”)
The film, directed by Dylan’s manager and former record exec Andy Slater, combines history lessons with new performances of the era’s music (from “In My Room” to “Goin’ Back”) from Fiona Apple, Beck and others. Dylan found himself nostalgic for an era before his birth. “There was a lot of support,” he says, “and a lot of tradition.”
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In the episode, Dylan and Slater detail their adventures with the Laurel Canyon legends, and also go deep on the making of the Wallflowers’ “One Headlight” and “Sixth Avenue Heartache,” as well as Dylan’s beloved 1997 performance of the former song with Bruce Springsteen. They also delve into the band’s formation, break-up and its recent, not-altogether-successful reunion.
Download and subscribe to our weekly podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now, hosted by Brian Hiatt, on iTunes or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts), and check out two years worth of episodes in the archive, including in-depth, career-spanning interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Halsey, Ice Cube, Neil Young, the National, Questlove, Julian Casablancas, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Marr, Scott Weiland, Alice Cooper, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Costello, Donald Fagen, Phil Collins, Alicia Keys, Stephen Malkmus, Sebastian Bach, Tom Petty, Kelly Clarkson, Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, the Zombies, Gary Clark Jr. and many more — plus dozens of episodes featuring genre-spanning discussions, debates and explainers with Rolling Stone’s critics and reporters. Tune in every Friday at 1 p.m. ET to hear Rolling Stone Music Now show broadcast live from SiriusXM’s studios on Volume, channel 106.