For any Stevie fans who were always curious to see the actual documentary from which his "Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants" album came (great album IMO), here is the link:

http://video.google.com/v...8977368381

I thought it was a very interesting documentary which put the soundtrack into proper context

I had never seen this movie before.Thanks for posting it.

SoulAlive said:

No problem. I saw it for the first time last week. I was so glad the have finally seen it. I knew how rare it is/was

OMG what a find

I thought it was shelved though

Harlepolis said:

In 1979,I remember the album being released but I never heard anything about the movie.I don't think it ever made it to theatres.

SoulAlive said:

Yeah, it was never offically released. It's very rare, so I'm lucky that I found it.

I didn't even know such existed. Thank you very much for posting this. "Secret Life of Plants" continues to be one of my all-time favourite albums.

I've always wondered why they didn't release this documentary. Maybe it was too controversial at the time or something. I think had it been released, the album wouldn't have been that odd to people, they would have understood it a little better.

purpleworld said:

I think so too

I don't know whats so controversial about it though

No, I think the real reason why this film wasn't released is because of Stevie's bruised ego when his album flopped.

I wonder,how did Stevie get introduced to this project? Did the filmmakers come to him,asking for material? It seems like an odd,low-budget project.How were they able to get the BIGGEST R&B artist at the time,to participate in this?

SoulAlive said:

Come to think about it,,,,how the hell did he come up with all the ideas for his 70s album??

I'm on pins & needles till a detailed biography get released

Harlepolis said:

That would be great

SoulAlive said:

It was released. Very limited distribution.

SoulAlive said:

Exactly. The filmmakers, particularly Michael Braun, initially came to Stevie in 1972 about doing the music. To Make a long story short, Stevie eventually took it as a challenge for a blind man to do a soundtrack for a film and that's how it eventually got made.

manray10 said:

Really? Wow.Stevie seems to enjoy doing movie soundtracks ("The Woman In Red","Jungle Fever").

Did anyone notice how "Power Flower" was missing in the documentary?

SoulAlive said:

yep, and I wonder how he's doing it. Usually, when you write a soundtrack, or film music, you watch the movie if certain seems need certain moods.

The documentary would have been great if seen back in it's time, Time-lapse photography is kind of played out now thanks to the BBC. I thought it was kind of quaint but still cool.

Made me think hard of plants as a lifeform though, they are 'alive' after all. Is it cruel to prune plants back or eat them? possibly. I don't believe they are truly sentient though, though technically, they are one of God's creatures i suppose. We'd freak out if there was plant life found elsewhere in the galaxy. It'd be classed an Alien lifeform.

As for the album? Well, i hadn't listened to it in years, but i'm older now and appreciate music i once rejected a whole lot more. I enjoyed it, barring the finale, that grated for some reason. 7/10 for me. will give it more listens for sure, but it's no 'Innervisions'. Or maybe it is, All Stevie's music is a product of his innervisions.

This film is REALLLLY boring in some parts.

Probably more amazing to see these shots on a big screen... in 1979

SoulAlive said:

and "Here Comes The Sun" by The Beatles plays in its entirety 49 minutes into the film... another licensing miracle

Pretty amazing how that cabbage plant was producing a stress response when a separate head of cabbage was being chopped up... then produced a stress response when the "assailant" returned to the scene.

thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!!

I straight went to sleep on it
but I been doped up all day
on tussinex... so

the film aided tho, I guarantee
I'm gonna watch it again
I'm fully awake now

DirtyChris said:

naw homie that schitt is boring

Cinnie said:

lol you're absolutely right!

I love "The First Garden" scene

DirtyChris said:

I must admit that it is boring, but I think it's still interesting to watch, if only to have it as a companion to the album. I still thought it was informative though.

purpleworld said:

I agree.. it definitely compliments the soundtrack
that was just a bad time for me to attempt to watch a movie
chances are if I'm in bed... I won't last 30 minutes into the feature

thank you again
had it not been for you
I prolly would've never laid eyes
on this rarity

a million thanx

DirtyChris said:

You're welcome

I didn't sound very appreciative of you posting this, but I thank you.