A Poem Is a Naked Person – The Movie Gourmet

Leon Russell in A POEM IS A NAKED PERSON

I first noticed the musician Leon Russell with his distinctive top hat in the concert movie Mad Dogs and Englishmen. In another (and really, really good) concert film, The Concert for Bangladesh, I wondered, “who is this long-hair, and why is he the bandleader in a band with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr?”. (The Concert for Bangladesh, organized by George Harrison, broke ground as the first big benefit concert with a collection of mega-stars.) I soon became a big fan of Leon’s solo career, and I’m saddened by his death this morning.

You can enjoy lots of unfiltered 1972-74 Leon, both on- and off-stage in the documentary A Poem is a Naked Person. A Poem Is a Naked Person has been a bit of a Lost Film – until recently only shown at screening where Blank was present. Now you can stream it on Amazon Instant, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play. The Concert for Bangladesh is available to rent on DVD from Netflix.

During the years 1972-4, documentarian Les Blank hung out and filmed around Leon Russell’s Oklahoma recording studio, and A Poem Is a Naked Person is the result.

This was the period when Russell produced two of my very favorite albums, Leon Live and Hank Wilson’s Back, so I especially enjoyed the music. There’s also a nice snippet of Willie Nelson (pre-beard and pigtails) singing Good Hearted Woman.

In fact, all of the Leon Russell parts (both talking and performing) are great. The problem is that Blank filmed everybody and everything in the neighborhood, including a tractor pull, the demolition of a building and a seemingly deranged and snake-obsessed artist. There’s also a lot of conversation between people who are very stoned. Getting stoned is a lot more fun than listening to stoned people talk.

The documentary’s puzzling title originates from liner notes on a Bob Dylan album.

A Poem Is a Naked Person has been a bit of a Lost Film, until recently only shown at screening where Blank was present. Now you can stream it on Amazon Instant, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Leon Russell – leading the first grand benefit concert

A POEM IS A NAKED PERSON: Leon Russell in his prime