‘Hired Gun’ on Netflix Profiles Rock’s Musical Mercenaries But Ends Up Playing Too Many Notes

There are many myths in rock n’ roll. One of the big ones is that every rock group, from The Beatles to Fall Out Boy to whoever passes for one these days, is a band of brothers (or sisters or brothers and sisters): part street gang, part army troop, part sports team, living together, rocking together, making great art together, and the people you see on stage are the same ones that played on your favorite song, album or online streaming music service. Now, I’m not saying that’s never the case, and I might even go so far as to say that rock n’ roll is at its best when it is all those things. However, behind many legendary albums and face melting live shows, you’ll find a legion of top shelf musical mercenaries who have built careers out of making bigger artists sound good, and in some cases, better than they really are.

2016’s Hired Gun, which is currently streaming on Netflix, aims to bring these musicians “out of the shadows, into the spotlight,” and tell “the untold stories behind your favorite musicians.” It’s a story that’s been told before, in such documentaries as Standing In The Shadows Of Motown, which profiled the musicians that played on the R&B label’s countless hit singles, and 20 Feet From Stardom, which focused on backup singers. Hired Gun interviews a vast array of musicians from different genres and backgrounds, including both session musicians, who primarily play on recordings, and live musicians, who fill out the backing bands of numerous artists. While well done and consistently entertaining, the film’s main problem is that the scope of its subject matter is too broad. There are simply too many illuminating anecdotes, interesting characters and musical footnotes to fit into one cohesively satisfying film.

The film begins with an archival interview clip of singer-songwriter Billy Joel bragging about how his backing band isn’t just “a bunch of sidemen,” but a communal and collaborative musical group, even if he is the star of the show. The plight of Joel’s band, which played on his career-making ’70s records up until the turn of the century, is used as a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of being a musical hired gun. While elite level musicians are sought out, they seldom share the critical acclaim or monetary rewards or their employers, and are easily cast off at the end of a tour or at the whim of artists and management.

Finding the right backing musicians isn’t as easy as it sounds. As shock rock Renaissance man Rob Zombie explains, you need to find people who are “excellent musicians,” “really cool” and great on stage, and most importantly, “you got to find someone you can stand to be around 24/7.” That last part, he says, is the hardest shrinking the pool down to about “3 people.” It’s no easy task for the musicians either, who are expected to always be playing at their top level. “There’s no room for a B game. You got to always bring A,” says guitarist Phil X, who has played with everyone from Kelly Clarkson to Bon Jovi. Journeyman heavy metal bassist Rudy Sarzo says hired guns are usually expected to be better musicians than full-time band members or the artists’ themselves.

For some musicians, a gig as a hired gun can lead to a full-time position in a bigger band, such as guitarist Jason Hook, who went from playing with Mandy Moore to metal band Five Finger Death Punch. For others, session work can lead to production and songwriting success. Unfortunately, for others, it’s a lifetime of thankless jobs and poor pay. As longtime Billy Joel drummer Liberty DeVitto says, “You’re never fired. You’re just not asked to do the next thing.” He should know, after 30 years with Joel, he was unceremoniously sacked in 2006 for unknown reasons. Other musicians talk about painting houses or doing voiceover work between gigs.

In between a seemingly bottomless well of quippy soundbites, Hired Gun profiles some of the biggest names in the world of freelance players, get inside the minds of replacement musicians, such as Jason Newsted of Metallica, talks about the art of production, and features jam sessions with assorted hired guns overplaying over a succession of classic rock standards. The difference between the freelance players and those ungrateful singer-songwriters soon becomes clear; despite their prodigious talents as instrumentalists, it is a rare few of them who are great songwriters, and capable of writing songs that connect to a larger audience. All too often they fall into the hole of “musician’s musicians,” players who end up impressing only themselves and each other.

I was never bored watching Hired Gun, but I was often bewildered, straining to keep up with the plethora of narrative devices, storylines and one-liners. Like the musician whose technique overshadows their expressiveness, there’s simply too much going on, even if a lot of it is good. Much like the musicians it profiles, it plays too many notes.

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician. Follow him on Twitter:@BHSmithNYC.

Watch Hired Gun on Netflix