A Poem Is a Naked Person

Les Blank's 1974 study of piano maverick Leon Russell shares common ground with LM Kit Carson and Lawrence Schiller's Dennis Hopper profile The American Dreamer (1971), in that both spent an eternity on the shelf before finally securing a theatrical release. Both films also have a ramshackle approach, as Blank seems much less interested in Russell (who commissioned the film) and the session musicians recording the Hank Wilson's Back! album at Russell's Oklahoma studio than he is in the inhabitants of nearby Tulsa. They include artist Jim Franklin, who achieves a certain notoriety by feeding a fluffy chick to a boa constrictor. Despite the lack of biographical information and psychological insight, there's spaced-out prattle to spare and an excess of eccentricity. Moreover, there's lots of laid-back music, with Russell doing concert numbers like A Song for You and Yes I Am, as well as a superb studio version of Goodnight Irene. That is matched by young Malissa Bates's rendition of Joy to the World and Willie Nelson's take on Orange Blossom Special.