"Take Me to the River" is at its most interesting when zeroing in on the back-and-forth between musicians of different eras ...
– Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Sep 2014
fresh:
"Take Me to the River" includes just enough history of the civil rights era to lend it gravitas. The color-blind recording practices of studios like Stax were an anomaly at the time and are well worth noting.
– Michael O'Sullivan,
Washington Post,
18 Sep 2014
rotten:
The premise for this documentary couldn't be more stilted, and some of the matchups are enough to make you wince. But there are a few striking intergenerational moments.
– J. R. Jones,
Chicago Reader,
25 Sep 2014
fresh:
Three of the guitar marvels shown here - Hubert Sumlin, Teenie Hodges and Skip Pitts - have died since filming. This is a marginal but worthwhile footnote to their legacy.
– Tim Campbell,
Minneapolis Star Tribune,
25 Sep 2014
fresh:
Flawed as it is, "River" reminds us where all the great music came from.