Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande

Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande is halfway decent as a story about Cymande, but it’s sadly not even close to the story of Cymande.

Aims for a Buena Vista Social Club-style story of late-life rediscovery but gets a little bogged down in a few too many hagiographic quotes from high-profile fans.

This documentary is an education and a good-news story about the remarkable 70s British funk band Cymande (the word is a calypso term for “dove”) who should be as big as Earth Wind & Fire, but aren’t.

[The beginning and end] are both wonderful, but you do have to put up with too many people being interviewed.

If you want to know why the 1970s British band Cymande didn't become as well-known as American counterparts such as Parliament-Funkadelic, this illuminating documentary tells a fascinating, heart-wrenching, and informative story.

It’s mostly notable for how it shows the positive value that sampling and the internet have both had on once-obscure or forgotten old bands like Cymande.

Director Tim MacKenzie-Smith clearly has a lot of affection for the band. And so do we after watching his film.

The most striking moments of the film, however, remain the testimonies of the band members themselves: it is hard not to be moved seeing them interviewed now about their work, and celebrated by legions of fans of all ages.

Above all else it shows how timeless their music is and it is hard to believe some of their music is over 50 years old, if nothing else the film will likely introduce them to a host of new fans across the generations.

Mackenzie-Smith is far more interested in blandly explaining obvious revelations than actually revealing them through the strength of images and song.