Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell

Charles “Arthur” Russell was an avant-garde composer, singer-songwriter, disco producer, and cellist who played ethereal music that never quite entered the more recognizable realms of psychedelia or New Age. Wild Combination, filmmaker Matt Wolf's portrait of the cult artist, begins with Iowa kid Russell playing in the school orchestra. After his father discovered pot paraphernalia in Arthur's bedroom, the pair fought, and the lad hit the road in 1967. Landing in San Francisco, Russell befriended Allen Ginsberg—providing cello accompaniment to the poet's readings—before eventually moving to New York in 1974, where his music combined folk, avant-garde, proto-punk, disco, garage, and house styles. Even as Russell was experimenting with various musical forms, he was also “transitioning” from straight to gay. Russell recorded under a variety of pseudonyms, although he never really played well with others, and his revival today is focused on his work as a solo artist. Much more than just a by-the-numbers bio-doc about an obscure artist, Wild Combination melds an impressive array of rare material, evocative dramatic recreations, and comments from eloquent interviewees, including Philip Glass, Ernie Brooks, and Russell's partner, Tom Lee. If Wolff's portrait sounds more like a rock documentary overall than queer cinema, that's because it is…until the touching final act. DVD extras include bonus performance footage, a revealing 1970 audiocassette letter from Russell to his parents, Ginsberg's chant at Russell's funeral in 1992, and spare and sympathetic covers of Russell's songs by various artists. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)