Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram and John Randall appear in a behind-the-scenes look at the recording of their Grammy-nominated album.
The stripped-to-essentials recording of The Marfa Tapes, the Grammy-nominated collaborative effort of Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, is detailed in the fascinating documentary of the same title premiering Thursday on Paramount+.
Directed by Spencer Peeples, and featuring live performances set against the backdrop of West Texas, The Marfa Tapes also features candid interviews and behind-the-scenes footage captured during a five-day album recording session in November 2020.
It all happened in Marfa, the tiny Texas town once best known for the phenomenon of “Marfa Lights” and the 1950s on-location filming of Giant. In recent years, Lambert, Ingram and Randall have repeatedly visited the area to seek creative inspiration and generally get back to basics.
““It’s the stars, it’s not really the town,” Ingram told Rolling Stone. “[We stay at] this ranch that our buddy lends us while we’re there, and it’s just complete nothingness. You can’t do anything else but look inside.”
According to Paramount+, “For more than half a decade, the desolate location has become a songwriting haven for the trio, yielding both massive hits and profound personal growth.” The Marfa Tapes album was recorded there “raw and loose with just a pair of microphones and an acoustic guitar,” resulting in “a stunning work of audio verité; an intimate, unadorned snapshot of a moment in time fueled by love, trust, and friendship. The trio recorded much of the album outdoors, inviting the ambient sounds of the desert to seep into their live, bare bones performances, and the atmosphere is utterly transportive. The result is a candid, unvarnished look at Lambert, Randall and Ingram’s undeniable chemistry in its purest, most honest form.”
Here is a C&I exclusive clip from the documentary The Marfa Tapes, showcasing Lambert, Randall and Ingram as they perform “Anchor.”
