Amazon Prime’s Daisy Jones and the Six follows the story of a fictional 70’s rock band from their road to success to their eventual downfall. Presented as a documentary, the show is narrated by a journalist on a quest to uncover the mystery surrounding the legendary band’s sudden disappearance.
Based on the book by Taylor Jenkins Reid, the story is told through interviews with the band members. The book is already set up in this documentary style, which makes it the perfect story to be adapted into a series.
The show immerses viewers in the 70’s Los Angeles scene, evoking a strong sense of nostalgia for the rock and roll era. Although the show deals with some heavy topics, such as drug addiction and sexual violence, the hippie vibes and happy tunes ultimately leave viewers feeling good.
Throughout the book, we follow the band as they produce their first album together. With the series’ release, these songs have now been brought to life – an experience cherished by fans who already loved the lyrics from reading the book.
With a full 25-song album now released on Spotify, it is clear Amazon has cut no expenses in making this story feel real. Combine this with the show’s documentary style and viewers are left with a story that makes it feel like Daisy Jones and the Six are a real band.
In writing the album for the show, the writers were set out on a difficult task. In the story, Daisy Jones and the Six is a legendary rock band producing hit after hit. The writers might have been doomed from the start in creating music that lives up to this high expectation.
Still, Grammy award-winning Blake Mills collaborated with friends and fellow musicians Phoebe Bridgers, Marcus Mumford, Jackson Browne, and more to create songs that capture the 70’s feeling. With music inspired by Fleetwood Mac, anyone watching the show will be listening to the album on repeat long after the final episode.
Riley Keough portrays Daisy Jones, a girl born into fame and wealth but who grows up in a severely dysfunctional family. Daisy’s mother is a famous model who feels like she needs to compete with her more talented daughter. After getting estranged from her family, she sets out to follow her dreams.
Several boyfriends try to use her talent for their own success; Daisy, who in her heart knows she is a rockstar, stubbornly persists. When she meets producer Teddy Price (Tom Wright), she is introduced to rock band The Six.
Keough is brilliantly cast for her role. She manages to portray Daisy as an enigmatic three-dimensional character that is not always likeable, but nonetheless, a person we want to root for. As the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, viewers get a sense she deeply understands the world she relays.
Her opponent is played by Sam Claflin who portrays The Six’s lead singer, Billy Dunne. The two have an electric chemistry together. It works both musically and on screen to accurately capture the complex dynamic between the two characters.
Other band members aren’t given much backstory and remain pretty two-dimensional in the series. The book has more time to explore these characters’ motives – which is something that the series lacks. When the band falls apart it makes sense from Billy and Daisy’s perspective. However, we are left with an unsatisfying answer as to why other band members decided to leave.
Overall, Reid is a master at creating stories that seem to bleed into the real world. Having characters constantly break the fourth wall by using interviews to make them speak directly to readers. Her latest four books, which include the bestselling Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Malibu Rising, all take place within the same universe. Some characters even play a role across multiple stories.
With a Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo movie adaptation being underway, it would be great to see this trend continue by having the Daisy Jones cast make a cameo in the movie or even by playing the album in the background of a scene. Unfortunately, this seems improbable, as, unlike the series, the movie will be produced by Netflix.
Nevertheless, the new series and Spotify-released album feel like an add-on to the Reid universe. The book, series and album complement each other perfectly and work together to create a realistic story. With fans already calling for a Daisy Jones and the Six tour, it is a story that leaves viewers wanting more.
Featured image credit: Lacey Terrell/Prime Video
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