“Daisy Jones & The Six” Will Make You Nostalgic For 1970s Rock
by Katelyn Rodriguez
This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Katelyn Rodriguez. Find her on Instagram at @katelynrodwrites. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com. Watch Daisy Jones & The Six with us on Amazon Prime! Don’t have it? Click here for a free trial of Amazon Prime. Student? Here’s a free 6-month Amazon Prime trial!
This article contains spoilers for “Daisy Jones & The Six.”
The 1970s was such a pivotal time in the music industry and it gave us some of the most iconic albums, such as “Rumors” by Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon,” “Blue” by Joni Mitchell and David Bowie’s “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders of Mars,” to name a few. However, in the world of New York Times bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid, the ‘70s marked a time of stardom and downfall for rock band Daisy Jones & The Six.
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I’m going to preface this by saying if you haven’t read the book or seen the first three episodes of the newly released series on Amazon Prime Video, you’re missing out. For the sake of this article, I will only be talking about the first three episodes of the show, which are now available to stream. Want to watch for free? Click here for a free trial of Amazon Prime.
The 10-part series introduces viewers to the titular rock band 20 years after their breakup in October 1977. The band consists of lead singer/songwriter Daisy Jones (Riley Keough) and the members of The Six, lead singer Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin), guitarist Graham Dunne (Will Harrison), keyboardist Karen Sirko (Suki Waterhouse), drummer Warren (Sebastian Chacon) and bassist Eddie (Josh Whitehouse). The book is written in an interview-style format that allows the band to talk about their experience working together for the first time. The show follows that same format, however, the majority is shown as if the events are happening in real-time. There is an occasional jump back to the band’s members in their individual interviews with the unknown interviewer, who periodically asks them questions regarding certain points in the retelling.
Episode one, which is titled “Track 1: Come and Get It” did a good job of introducing the audience to these beloved characters. It allowed the audience to see the backstory to how The Six, formerly The Dunne Brothers, came together, as well as how the icon Daisy Jones, formerly known as Margaret, got her start. It dives into what led them down the path of wanting to pursue music and gives the audience a first glimpse of the vocal abilities of Billy (Claflin) and Daisy (Keough). Keough’s vocals are raw and gritty, with a hint of twang — it’s surprising to me that she hadn’t sung prior to the filming of the show, especially since she comes from music royalty — she is the daughter of the late Lisa Marie Presley and granddaughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley. On the other hand, Claflin’s vocals have a certain softness about them that draws me in every time I hear them.
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Episode two, “Track 2: I’ll Take You There,” is where the ball really gets rolling. It follows the Dunne Brothers as they arrive in Los Angeles in an attempt to have their big break in the industry. It delves into the determination of the band, after they change their name to The Six, to get signed by a label, as well as Daisy’s first real performance at the Troubadour while supporting her best friend and pioneer disco artist Simone (Nabiyah Be). Daisy’s initial doubts about being shaped into an artist by a label are shown, as is Billy’s spiral into substance abuse and infidelity to his pregnant partner Camila (Camila Morrone) during a tour after The Six quickly rises to stardom. The episode ends with Billy’s spiraling out of control despite it being the beginning of his career and Daisy finally deciding to give producer Teddy Price (Tom Wright) a chance.
The third and final episode, “Track 3: Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” marks a new beginning for The Six after Billy returns from rehab and decides he needs to take a step back and be there for his wife and daughter. It revealed that Billy’s spiral had burnt some bridges within the industry since they had to cancel the rest of their tour, which thus puts the band back at square one. Some drama between Eddie and Billy continues during this episode and sexual tension between Graham and Karen starts to take root. This episode also sees Daisy attempting to write songs for a potential album, however, Teddy decides to get her in the studio with The Six after Daisy hears him playing a demo of a song Billy had written. This is where the main premise of the show starts to blossom. It is undeniable that Daisy and Billy have chemistry from the moment they first meet and record “Honeycomb” despite initial differences regarding the meaning and recording of the song.
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Overall, the first three episodes of “Daisy Jones & The Six” pulled me in as the book did despite the slight changes made to some characters and songs. Seeing characters I fell in love with become real on the screen is always something I look forward to and the casting for this show is spot on. Don’t get me started on the music and costuming because I could talk about it for hours. I remember reading the book last summer and I finished it in three days because of how obsessed I was with what Reid had written. When I learned there was going to be a show I was ecstatic. I have always loved the aesthetic of the 1970s music scene due to growing up listening to classic rock, so the book and series have only helped reinvigorate my obsession. It’s safe to say I am looking forward to seeing how the rest of the series plays out in the coming weeks!
Have you watched the first three episodes of “Daisy Jones & The Six” on Amazon Prime Video? Let us know in the comments below!