There are moments that are burned in our collective film memory. The opening of Dennis Hopper’s EASY RIDER is such a scene. Hopper and Peter Fonda ride on ther Harley Davidson motorbikes over the Colorado Bridge and Route 66. Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild” is playing – a perfect combination, a title sequence for eternity. Hopper’s film and the song captured an American life attitude in 1969. The dirty rock of Steppenwolf contrasted with the well-behaved hippies from previous years. The ban also reached cult status almost overnight and rose to become the first stadium rock band. Musicians and filmmakers like Cameron Crowe, Alice Cooper, or Scorpions front man Klaus Meine remember this moment and what the band triggered in them back then in Oliver Schwehm’s classic music biography. Steppenwolf was like the older brother that revealed life’s secrets, they say. The band's roots lie in Thuringia. Joachim Fritz Krauledat grew up in the tranquil town of Arnstadt listening to his mother's pop radio. He talks about migrating to Canada, where he met bassist Klaus Karl Kassbaum, who was also of German descent, and founded Steppenwolf with him. They became John Kay and Nick St. Nicholas, friends, creative partners, and, ultimately, competitors. The drug years eventually damaged their egos, LSD was replaced by cocaine, and the band turned into an ego show. All of this is remembered differently but entertainingly by the various parties and accompanied by a lot of Super8 film material. More or less prominent talking heads reminisce and there are some live performances to watch. As a band documentary with no surprises, BORN TO BE WILD is primarily of interest to fans of the band.

Lars Tunçay

Translation: Elinor Lewy