Standing in the Shadows of Motown

Standing in the Shadows of Motown is a terrific documentary that gives us a wonderful introduction to The Funk Brothers, the musicians behind the hits at Motown. This is their story, therefore little time is devoted to Barry Gordy or the label's stars. The Brothers emerge as engaging personalities in their own right - it's a pleasure to listen to them tell their tales of life in "the Snake Pit" (the studio) at Motown.

Even more a pleasure is listening to them play and hearing new interpretations of some of the great old tunes. Especially, for me, Bootsy Collins on "Cool Jerk" (Bootsy puts the "fun" in "funk") and Joan Osborne on "Heat Wave" (the Brothers really groove on this one) and "What becomes of the Broken Hearted" - a stirring rendition that raises the roof and brings down the house! Great stuff. A few of the other new performances are not quite as strong as this, but overall the music is just great. The old guys have still got it. I really loved hearing little bits of their jazz playing sprinkled throughout the movie - in fact I'd like to have heard more of this, but of course there are time constraints in any film. It was also great to hear some of the arrangements broken down to (or built up from) individual parts. It brings home the fact that these guys are really creative players (try to imagine "My Girl" without the "dum da da da da da" guitar lick, for example).

I already knew a bit about James Jamerson, the genius bass player for Motown, before watching this movie, but meeitng the rest of these great players and hearing their stories was just a pure pleasure straight through. Good to see these guys getting their props - they are The Funk Brothers!

At 35, I'm too young too have been around when all this great music first appeared. But I truly feel the Motown music in my soul, always have. I still get goosebumps, to this day, when I hear certain Motown songs.

Therefore, I spent half this film sobbing, for the beauty & genius of the music, the happiness I felt that that Funk Brothers were finally getting their due, and lamenting, as always, that they simply do not make music like this any more, and never will again.

Beautifully filmed, fascinating....if it doesn't move you, or get you moving, you must be comatose.

I really loved this documentary. Three key points: (1) I applaud the spirit and energy to put the project- long overdue recognition and praise for great musicians- together. I happen to be a fan of the Temptations movie and saw this DVD next to it. Had I not bought it on a whim, I would be so much more empty. (2) James Jamerson-I would love a documentary on him alone. Not because of his quirks, but because of his tortured spirits; a great movie-making project! Also, upon my research of this topic after seeing this film, I came across an extensive web site, bassplayer.com, with a great tribute page to Jamerson. Among the most outrageous discussions that have not been resolved to my knowledge- who played bass on Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made to Love Her"? The majority of folks strongly contend it was James Jamerson, however, a woman named Carol Kaye states she was the actual bass player for the song.

I don't know the truth, but I do know that after never hearing the bass in the song for the 30+ plus that this has been one of my all-time favorite songs, I ONLY hear the bass line. That bass line is so masterful, so exceptional, and so unrelentingly funky, that I believe only a virtuoso could have done it. The fact that that song and bass line were done in 1966/67, amidst so many hundreds of other Motown hits and other songs, tells me that the Funk Brothers and James Jamerson were truly blessed talents.

(3) Chaka Khan's rendition of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" is undoubtedly the very best performance I have ever seen her do and is among the top performances ever recorded. That she won a Grammy for the song is amazing. She actually sang it in 2000; the movie was released in 2002 and won the Grammy in 2003! I get teary every time I hear her singing the song in the movie(I replayed this section at least 10 times when I first saw the movie) and I don't think she will ever have another brilliant performance that would match that intensity. Bottom line: I strongly recommend this movie and subsequent deeper research into other great R&B music roots. Rod Walker

I am not a hard core Motown fan, but I have to give this film a 10, because it's the best music documentary I have seen. With just the right mix of interview footage, historical photos, and live performance, STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN takes its place alongside THE LAST WALTZ as a cinematic cornerstone of music history.

Musicians will especially like some of the technical discussions, such as details about how legendary bassist James Jamerson produced his famous groove.

The live musical performances are inspired, with modern singers covering Motown classics, accompanied by the Funk Brothers themselves. I have watched the DVD of this film, and more recently, the high-definition version on ShowtimeHD. The 5.1 soundtrack is impeccably mixed. You can hear every instrument clearly, but the vocalist is not drowned out. With this type of mix, you want to listen to your favorite numbers over and over, concentrating on a different part each time. And, you can rest assured that there is no lip syncing or studio overdubbing. This is real music for real people.

All of the vocalists are superb, creatively interpreting each song, while at the same time paying respect to the style of the original recording artists. Viewers will have their own favorite performers, but mine is Joan Osborne, whose powerful rendition of "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" brought tears to my eyes.

STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN sets the record (or literally records) straight at last, and does what Berry Gordy should've done AGES ago...reveal the true source of the "Motown sound" that served as the soundtrack for my entire childhood, and most of my early adult life. I'm not surprised that they had more hits than the top five rock and R&B acts in history combined. But what's even more amazing about them, is how "river deep, mountain high" their influence has been. So much so, in fact, that I knew who they were without KNOWING who they were.

It is mentioned in the documentary that they only received credit on an LP for the first time in 1970, for their efforts on Marvin Gaye's seminal classic "What's Going On." But that was not my first real encounter with the Funk Brothers. That happened a few years later. More than likely inspired in part by Marvin's groundbreaking work, producer Norman Whitfield created his own song cycle about love, loss, struggle, sorrow and hope in an urban setting. With The Temptations, he crafted one of Motown's (and The Temps) finest albums ever, which shamefully has long been out of print. The name of the album said it all: "MASTERPIECE."

The most amazing thing about it to me, even more than the music locked within the vinyl grooves, is that Whitfield saw fit to thank every musician who worked on the album: Melvin "Wah Wah" Ragin, Bob Babbitt, Richard "Pistol" Allen, Earl Van Dyke, Uriel Jones, Jack Ashford. And about a dozen more. Spellbound, I had no idea even then, that I had just made the acquaintance of the Funk Brothers.

Now nearly thirty years later, with this documentary, it's like meeting them all for the first time. To my knowledge, none of the singers who shot to fame thanks to the Brothers' talents had ever publicly acknowledged their worth, (and maybe Mr. Gordy knows the reason for that.) But the documentarians have my eternal gratitude for righting this terrible wrong...Maybe not in time enough for James Jamerson, Bobby White or Earl Van Dyke, but at least while a lot of the Old Masters are still with us. For a little while longer.

IMHO, the highlights: Joan Osborne, Gerald Levert with Tom Scott, Chaka Khan, both alone and with Montell Jordan, and Bootsy Collins, whose good-timey vibe is still as infectious as ever. But the shining stars of the piece are and now forever will be, The Brothers.

Don't rent this baby...BUY it. You'll be glad you made the investment, because you'll find yourself playing the concert cuts over and over again...just like an old Gordy, Tamla or Motown 45.