Standing in Shadows of Motown

 

 

Create your own review

This movie is a definitive must for anyone who has enjoyed any song produced on Motown, since most people don't know who the musicians are. THE FUNK BROTHERS played on songs like "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Gladys Knight & The Pips, "Singed Seadled Delivered..." by Stevie Wonder, "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye, "Baby Love", "Do You Love Me", "My Girl" etc. etc. etc. This movie is about THE FUNK BROTHERS - everything you could and should want to know about their work is featured on these two discs. There are TONS of special features (they never seem to end...); discographies, biographies, around 20 left out scenes, jam session and MUCH MUCH more. In the movie Chaka Kahn's vocal performance is spectacular and it's very intertaining listening to Bootsy singing "Do You Love Me" and "Cool Jerk". All I knew before I saw this movie was that James Jamerson had played bass on "Grapvine" and that he was part of the Motown studio band called "The Funk Brothers", but I had no idea they had done this much! This is definetly a missing piece in the puzzle of music history and it's not only recommended - at this price it's a must.
To regret this knowledge you would have to be insane.

As a white Fender bass player in the South in the 60's, I had a very tough time keeping up with soul music and R&B developments. There were two sides of town, and mixing of the races was still not encouraged then-- at least, not in the South. When Motown records could be listened to, the sound, and the highly-advanced musicality was utterly fascinating and totally innovative, but it was a real challenge to learn all the parts from the primitively-mixed records (the reasons for which are explained in the DVD). Rumors abounded about how the songs were recorded. One of my favorites was that each Motown hit was recorded with TWO bass tracks: one acoustic (upright) bass, and one track with the Fender bass (electric guitar). As it turns out, this rumor was false, but to see the interplay between the bass player and the drummers, not to mention some improvised percussion "instruments" (such as plywood boxes stomped upon in time with the beat), is to understand how the listener would get the wrong impression. To see and hear the actual studio players (AKA "The Funk Brothers") is exhilarating, to say the very least. To watch this excellently-produced DVD is to have the gauze pulled from one's eyes and ears, and to be able to appreciate the Funk Brothers for their superior musicianship, in addition to that of the arrangers. The movie itself, as released to theaters, is a constant revelation and enjoyable from start to finish, jumping as it does from history to flashbacks to oral history by the participants to recreations of the original hits sounding even better than they originally did. But the DVD goes much further: It contains a whole second disk of behind-the-scenes shots taken of further interviews, social get-togethers of the Funk Brothers where their tongues get REALLY loose, and other such materials. There was only one thing on the entire package I didn't like, and that was some contemporary studio sessions of some rather dull, nowhere basic 12-bar pieces that really weren't much more than just riffing. My impression was that this was just filler. But in terms of everything else on the two disks, whether it was social history, musical history, personal histories, rare archival film footage from the 60's, or the recreations of some of the greatest Motown hits, was absolutely top-notch. I've done a lot of research on Motown over the decades, and I found the DVD's content to be factually consistent with the rest of my research, but in much more depth; and the excellent musical performances just take the presentation right over the top. I can't begin to count the "mysteries" I'd wondered about for decades that were all "solved" by watching and listening to this DVD. I play it over and over, and it gets better and better. I highly recommend it to anyone who lived through the era and wants to gain an even greater appreciation for the Motown phenomenon; and to younger people who aren't familiar with the cultural and historical contexts that made the phenomenon such an important aspect of the time.

i loved this eye-opening, behind-the-scenes look at the incredible musicians responsible for so many of those #1 Motown hits.
long overdue. it's too bad that some of the guys passed on before the film was made and hardly received the respect and glory while alive.

last, hardly least: joan osborne's version of "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" just may bring tears to your eyes.
(Having been a great fan of music for many years) i am ashamed/embarrassed to admit that until this movie i had no real idea how gifted a singer this woman truly is.

i sat in awe as she belted out this song and could not stop myself from playing it a few more times after the initial viewing of the film.

i guess there is no alternative for me, but to go out and buy a CD or two by this great talent.

see this DVD. it's a gem. thank you, funk brothers, for enriching our lives through your magical gifts!

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 57 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

5.0 out of 5 stars Feeling the real sound of Motown
I have just view this DVD today and was totally blown away. Born and raised in Detroit area I grew up with Motown and loved everything connected with it. Read more

Published on July 9 2004 by Patricia Humm

4.0 out of 5 stars Tribute to the Funk Brothers
Sure, everyone's heard of Diana Ross and the Supremes, Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson, but what about the Funk Brothers? Never heard of them? Read more

Published on May 23 2004 by 24/F Review

5.0 out of 5 stars Never Knew About Them
With many of my favorite groups, I know they have stage hands doing backup on recordings and live concerts, but I did not know that such a group existed that did so much and... Read more

Published on April 11 2004 by Randy Given

5.0 out of 5 stars 20 Copies and Counting
I grew up on the South Side of Chicago when the AM air waves were filled with Wilson Pickett, Diana Ross, and The Motown Temps. Read more

Published on April 6 2004 by J. P. Flower

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Standing in the Shadown of Motown
This is a great documentary for fans of Motown. I rented the DVD on a whim. What I found was a film with so much heart and soul that I have to purchase it as well as the CD. Read more

Published on April 3 2004 by Dorothy M. Thomas

5.0 out of 5 stars The Funk Brothers are the greatest!!!
In January 2004, I was asked the question....had you heard of the Funk Brothers? I immediately responded with .....WHO? Read more

Published on Mar 15 2004 by Rufus Credle

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best movies I have ever watched!
I am 25 years old but still grew up to the tunes of Motown via my dad always listening to the oldies staions in Metro Detroit. Read more

Published on Mar 11 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Important, enlightening, and entertaining
This is important documentation of not just a band of musicians but an era in American history. The Funk Brothers, the unknown backing band of Motown's stable of stars, created a... Read more

Published on Feb 24 2004 by H. David Peirce

5.0 out of 5 stars moving in a "clap the hands" musical way!!
what a great film about great people who did outstanding things. All of he interviews were amazing and it is one of my all-time favorite films. Read more

Published on Feb 4 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Meet the soul of Motown
This movie finally provides the exposure that these folks have deserved for so long.

The Funk Brothers spent the vast majority of their careers driving hit after hit. Read more

Published on Jan 30 2004 by Dave Stout

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 57 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!