Standing In The Shadows Of Motown [DVD]

Excellent

Motown. You know the music. You've heard it a thousand times, 40 years on its still on the radio, still on adverts on TV, and being played in pubs, clubs, cafes, shops, restaurants and at 1000's of weddings, every day, all over the world.Quite simply its some of the best music and greatest songs ever written. Everyone is familiar with the artists who made it famous........Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson, the list goes on and on. But who actually created the music? Who came up with that sound? Well here it is......a music documentary about The Funk Brothers, the guys behind the music, who never got the recognition they so deserved(until now), who were paid a pittance, but came up with 3 hits a night, and at the end of their day had played on more number 1's than The Beatles, Elvis and The Beach Boys combined. The greatest hit factory of session musicians who have ever lived.This film will make you cry, it'll make you laugh, it'll make you angry and tug on every heartstring.........a beautiful representation of a bunch of incredibly gifted, but little known musicians, who created a sound from nothing that will last forever.I am a professional musician (piano/keys) and am fortunate enough to play many motown songs made famous by the funk brothers, in a 10 piece band, with horns/backing vocals/the lot! When we first started out, I made every member of the band watch this DVD and they came back to the next rehearsal with a completely different outlook, a fresh approach, and a new perspective on the music they were playing.If you have any interest in music at all then you will love this film, and if you play an instrument, at any level, then its an absolute must. A joy to watch, and a wonderful insight into some of the most amazing music ever created. Please buy it, you will not be disappointed!

The first half dozen or so songs sent shivers down my spine; the person who gave this DVD one star is the sort of person that goes on a factory tour of Ford's in Dagenham and leaves saying " there were no cars there", or goes to a cattle market and leaves saying "that was a waist of time, not a rump steak to be seen anywhere". It's a shame but you can see why Gordy moved to LA ... the money switched to 'disco', the mind-set of the Detroit musicians could, or would not deliver that sound, (just how great would that have been if they did?). Apart from 'Got to give it up', Marvin Gaye, the move was a disaster, Gordy failed to realise that the musicians are the absolute key to success, a move to trend setting New York would probably have put Motown back at the top again, (LA being a 'dedicated follower of fashion'). Every note on this DVD is pure Detroit Motown, little bits are even better than the vinyl records; there will never be a DVD telling the story of LA Motown ... who would buy it? A 'must have' for every northern soul fan and a brilliant DVD for people who like 'Tamla Motown'.

despite being in my 40's , loving motown and northern soul, i must confess i had never heard of the funk brothers. this film was reveiwed in a wigan athletic fanzine. i went to see at the local cinema, there were 3 other people in the place! at first its documentary style seemed odd in a cinema setting, but i was soon hooked. this is a masterpiece. i bought the cd, dvd and to cap it all i went to see the funk bros when they played in manchester.this rekindled my love for motown like nothing else. this is a moving and poignant story, but the music is as feelgood and uplifting as ever. to my suprise there is a great contribution from joan osborne , not someone you associate with soul, but her version of "what becomes of the broken hearted" is ace. the real stars are the funks living and dead.listen out for the narrator in the introduction...."...in Detroit that sound arrived." awesome and emotional.

This is a great documentary which captures the essence of the Funk Brothers and the way they defined the Motown sound in the 1960s as the label's resident session band. The film was made some years ago and a number of those featured have since died, so this is the nearest one can get to sitting in a pub with these groundbreaking musicians and listening to their tales of life in 1960s Detroit. A particularly moving part of the documentary is when band members black and white describe the camaraderie amongst them following the murder of Martin Luther King and the subsequent flaring of local tensions. The stories of those band members who had died prior to the documentary (in particular James Jamerson and Benny Benjamin) are not forgotten with a particular focus on Jamerson. It even inspired me to get my bass out of the loft!

Good

I was looking forward to watching this DVD and whilst it was nice that these people have got some recognition it did feel like they went on about that lack of attention rather too much in this film! By the end of the DVD, which in itself should've been retitled "The Funk Brothers" rather than such a generic title, it was rather annoying being told how little recognition they apparently received. Whilst some may like the interview then a piece showing them at a new concert format, I found that to be disappointing. With respect, none of the cover versions came anywhere close to the originals and seemed to be there just to make the film long enough to be screened. I found myself fast forwarding through most of the concert footage. I can only conclude that getting the rights to some of the archive material was beyond the budget of the producers. The interviews were interesting but they just didn't hold my attention in the same way that the "Muscle Shoals" DVD did for me. It deserves a pat on the back for at least attempting to showcase the unknown but it comes across as low budget, made for TV documentary - interesting and watchable, but only the once.