Standing In The Shadows of Motown

Standing In The Shadows of Motown
by Paul Justman

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DVD details

Actor: Bob Babbitt, Jack Ashford, Joe Hunter, Richard 'Pistol' Allen, Uriel Jones
Director: Paul Justman
Brand: LION'S GATE ENTERTAINMENT
Producer: Alan Slutsky
Writer: Alan Slutsky
Producer: David Scott
Producer: Janice Ginsberg
Producer: Jonathan Dana
Writer: Ntozake Shange
Writer: Walter Dallas
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 116 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-04-22
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Lions Gate

DVD Reviews of Standing In The Shadows of Motown

DVD Review: The Men Behind the Sounds
Summary: 5 Stars

Here's a DVD that will inform you while it's charming the pants off you. It deals with Motown Records out of Detroit city and the musicians who comprised the rhythm section for that record company. You might think, as I did, that each Motown artist had different musicians playing with them for their recordings... and that would be wrong.

For the most part, the same group of people played behind Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Supremes, etc. The list is very, very long and broad in type of musical delivery. The gentlemen who played behind these frontline artists were some of the best rhythm players to ever come down the pike.

If you ever enjoyed those infectious hooks and little runs of melody that made it so you just couldn't sit still and listen to Motown music, you'll love this disc.

DVD Review: This DVD should be rated 10 Stars or more...
Summary: 5 Stars

Buy this magnificent DVD and pay homage to the greatest group of musicians ever assembled. The Funk Brothers WERE THE MUSIC behind the priceless Motown songs that are and always will be, absolute pure genius. Every one on this planet who has experienced the pure magic that is a song sung by the Temptations or the Four Tops, The Miracles or The Shirelles, Martha & The Vandellas or the Supremes, Marvin Gaye or The Contours, Jimmy Ruffin or Freda Payne, etc., etc., etc., (more groups & individual artists than you can imagine) OWE it to themselves to see and experience the genius that were these musically untouchable musicians and fine, fine group of men. Trust me on this one people, this video is an irreplaceable piece of Americana that is worth it's weight in gold and permanent placing in your video collection.

DVD Review: Entertaining and Informative
Summary: 5 Stars

This documentary details the contributions made by the Funk Brothers to the success and sound of Motown music. There was a wealth of great information, great stories and amazing music. This film has a a very intimate tone and provides some really interesting insight to these guys and the music that they made. I gave it as a gift to my father and he has enjoyed watching it several times over.

DVD Review: The truth revealed
Summary: 5 Stars

I was originally looking for a video on James Jamerson (baddest bass man to ever pick up the instrument). To my surprise, the video told more about the Motown hit machine than I expected. The Funk Brothers, the heart and soul of Motown, were responsible for the fame and notoriety of just about every singer on the label. Motown had exceptionally talented vocalists, but the grooves laid down by Funk Brothers took them over the top. These unsung heroes deserve the full credit due them. These brother's grooves are alive today in just about everything we hear. By the end of the video, I felt as if I knew these guys personally. Several of them have passed on before and since the making of this video, but their legacies to the R&B genre will live forever. This video was a long overdue and well deserved tribute to some of the baddest cats in music...ever!!!

DVD Review: Funk Bros. are fabulous
Summary: 5 Stars

I had been wanting to see this flick for some time. It was worth the wait. Getting the inside look at the men whose sound was an integral part of the Motown success (only in relative obscurity) was a joy!! Interweaving each bandmember's story with the renditions of their classics by present day singers was great. Joan Osborne is truly fabulous!! I recommend this to any audiophile out there!

Description of Standing In The Shadows of Motown

Detroit, Michigan, 1959. Berry Gordy gathers the best musicians from the city's thriving jazz and blues scene for his new record company: Motown. For the next 14 years these players are the heartbeat on "My Girl," "Baby Love," "Ooo Baby Baby," "Bernadette," "I Was Made To Love Her," "I Heard It Through The Grapevine," "Dancing In The Street," and every other hit from Motown's Detroit era. By the end of their phenomenal run, the unheralded group of musicians plays on more Number One hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles combined, making them the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music. They call themselves the Funk Brothers. But no one knows their names...this is their story.

Standing in the Shadows of Motown is a must-see film for any fan of the Supremes, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, or any other classic Motown stars. This swinging documentary celebrates the Funk Brothers--the team of studio musicians who powered dozens and dozens of hit Motown songs--by combining reminiscences, reenactments, and clips from a recent concert put on by the Funk Brothers, featuring singers like Chaka Khan, Ben Harper, and Joan Osborne on classic tunes like "What's Going On," "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," and "Heatwave." This crafty gang of elderly musicians will charm your pants off with a slew of entertaining anecdotes. Though it seems that there's a lot of dirt they're declining to dish, the movie deftly outlines the history of Motown, surely the most significant music label in American history--the label that turned segregated "race music" into chart-topping success. A soulful delight. --Bret Fetzer

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