Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002)

If you were a musician at any age, or are now, you have to see this movie immediately. Many musicians who are extremely talented or unaware of their own talent and therefore don't think much of it, certainly not what other people do think of it. The Funk Brothers actually had several incarnations. However, there was always a core of musicians; keyboards, bass, drums and one and sometimes three guitars. They would back stars who went on to make lots of money, but we're simply working basically for scale. I'm puzzled by the slight attention given to Barry Gordy, as he was the visionary who guided, nurtured and gave Motown to the world, but, hey. The most amazing thing about the Funk Brothers is that four individual musicians were so highly talented that when they had enough time to play together, the achieved that rare quality that few bands do. They became one. Literally. Like the Beatles they played so much that they became one unit, musical and mutual mind readers. The music they played was well below what they were able to play as musicians. Basically most of them had jazz backgrounds and saw this as the highest form of music that they could make. However when the four of them played together, perhaps like the Beatles, the achieved a unity that made four people into one piece. This is why the Motown sound was so incredibly successful for any star lucky enough to play with these four gentleman backing him or her. Do not miss this movie.

Great documentary on the most unsung heroes of music. As is mentioned in the movie, and anywhere you see them mentioned, The Funk Brothers played on more Number 1 singles than the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys and Elvis Presley combined. Yet hardly anyone has heard of them. I certainly hadn't, and my musical knowledge is pretty good. (Though, admittedly, I do lean more towards rock than soul).This documentary examines the history of the Funk Brothers, and also has some made-for-the-movie performances by them, complete with vocals by luminaries such as Ben Harper, Bootsy Collins, Joan Collins, Chaka Khan.The documentary part is well done, covering all the important aspects of their history, as well as interviewing the surviving members. Musical performances are great.A must-see for a Motown fan, or anyone interested in the history of music.

Somewhere I do hope there is a special hell for Berry Gordy, who milked the talents of these hard-working natural gods, paying them scale, and selling their golden fruits by the millions. I guess it's a good thing that little of that was directly mentioned in the movie, because it would have made it that much more bittersweet. Still, these guys did seem to have had a great time while it lasted, and they got to be part of a very special family who all meant the world to each other. To see the old fellas in their sailor caps at the reunion concert, they don't really look so much like the groovemonsters they once were, more like some guys hanging out at the corner barbershop, but plenty of photos and interviews show that old spark just fine. Lots of songs in the reunion groove along pretty well, but I definitely thought that was the weakest part of the show. Big stretched out epic endings, totally inappropriate for such compact soulfulness, and moreso, a definite feeling of damn, how the hell did this take so damn long to happen.I found almost all of the featured marquee-name vocalists to be a yawn. I guess they felt like they should pipe down and not overshadow the real stars, but with material like this, I think you need to bring it, or step aside. Joan Osbourne in particular turned it all the way up to 7, and Msh'l Ongedoodly made me roll my eyes with her mannered clichés. Ben Harper didn't even belong near the stage; definitely set my teeth on edge when they talked about the nice split groove of "Heard It Through the Grapevine", then he comes in dead square on the beat and makes the band hurry and play catch-up to his empty ersatz. Bootsy, well he's just Bootsy, ever-lovable showman, can't really fault him. The only performer that really carried it right was Chaka Khan, with her easy confidence, not even trying to live up to the original passion of "What's Going' On" (why even try, what a gem), but shining grand all the same.And then it all comes home with the vast jumble of song titles fluttering up at the end; so hard to believe all of those great timeless classics were actually written, just grew organically out of the talents of a scruffy basement full of under-appreciated geniuses.Hey Mr. Gordy, have a nice look at yourself in the mirror.

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.