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.
