UnseenWorld

I write reviews for a site I own which is currently under development. I thought some of you might be interested in a movie that's in current release called .Standing In The Shadows Of Motown:

I grew up with Motown music, but before you think I'm just another old guy reminiscing fondly about old times and the music he loved, let me explain that I have <i>never</i> been much of a Motown or even soul music lover. My interests have gone from rock to blues, jazz, and alternative, leap-frogging soul music entirely. And while this movie has plenty of music in it, it is really at heart the story of The Funk Brothers, the music machine behind the singers. Composed primarily (but not entirely) of black jazz musicians, this band got paid peanuts while the stars made whatever big bucks a major studio allows its musicians to make. Frequently, the members of this ensemble were paid less than $100 for a song that earned Motown millions upon millions of dollars. Perhaps the most poignant stories in the movie are about those musicians who, as one interviewee put it, "Never made it to the finish line." He is referring to the fact that The Funk Brothers are finally enjoying recognition and success, even though they now qualify as either late middle-aged or elderly. As I said, I was no big fan of Motown during its heyday, but I was so moved by the bass playing on a few Motown hits that I made an effort to find out who it was. It turned out to be James Jamerson, who died of pneumonia in Los Angeles in August of 1983. While not as famous as other excellent bass players such as Stink or the recently-deceased John Entwhistle, James Jamerson is regarded by many as the greatest genius of electric bass of all time. Listening to his work on such hits as "I Was Made To Love Her" and "For Once In My Life," it's instantaneously apparent that you are hearing something phenomenal. The effect is just as stunning now as it was then, which is the mark of an authentic genius. As one of the other musicians said, when Jamerson played, he could have the tempo of the tune in his head along with another tempo at which he played. His bass lines still seem at one and the same time to not be part of the tune over which they were played, and yet magically to fit perfectly. If you're unfamiliar with Jamerson's work, there is a list of hits he played on as well as biographical material at http://www.bassland.net/jamerson.html. You should probably start with the ones I suggested above. You will be astonished. There are other poignant tales, such as of the guitarist, now dead, who played the famous guitar hook on "My Girl," who was sitting with another musician in a restaurant several years ago when the tune came over the sound system. A waiter came up and he started to say, "Guess what?" but then said "Never mind." At this point his dinner partner grew sad because, as he explains in the interview, "Here was a guy who created and played one of the top five guitar hooks of all time, which everyone knows, and no one knows him. Here he was, years later, on the outside looking in to a hit that he basically created." I can't possibly say everything I want to say about this movie, because it was so wonderful and so moving, that I said to my friend as we left the theater, "The only thing wrong with this movie is that nit wasn't four hours long instead of two." It's true, I wanted more biography and I wanted more music. Now, on to the music. At one point in the movie, one of The Funk Brothers says (and I paraphrase) "We were the reason that Motown was so great, even adding that "Anybody could have sung those tunes." While this may seem the height of egotism, it's proven by the performances of several relatively unknown performers singing in front of The Funk Brothers. In some ways, the tunes sound better than ever even sung by performers who aren't stars! Chaka Khan is the only "name" singer to perform, but her performance is no better than that of Joan Osborne, a singer I had never heard of before this movie. Hers is the first vocal performance in the film and it's a star-maker. My friend and I are both music lovers who love rock, blues, and jazz, and as soon as she opened her mouth to sing "Heat Wave," our socks were totally knocked off. I could go on and on, but let's make it short since you've guessed it already: This is a must-see movie, and if it doesn't get an Oscar from the pesky and difficult Academy Awards documentary committee, it will be a crime. This is one <I>fabulous</I> movie! (View this <a href="http://www.standingintheshadowsofmotown.com/streaming/promo500k.wmv">trailer</a> and I'm sure you'll be hooked. There are shorter trailers, but I chose this one because it has the longest quote of Joan Osborne singing "Heat Wave." The trailer is from the movie's <a href="http://www.standingintheshadowsofmotown.com">website</a>, where you'll find more trailers and lots more info on the film.)

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