The Motown sound is legendary, turning out artists like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and The Temptations to name a few.
“Standing in the Shadows of Motown,” tells the story of the Funk Brothers, a band that never achieved fame or fortune, but played on more hit tracks than the Beach Boys, Elvis, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined.
The film combines interviews with the remaining Funk Brothers and people relevant to the music created in Motown’s heyday.
The interviews are fascinating to watch as they go through each individual member of the band and what they brought to the sound. Every musician was a master of their craft and did more than just play an instrument — most of them invented sounds that had never been heard of before, and concert footage proves just that.
To make the documentary, the Funk Brothers had a reunion concert and played a few of the old hits. This is the most powerful part of the movie, with such voices as Bootsy Collins, Joan Osborne and Ben Harper filling in for the singers usually associated with the songs.
Each singer surprisingly sounds just as good as the original, with Bootsy Collins surpassing all expectations with an amazing performance of The Contours “Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance).” As the film progresses the band’s style becomes more and more apparent and reaches an apex with Montell Jordan and Chaka Kahn, no, seriously, singing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
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As the film ends the titles of every hit song ever created by the Funk Brothers scroll down the screen. Everyone, no matter age or background, knows at least half the songs on that list.
The realization of just how talented the band truly was becomes obvious. The Funk Brothers were an essential part of music history and were pushed into the background.
“Standing in the Shadows of Motown” is smart, funny and extremely well put together. The creators of the documentary obviously knew how important this film is.
One negative comment is that a short, two minute segment on Funk Brother bass player James Jamerson is repeated.
“Standing in the Shadows of Motown” should be seen by all. For show times call the Guild Cinema at 255-1848.
