I have been a Rock/Pop music fan since the 50s and I've always felt that the 60s provided us with the greatest diversity of popular music. The Motown Sound contributed immensely to that era's music. At least as much as, and probably more than, The British Invasion.
I remember seeing the Ebert/Roeper review of this film and it was the first time I ever heard of The Funk Brothers. Finally, I rented the DVD and watched and listened to these men who, to paraphrase a gentleman on the DVD whose name I don't recall, "provided the soundtrack of my life". It is hard to believe that Berry Gordy, or anyone at Motown, never made a public acknowledgement of the contributions made by these outstanding musicians. And it is a further tribute to these men that they appear to bear no ill will for being kept "in the shadows". It's just a shame that all of them didn't live long enough to know that their accomplishments have finally been recognized and appreciated by the music fans.
The musical performances of some of the songs by the 'newer' artists are wonderful. Watching and listening to them interacting with the older musicians allows us to see the respect and admiration they have for these men and for the contributions they made.
And just when I thought that I had seen and heard it all they scrolled a list of the songs [records] these men had provided music for and I was stunned by the volume of hits with which they were involved.
My favorite Motown artists are The Four Tops, Mary Wells & Stevie Wonder and I know that it was not just the music of The Funk Brothers that made their [as well as all the other great artists at Motown] records so good. The songwriters [Holland, Dozier & Holland, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye & Barrett Strong to name a few] provided wonderful lyrics. Anyone who knows Motown music knows the artists and the songwriters and now, finally, we all know the musicians who made up the third key element to this wonderful Motown sound.
The DVD has many extras and I would suggest that anyone who watches the movie should watch all of the extras, too. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
I remember seeing the Ebert/Roeper review of this film and it was the first time I ever heard of The Funk Brothers. Finally, I rented the DVD and watched and listened to these men who, to paraphrase a gentleman on the DVD whose name I don't recall, "provided the soundtrack of my life". It is hard to believe that Berry Gordy, or anyone at Motown, never made a public acknowledgement of the contributions made by these outstanding musicians. And it is a further tribute to these men that they appear to bear no ill will for being kept "in the shadows". It's just a shame that all of them didn't live long enough to know that their accomplishments have finally been recognized and appreciated by the music fans.
The musical performances of some of the songs by the 'newer' artists are wonderful. Watching and listening to them interacting with the older musicians allows us to see the respect and admiration they have for these men and for the contributions they made.
And just when I thought that I had seen and heard it all they scrolled a list of the songs [records] these men had provided music for and I was stunned by the volume of hits with which they were involved.
My favorite Motown artists are The Four Tops, Mary Wells & Stevie Wonder and I know that it was not just the music of The Funk Brothers that made their [as well as all the other great artists at Motown] records so good. The songwriters [Holland, Dozier & Holland, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye & Barrett Strong to name a few] provided wonderful lyrics. Anyone who knows Motown music knows the artists and the songwriters and now, finally, we all know the musicians who made up the third key element to this wonderful Motown sound.
The DVD has many extras and I would suggest that anyone who watches the movie should watch all of the extras, too. I don't think you'll be disappointed.