Customer Reviews

Standing in the Shadows of Motown

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I read a few reviewers questioning why the production didn't involve the original singers to sing the songs. Please note that this documentary is about Funk Brothers. By using contemporary singers to accompany the original rhythm section, the film proves to the viewers how Motown music is in it's musicians, especially the rhythm section. Also if Diana, Stevie, or Smokey would get on stage to sing a song or two, they'd definitely demand star treatment. This will DEFEAT THE PURPOSE.

For those who demand to know more about The Temps, Tops, Supremes, and Miracles etc., please either read their autobiographies, watch made-for-TV movies, or listen to their box sets. This movie is about the Funk Brothers, not Motown singers. This film is to celebrate the brothers' contribution to American pop music and to finally validate their hard work, creativity, and how they influenced generations of future musicians.

If you watched a documentary, at least be aware of the subject matter before you criticize the production.

"Standing in the Shadows of Motown," is an absolute delight. It's the story of the "Funk Brothers," an integrated group of musicians who were the soul behind the soul. As the house band for Motown they were the sound that propelled more number one hits than the Beach Boys, the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and the great Elvis combined. These guys invented the groove. The movie is a straightforward collection of conversations, documentary concert footage, and reunion concert footage, with a few dramatized bits thrown in for texture and comic relief. At the beginning of the movie, someone said that "Deputy Dawg" would have sounded good backed up by the "Funk Brothers." The point is proven by the reunion footage that has good singers giving outstanding performances with the most laid back band in the world. By the end of the movie you not only like and admire these guys, you get to see how much they liked each other. They had to. Not only were a few of the personalities troubled, but it seems they never stopped working, and had to supplement their Motown payroll with gigs around town. See this movie, see who was standing behind the top soul singers of the 60's and 70's, and enjoy the groove.

Finally, the story of the fabulous musicians of Motown is starting to be told. The movie spends a little too much time lamenting the fact that the Funk Brothers are unknown, but then spends the rest of the move celebrating the triumphs and challenges of the greatest hit machine the world has ever seen. Great stuff!

As a musician, I had two reactions to this movie:

1) Make it longer! I want to know and hear everything!

2) Wow, Motown music was MUCH more complex than I ever imagined when I was listening on cheap radios in my youth. These guys were basically jazz musicians, and the productions were very complex. If I had realized the level of musicianship that went in to these songs, I wouldn't have been so eager to do simple rock n' roll cover versions in my high-school and college bands. Doesn't mean the music isn't great, however.

Here's hoping that the Funk Brothers realize the fruits of the success that they obviously deserve. Enjoy the music!

That these men, known as the Funk Brothers have not gotten the recognition they so rightly deserve. That stirring bassline you hear on "What's Going On?" The Funk Brothers put that down. The timeless guitar lick you hear at the beginning of "My Girl"? Funk Brothers. The list goes on and on.

Right off the top, random people are asked if they are familiar with Motown. Yes, each one says. Then they are asked if they know who played the music for those Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Temptations, Marvin Gaye songs. NO, they all answer, one even guesses "The Pips". It's sad to know the world just doesn't know who these men were/are. Until now. Where was Berry Gordy during the filming of this documentary? It is heartbreaking these men got absolutely no props (awards, notable mentions) during the pinnacle of their careers. But such is the plight of a truly talented musician most times. Heard, but never seen.

I watched this movie amazed at the extreme talent these men had and still do. The live performances with them laying down the original bass grooves, guitar licks and rythym arrangements AS HEARD ON THE ORIGINAL RECORDS as they were first recorded, are amazing. They said it themselves, the music is what made the song. Anyone can lay vocals down, but the groove is what stays in your soul.

The antecdotes (with reenactments) were comical and tragic. The scene with the original FB driving in a car one snowy night reminiscing on their traveling days is priceless. (pigfeet and cigars? lol) I love the black and white shot of the little boy with a home-made guitar at the ant hill and house. There is too much to mention about this film. My advice to anyone who is a lover of real, pure, soul and wants to educate their kids on what REAL musicianship is like...Get This Film today. It's a relevant piece of history that must be told.

Standing in the Shadows is moving, enlightening and perfectly titled because "standing in the shadows" laying the foundation of a giant hitmaking machine is exactly what the Funk Brothers did. God bless them all, living and here in spirit. Peace. CLB.

This movie is a definitive must for anyone who has enjoyed any song produced on Motown, since most people don't know who the musicians are. THE FUNK BROTHERS played on songs like "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Gladys Knight & The Pips, "Singed Seadled Delivered..." by Stevie Wonder, "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye, "Baby Love", "Do You Love Me", "My Girl" etc. etc. etc. This movie is about THE FUNK BROTHERS - everything you could and should want to know about their work is featured on these two discs. There are TONS of special features (they never seem to end...); discographies, biographies, around 20 left out scenes, jam session and MUCH MUCH more. In the movie Chaka Kahn's vocal performance is spectacular and it's very entertaining listening to Bootsy singing "Do You Love Me" and "Cool Jerk". All I knew before I saw this movie was that James Jamerson had played bass on "Grapvine" and that he was part of the Motown studio band called "The Funk Brothers", but I had no idea they had done this much! This is definetly a missing piece in the puzzle of music history and it's not only recommended - at this price it's a must.
To regret this knowledge you would have to be insane.

i loved this eye-opening, behind-the-scenes look at the incredible musicians responsible for so many of those #1 Motown hits.
long overdue. it's too bad that some of the guys passed on before the film was made and hardly received the respect and glory while alive.

last, hardly least: joan osborne's version of "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" just may bring tears to your eyes.
(Having been a great fan of music for many years) i am ashamed/embarrassed to admit that until this movie i had no real idea how gifted a singer this woman truly is.

i sat in awe as she belted out this song and could not stop myself from playing it a few more times after the initial viewing of the film.

i guess there is no alternative for me, but to go out and buy a CD or two by this great talent.

see this DVD. it's a gem. thank you, funk brothers, for enriching our lives through your magical gifts!

Playing on more number one hits than Elvis, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Rolling Stones combined, their grooves and melodies redefined the pop music lexicon, forever spinning in the jukebox of our unconscious. Yet somehow, they've lingered in anonymity.

For those stumped by the decades-old mystery of who really supplied the sounds behind Motown Records' superstar singers, the answer is finally revealed. STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN is a film documentary about the Funk Brothers, the session musicians responsible for weaving the real magic of the label's "Sound Of Young America" during the 1960's. Even though they worked during a time when all supporting bands took a back seat to the famous front persons, it remains a travesty how one this essentially good could go for so long before gaining even a shred of notoriety.

It was worth the wait. STANDING IN THE SHADOWS... is a warm and breezy account, not the bitter confessional of a VH1 Behind The Music feature, nor the somber history lesson of a Ken Burns series. Director Paul Justman casually shuffles the story back and forth, allowing the remaining members to wax nostalgic, amid rare photograph stills and hazy re-enactments from the group's carefree days.

It's the modern-day footage which places their bond in perspective. In and around cold and snowy Detroit, they reminisce at a coffee shop, even gathering out in front of a condo complex which once was home to a stretch of clubs they frequented. When they return to the Motown headquarters' basement recording room known as "the Snakepit," the laughs and stories really fly. You're immediately charmed by their charisma, and it's evident that they're still as tight as the music they once crafted.

If the commentary and historic visuals represent the heart of this film, then the live performances clearly provide the soul. Forty-one years after Motown's birth, the surviving Funk Brothers reunited for a concert in the Motor City, with the lead vocals delivered by an impressive cast of singers including Gerald Levert, Joan Osborne, Bootsy Collins, Ben Harper, Chaka Khan, Montell Jordan, and Meshell Ndegeocello. Aided by lots of sheet music, the Brothers sound tremendous, as if they'd never stopped jamming together. Their in-the-pocket grooving and sweetly-textured melodies are as perfect as in their heyday.

Only this time, a contemporary set of vocalists are the beneficiaries. Levert is a dead-ringer for the Four Tops' Levi Stubbs on "Reach Out I'll Be There;" Osborne wails superbly like Martha Reeves on "Heatwave;" the flamboyant Collins spins colorful takes of "Cool Jerk" and the Contours' "Do You Love Me;" and a reverent Harper evokes the spirit of Marvin Gaye with a brassy version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Hearing these classics is always a celebration; seeing their creators performing them one more time, as the centerpiece of their own documentary surrounded by adoring colleagues, is poetic justice.

The Funk Brothers flourished in a period of extreme social and political tensions, holding their heads high and providing the vehicle for Hitsville, USA's classy, optimistic vibe. And at last they've received their props, in a showcase as befitting as the joy they brought to an entire generation, and beyond.

The Funk Brothers - what an apt name for this 'family' of musicians who went through so much of popular music history as unheralded studio musicians. You don't have to be a Motown fan to enjoy this movie - just a music lover who enjoys the stories behind the sounds. During parts of this movie I wept silently - it is so moving! The story of James Jamerson Sr alone is worth telling, let alone the rest of the band. The tragedy of the tale is that too many band members did not live to garner the recognition they deserved.

Some great anecdotes are espoused by these long-retired muzos, including these little beauties:
* the 3-man guitar section was known as the Oreo section for a while - two black guitarists with a white one in the middle!
* one of the drummers had to decide whether he was going to be a musician (trombonist) or a boxer - in the end he decided to be a drummer, because his lip kept getting beaten up and he couldn't play the trombone properly!

At the tribute concert (in Detroit, of course), it is great to see contemporary musicians who understand the significance of the music (and are hugely talented to boot) performing with the band. The list is impressive: Joan Osborne (a wonderful rendition of 'What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted'), Chaka Khan, Ben Harper (not an electric performer but certainly soulful and sincere), and the outrageously flamboyant Bootsy Collins - and there are more besides.

If I have one complaint, it is that we might have seen more of the lead artists commenting on the band - in particular Stevie Wonder, who got to work with them in his early career. It's hard to see why he would not have made a contribution to the film - there are a few photos of him and one clip from news footage in the 80s, but this does not compare to a current interview with the benefit of hindsight.

However, this is a fabulous film that will leave you with an entirely different perspective on music. Thank goodness it was made!

I'm a fan of old Motown music. I grew up on it and I still believe it to be some of the most important music ever written in American music history. Watching this documentary was a total joy. It not only gives us insight of the working of early Motown, it is a lesson in American pop music culture. It was also a little sad. Here these men are the crators of the "Motown Sound" and prior to this documentary, they never received any credit for their arrangements of songs that have each been covered by modern artists time and time again. I have to tell you, these men were not only extremely talented, but a class act. I was a little surprised that they were not more bitter toward Berry Gordy for pimping them for their talents without ever giving them credit on any album and moving to California without so much of a lay-off notice. Anyway, watch this documentary and learn what work, talent and dedication it took for the Funk Brothers to arrange the soundtrack of the adolescence of many.

This is an incredible documentary describing the history of the Motown success through the eyes of the musicians that made it possible. These musicians were known as the Funk Brothers. Through this video I became familar with each of the musicians that created the distict Motown sound which laid the foundation for hit after hit record at Hitsville USA (Motown Studio A). They were just as responsible for the success of Motown's hit records as the vocal artists, if not more so. Listening to the origianal band members describe their trials, tribulations and success at Motown was heart warming. The music on the DVD is incredible and the audio video sound quality is excellent. Be sure to view all of the sections on the two set DVD in order to gain the most information about the Funk Brothers. It was good to see these musical artist finally receive the recognition and critical acclaim they deserve, alhtough a few of them that participated in the making of the documentary died before it was released in 2002.