From: ** myrna ** (medea_13@hotmail.com)
Date: Sun Dec 22 2002 - 04:14:27 CET
just got back from seeing the documentary "standing in the shadows of
motown." i would recommend seeing it. it's based on the book "standing in
the shadows of motown" by Allan "Dr. Licks" Slutsky. it features the
unrecognized musicians called the Funk Brothers, who played all of the music
behind practically every popular Motown hit. the film tells the stories of
these musicians through archives of video and still photos, footage of
detroit and the musicians' hometowns, re-enactments, tales told by the
musicians, and some live performances by the remaining members. the live
performances featured contemporary singers Chaka Khan, Ben Harper, Bootsy
Collins, Montell Jordan, Meshell Ndegeocello, Joan Osborne, and Gerald
Levert.
my complaints:
1) the contemporary musicans. everyone did a decent job apart from ben
harper and everyone knows meshell and chaka are phenominal artists. but i
think they could have chosen many more artists and some even better ones.
the background singers were better at times. who chose them? why didn't
stevie perform at least one track with them?
2) i would have like to have seen more developed on the issues of race and
class. let's face it, these musicians were predominantly black in a time
when there were riots and movements against some of america's fucked up
racist traditions and norms. it's always bizarre to me when people examine
music, a huge part of any culture, and do not look at it through the lens of
race, class, gender, etc.
i find it hard to believe that the funk brothers would not have more to say
on these things. it's interesting because some of the musicians' narratives
were set against snowstorms and images symbolizing obvious hardship, but the
issues were not explored enough for me.
my praises:
1) the stories told by the musicians were great. i think meshell said this
in the film as well--these people were not just great musicians, they
are/were amazing human beings with intense experiences. the pure love of
music shines through and is really moving.
2) a brief scene where meshell asks bob babbitt (one of the few white guys
in the group) to talk about his experience of being a minority.
3) the shots of the present members in all types of settings.
that's a very long description, but it's fresh in my mind.
enjoy and tell us what you think.
myrna
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