Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002)

Is there a more famous soul music label than Motown? Between The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Miracles, The Supremes, The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight and the Pips, (as well as numerous others) the label produced 139 number 1 hits between 1961 and 1972. The main thing all these songs had in common is generally referred to as "the Motown Sound." While everyone is familiar with the billed artists, the people who were most responsible for the Motown sound were Motown's house band, the Funk Brothers. The Funk Brothers toiled in relative obscurity until the 2002 documentary Sanding in the Shadows of Motown was released (and brought them to slightly less than relative obscurity).

Standing in the Shadows of Motown is a mix of live concert footage -- featuring the living members of the Funk Brothers playing famous songs with singers that include, Ben Harper, Joan Osborne, Bootsy Collins, and Gerald Levert -- interviews with band members and Unsolved Mystery style reenactments.

The concert footage is absolutely outstanding. There are no weak moments, the band (even though a number are elderly) is in top form, especially considering this is the first time they played together in about 30 years. The various singers really put their heart into their performances and it's very obvious the love they have for the songs and the respect they have for the band. The interviews are very informative and reveal numerous entertaining and touching anecdotes of the label and bands glory years. If there's a weak link in the film, it's the reenactments. They're pretty cheesy and feel too much like a low budget cable show. The film would have been better off just letting the band members tell the stories without attempting to show them (though I understand why the filmmakers did this).

Standing in the Shadows of Motown is my favorite music documentary of the last decade or so. It definitely helps to love 60's soul music but even a viewer with only a general knowledge should get great enjoyment from it.

Rating: 4.5/5