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Standing In The Shadows Of Motown Appreciation

DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
edited March 2008 in Strut Central
To my considerable shame, I only saw this for the first time last night, and I wish I'd caught it sooner. Is this the best documentary ever made about music? I couldn't even get mad at Joan Osborne singing "What Becomes of The Broken Hearted", because the band sounded perfect. I've heard so many piss-poor knockoffs of the Motown sound down the years, and it was great to see these guys getting some shine, because this film really showed just to what extent they were at the heart of what was some of the greatest music of the 20th century.The scene where they talk about James Jamerson playing the bass part to "What's Going On" flat on his back and drunk as fuck =

  Comments

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    I still have yet to see this. My father was biggin' this up to me.
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    Unknown
    Has anyone ever seen that Bob Babbitt solo record they talk about?
  • SPlDEYSPlDEY Vegas 3,375 Posts
    I liked the documentary except for when they started bringing in those tired contemporary artists (save for Chaka and Bootsy) to do covers.

    Joan Osbourne, Ben Harper, Montell jordan and Me'shell Ndegeocello really made this documentary almost skippable.

    - spidey
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,946 Posts
    Has anyone ever seen that Bob Babbitt solo record they talk about?

    I think this might not actually exist.

    " Between 1970 and 1972 Babbitt, like Motown, was going through a transition period. Work had slowed down, and he was involved with a lot of unfocused and unfinished projects. Jeff Beck and drummer Cozy Powell came into Hitsville to record with Bob and some of the other musicians, but nothing ever came of those sessions. And Beck's offer to take Bob back to London with him as part of his band was blocked by Motown, because he was under contract. A company-sanctioned Babbitt solo record never got off the ground; neither did an album project with a group called Scorpion, of which Bob was a member. To supplement his income, Babbitt became a professional wrestler for six months-but he wisely chose to retire before Killer Kowalski had a chance to bite off his ear. "
  • fishmongerfunkfishmongerfunk 4,154 Posts
    i am glad that all those dudes finally got some attention but i thought the flic was real corny.

    i saw them play in mtl for free (led by none other than tom scott) after the movie came out with a bunch of those guest singers. they did an extended "what's going on" that kind of hit the spot.

    bob babbit looked like johnny la rue!!
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Has anyone ever seen that Bob Babbitt solo record they talk about?

    I think this might not actually exist.

    " Between 1970 and 1972 Babbitt, like Motown, was going through a transition period. Work had slowed down, and he was involved with a lot of unfocused and unfinished projects. Jeff Beck and drummer Cozy Powell came into Hitsville to record with Bob and some of the other musicians, but nothing ever came of those sessions. And Beck's offer to take Bob back to London with him as part of his band was blocked by Motown, because he was under contract. A company-sanctioned Babbitt solo record never got off the ground; neither did an album project with a group called Scorpion, of which Bob was a member. To supplement his income, Babbitt became a professional wrestler for six months-but he wisely chose to retire before Killer Kowalski had a chance to bite off his ear. "[/b]



    But the Scorpion album actually did come out, right?
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,946 Posts
    From what I gathered last time I seriously had a look for this, there was the Dennis Coffey track "Scorpion" which is the one everyone checks for the braek, and the band/project also called "Scorpion" that Bob was a part of at the time, which was comprised of Motown-contracted session dudes but was either never recorded despite being given the greenlight, or never released.

    Unless someone else knows better.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    From what I gathered last time I seriously had a look for this, there was the Dennis Coffey track "Scorpion" which is the one everyone checks for the braek, and the band/project also called "Scorpion" that Bob was a part of at the time, which was comprised of Motown-contracted session dudes but was either never recorded despite being given the greenlight, or never released.

    Unless someone else knows better.

    Well, I was talking about the band/project, not the Dennis Coffey song.

    There was a band called Scorpion who had one album on Tower in the late sixties and are made up of Motown personnel. Never seen an original, but there has been a repro making the rounds these past few years. So the album came out??
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,946 Posts
    There was a band called Scorpion who had one album on Tower in the late sixties and are made up of Motown personnel. Never seen an original, but there has been a repro making the rounds these past few years. So the album came out??

    Thanks - I wasn't aware of this band, or the repro but it does sound like the one mentioned on Bob's website (http://www.bobbabbitt.com/about.htm), which also says the project never got off the ground. Sounds like this repro is it though. Too much of a co-incidence to have 2 gangs of Motown contractors putting out work under the same name. Does it sound like Babbitt is on it?

    As for the solo disc, I haven't come across anything that contradicts what Bob says about this not materializing either.
  • leisurebanditleisurebandit 1,006 Posts
    I liked the documentary except for when they started bringing in those tired contemporary artists (save for Chaka and Bootsy) to do covers.

    Joan Osbourne, Ben Harper, Montell jordan and Me'shell Ndegeocello really made this documentary almost skippable.

    - spidey

    I thought Me'shell was dope, but Osbourne was awful.
  • Guantanamo_JonesGuantanamo_Jones 177 Posts
    I liked the documentary except for when they started bringing in those tired contemporary artists (save for Chaka and Bootsy) to do covers.

    Joan Osbourne, Ben Harper, Montell jordan and Me'shell Ndegeocello really made this documentary almost skippable.

    - spidey
  • dmacdmac 472 Posts
    I liked the documentary except for when they started bringing in those tired contemporary artists (save for Chaka and Bootsy) to do covers.

    Joan Osbourne, Ben Harper, Montell jordan and Me'shell Ndegeocello really made this documentary almost skippable.

    - spidey

    I thought Me'shell was dope, but Osbourne was awful.

    I gotta disagree with you on Me'shell. To me, her behind-the-beat jazz vocal delivery was
    Don't get me wrong, I like what she does most of the time. But on what is essentially pop-soul, it seemed forced and too self-consciously earnest. Lighten up and belt it out, Me'shell.
    Ben Harper looked like he was trying to have a good time, but I think singing in front of the Funk Brothers blew his mind too much.
    Osborne= Osboring
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    There was a band called Scorpion who had one album on Tower in the late sixties and are made up of Motown personnel. Never seen an original, but there has been a repro making the rounds these past few years. So the album came out??

    Thanks - I wasn't aware of this band, or the repro but it does sound like the one mentioned on Bob's website (http://www.bobbabbitt.com/about.htm), which also says the project never got off the ground. Sounds like this repro is it though. Too much of a co-incidence to have 2 gangs of Motown contractors putting out work under the same name.

    1) Dennis Coffey's biggest hit was "Scorpio," not "Scorpion."

    2) There was a two-year gap between Scorpion and "Scorpio."

    Does it sound like Babbitt is on it?

    Don't have it on me, but I seem to recall that he (and three other Motowners) may have been credited on the back cover - don't know for sure.
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    I haven't seen it because I am scurred of the reenactments. Maybe there's a book out there for me instead on this?*


    *That I can read after this 700+ page bio on Sam Cooke. Cripes!
  • dmacdmac 472 Posts
    I haven't seen it because I am scurred of the reenactments. Maybe there's a book out there for me instead on this?*
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    I haven't seen it because I am scurred of the reenactments. Maybe there's a book out there for me instead on this?*

    Thank You!
  • Birdman9Birdman9 5,417 Posts
    I liked the documentary except for when they started bringing in those tired contemporary artists (save for Chaka and Bootsy) to do covers.

    Joan Osbourne, Ben Harper, Montell jordan and Me'shell Ndegeocello really made this documentary almost skippable.

    - spidey

    Seriously. Can we get an edited version with NO recent performances? Just the story is enough thanks. Couldn't get through without the fast forward. Unwatchable.
  • dmacdmac 472 Posts
    I liked the documentary except for when they started bringing in those tired contemporary artists (save for Chaka and Bootsy) to do covers.

    Joan Osbourne, Ben Harper, Montell jordan and Me'shell Ndegeocello really made this documentary almost skippable.

    - spidey

    Seriously. Can we get an edited version with NO recent performances? Just the story is enough thanks. Couldn't get through without the fast forward. Unwatchable.

  • Birdman9Birdman9 5,417 Posts
    I liked the documentary except for when they started bringing in those tired contemporary artists (save for Chaka and Bootsy) to do covers.

    Joan Osbourne, Ben Harper, Montell jordan and Me'shell Ndegeocello really made this documentary almost skippable.

    - spidey

    Seriously. Can we get an edited version with NO recent performances? Just the story is enough thanks. Couldn't get through without the fast forward. Unwatchable.


    At least the Stax documentary did the reunion of Booker T and the MGs right, just catch them in rehearsal, off the cuff. Overall, The Stax doc= how to do it right.
  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    I liked the 'Standing In The Shadows' doco, for me the story is so great that it makes the performances stomachable. Although I was sort of wondering about some of the choices. I mean Joan Osborne was pretty odd (she did an ok job considering, but it's frickin' Joan Osborne after all), I haven't even heard anything since "What If God Was One Of Us" & then she turned up on this. It would have been real cool to find some of the original vocalists & do a total reunion where possible!
    The odd thing is that for people who aren't neccessarily 24/7 music fans, those performances are the best part of the movie for them. My Mom, loves the performances for example. Maybe we're just too purist. Maybe a conscious effort from the film makers to try to catch the 'everyday' viewer?
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    I liked the 'Standing In The Shadows' doco, for me the story is so great that it makes the performances stomachable. Although I was sort of wondering about some of the choices. I mean Joan Osborne was pretty odd (she did an ok job considering, but it's frickin' Joan Osborne after all), I haven't even heard anything since "What If God Was One Of Us" & then she turned up on this.

    Evidently, Osborne was a major part of the New York blues scene before "One Of Us" came along. Like Bonnie Raitt, she's supposed to be a lot more rootsier than her hit (did she have any others?). She even produced an album for the Holmes Brothers (an NYC blues trio). So maybe THAT'S how she got in. I'm not a fan of hers by any means, but I'm sure the decision to include her wasn't random.

    The odd thing is that for people who aren't neccessarily 24/7 music fans, those performances are the best part of the movie for them. My Mom, loves the performances for example. Maybe we're just too purist. Maybe a conscious effort from the film makers to try to catch the 'everyday' viewer?

    Maybe we are purists, but I hate when filmmakers pull that shit.

    It's like this documentary I saw about Sun Records in the early part of the nineties. Similar to Shadows, they had (relatively) younger performers doing Sun songs with actual Sun artists. Problem was, the producers chose these younger MTV acts who had nothing to do with the Sun sound and admitted it. (One musician said, "we're not influenced by Sun Records, just by the artists who were influenced by Sun, like the Beatles and the Stones." Where's the "weak sauce" emoticon?) The older musicians like (I think) Mark Knopfler and Paul McCartney seemed to have an idea of what Sun was about. The younger guys probably looked at Sun as grandma's oldies music. They could have gotten some newer rockabilly acts like Deke Dickerson or Big Sandy, but either they hadn't heard of them or they would have been too cultish to attract "the people who aren't necessarily 24/7 music fans," I guess.
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,946 Posts
    1) Dennis Coffey's biggest hit was "Scorpio," not "Scorpion."

    2) There was a two-year gap between Scorpion and "Scorpio."

    My bad. I did learn this when I dug for it last time. Now I done learned it again.

    I'll be calling it (Scorpio) ScorpioN in a couple of weeks though...

    Yes, I am a Scorpio.
  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts

    Evidently, Osborne was a major part of the New York blues scene before "One Of Us" came along. Like Bonnie Raitt, she's supposed to be a lot more rootsier than her hit (did she have any others?). She even produced an album for the Holmes Brothers (an NYC blues trio). So maybe THAT'S how she got in. I'm not a fan of hers by any means, but I'm sure the decision to include her wasn't random.
    I had no idea of this, I just know her from that one hit song.

    but I hate when filmmakers pull that shit.
    me too.
  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    Maybe we're just too purist. Maybe a conscious effort from the film makers to try to catch the 'everyday' viewer?

    Maybe. Maybe they were also trying to make the point that, sure, any old singer can cover a Motown classic, but it isn't going to sound right if it doesn't have these guys playing on it. And regardless of what you may think of the singers they brought in, those guys sounded right. Their playing was a real joy to listen to.
  • spelunkspelunk 3,400 Posts
    I really disliked the documentary and it makes the Motown/Funk Brothers story seem way too simple.

    It's a great subject but that movie is just poor filmmaking.
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