The Funk Brothers - Standing In The Shadows Of Motown (Deluxe Edition) (2004) MP3

While there was certainly little to complain about on the original issue of the soundtrack for Standing in the Shadows of Motown, for those who truly sought the magic of the Funk Brothers, this deluxe edition is what they longed for all along. This two-disc collection contains the soundtrack of the Allan Slutsky/Harry Weinger film -- plus three bonus tracks -- from that historic night at the Royal Oak Music Theater just outside of Detroit. It pairs what was left of the original Motown session gang and their heirs with a host of vocalists, including Joan Osborne, Chaka Khan, Bootsy Collins, Montell Jordan, Me'Shell NdegéOcello, Ben Harper, and Gerald LeVert interpreting the classics. The extra soundtrack cuts feature John Lee Hooker, Jackie Wilson, and Dennis Coffey with the Detroit Guitar Band. But on disc two, the entire grail becomes attainable. Here are 15 musical tracks, the original instrumental sides from "the Snakepit" of the Motown studios, with little or no vocal accompaniment, remixed from the ground up. The producers broke down and mapped out each verse, bridge, chorus, and vamp on paper first. Phone calls were made to the living members and then each tune was knotted together from the recorded evidence, using the input of the Funks and the added guitars of Dennis Coffey and Wah Wah Watson.

What comes across is the Brothers zeroing in on and stretching the groove with grit, grease, and soul from the floor of Studio A. Here are the popping rhythms of "Standing in the Shadows of Love," "The One Who Really Loves You," Norman Whitfield's "Pride and Joy," and Smokey's "My Girl," along with the dubs of "The Hunter Gets Captured By the Game," "I Was Made to Love Her," "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," and more. Interspersed are dialogue tracks where the dwellers of the Snakepit speak, like Joe Hunter, Pistol Allen, Jack Ashford, et al. There is one cut that breaks the rules: the final selection on the disc, the version of "You're My Everything" with James Jamerson. Here are David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks singing, handing off the lead vocal on tape with Jamerson punched in as a way of balancing the rhythm. It's just the Temps and Jamerson's bass running over the vocal arrangement. In other words, it's a whole different aspect of the "rhythm" track and perhaps the most startling evidence of how truly unique the Funk Brothers were. Certainly, a lot of this will piss off purists, but it can't be helped. For everyone else, this is a beautiful and moving document that offers what the soundtrack tried to, and is the real reason to make this purchase. It could have been made available on its own, but corporate marketing strategies being what they are, this is as good as it's going to get and the only way to get this bit of groove history.

Disc 1 - Original Soundtrack Album
1. The Funk Brothers & Joan Osborne – (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave (03:01)
2. The Funk Brothers & Meshell Ndegeocello – You've Really Got A Hold On Me (03:28)
3. The Funk Brothers & Bootsy Collins – Do You Love Me (03:21)
4. The Funk Brothers – Bernadette (03:16)
5. The Funk Brothers & Gerald Levert – Reach Out I'll Be There (03:16)
6. The Funk Brothers & Ben Harper – Ain't No Proud To Beg (03:00)
7. The Funk Brothers & Gerald Levert – Shotgun (03:11)
8. The Funk Brothers & Joan Osborne – What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted (04:23)
9. The Funk Brothers & Ben Harper – I Heard It Through The Grapevine (03:49)
10. The Funk Brothers – You Keep Me Hangin' On (03:16)
11. The Funk Brothers & Bootsy Collins – Cool Jerk (03:00)
12. The Funk Brothers & Meshell Ndegeocello – Cloud Nine (04:41)
13. The Funk Brothers & Chaka Khan – What's Going On (04:00)
14. The Funk Brothers, Chaka Khan & Montell Jordan – Band Introduction / Ain't No Mountain High Enough (04:58)

Bonus Tracks
15. Earl Van Dyke – The Flick (04:11)
16. John Lee Hooker – Boom Boom (02:32)
17. Jackie Wilson – (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher (02:59)
18. Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band – Scorpio (04:04)

Disc 2 - In The Snakepit: Naked Instrumental Remixes Of The Original Hits
1. Bootsy Collins – "Funk Brothers In The House" (00:13)
2. The Funk Brothers – Standing In The Shadows Of Love (03:21)
3. Joe Hunter – Dialogue: Joe Hunter , In The Beginning (00:31)
4. The Funk Brothers – The One Who Really Loves You (02:28)
5. The Funk Brothers – Pride And Joy (02:12)
6. Robert White – Dialogue: Robert White Invents A Classic (00:38)
7. The Funk Brothers – My Girl (03:04)
8. The Funk Brothers – Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart (03:30)
9. The Earl Van Dyke Quartet – Don't Mess With Bill (Live At The 20 Grand Club) (03:14)
10. The Funk Brothers – The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game (02:55)
11. Eddie Willis, Uriel Jones & Jack Ashford – Dialogue: Eddie, Uriel And Jack, Speaking The "Language" (00:23)
12. The Funk Brothers – I Second That Emotion (03:03)
13. The Funk Brothers – I Was Made To Love Her (02:57)
14. Richard "Pistol" Allen – Dialogue: "Pistol" Picks Up The Beat (00:18)
15. The Funk Brothers – I Heard It Through The Grapevine (03:04)
16. The Funk Brothers – Home Cookin' (03:25)
17. The Funk Brothers – For Once In My Life (03:03)
18. Jack Ashford – Dialogue: Jack In The Club Groove (00:29)
19. The Funk Brothers – I Can't Get Next To You (02:46)
20. The Funk Brothers – It's A Shame (03:30)
21. The Funk Brothers – Ain't No Mountain High Enough (06:39)
22. Eddie Willis – Dialogue: Eddie Takes It To The Bridge (01:02)
23. The Funk Brothers – Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) (03:12)
24. Lamont Dozier – Dialogue: Lamont Dozier: Feeling The Funk, Brother (00:29)

Bonus Track
25. The Temptations & James Jamerson – You're My Everything (03:28)

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