LOTS OF LOVE FOR MOTOWN'S LEGENDARY FUNK BROTHERS.Byline: Fred Shuster Music Critic Noun 1. music critic - a critic of musical performances critic - a person who is professionally engaged in the analysis and interpretation of works of art Motown as a sit-down concert experience? Certainly - when the band on stage includes the talented musicians who originated Detroit's timeless pop sound of the 1960s. The surviving half-dozen members of the Funk Brothers - the self-named studio outfit that recently found long-delayed recognition with the acclaimed documentary ``Standing in the Shadows of Motown'' - thrilled a packed Wiltern on Wednesday with elegant readings of some of the label's greatest songs. The set, which saw Joan Osborne, Maxi Priest and Darlene Love Darlene Love (born Darlene Wright, July 26, 1941, Los Angeles, California) is an American popular music singer. Career She began her singing with her local church choir. singing lead on titles made famous by Mary Wells For the advertising executive, see . Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) was an American soul, R&B, and pop singer. Most famous for her 1964 hit "My Guy", she was one of the signature voices of Motown and their first big star. , Marvin Gaye and the Supremes, illustrated just how democratic the infectious music of Berry Gordy's company could be when a varied group of audience members climbed on stage to join in on vocals. Nobody needed help with lyrics. The well-paced show also suggested the plight of some of America's greatest pop instrumentalists, hired at the time like house painters, uncredited un·cred·it·ed adj. 1. Not having been credited, as on a ledger: an uncredited deposit. 2. Not having been accorded due recognition: an uncredited discovery. on records and largely unknown except to other musicians. That's why Jack Ashford, whose tambourine tambourine (tăm'bərēn`), musical instrument of the percussion family, having a narrow circular frame and a single parchment drumhead, with metal plates or jingles set in the frame. and vibraphone vibraphone or vibraharp Percussion instrument with tuned metal bars, arranged keyboard-style like the xylophone. Felt or wool beaters are used to strike the bars, giving a soft, mellow tone quality. were essential elements to so many classics, mentioned that while the ensemble had recorded steadily from 1965 to 1972 for Motown, ``they didn't even know we were there.'' Thanks to producer-musician Allan Slutsky's film, the spotlight has turned to the six apparently egoless men in red jackets on stage - guitarists Joe Messina and Eddie Willis, pianist Joe Hunter, drummer Uriel Jones, bassist Bob Babbitt and Ashford. Just how sweet that recognition is was obvious on their delighted faces. Augmented by bandleader Slutsky on guitar and another half-dozen musicians and singers (many from the Philly International back-room crew), the group resembled an orchestra in its sprawl. But the airy, sophisticated arrangements of such tunes as ``Don't Mess With Bill'' and ``Mercy Mercy Me'' allowed subtle flourishes from Messina, Ashford and Jones to come to the fore Verb 1. come to the fore - make oneself visible; take action; "Young people should step to the fore and help their peers" come forward, step forward, step to the fore, step up, come out . ``This is like heaven,'' Osborne said. She didn't need to get a witness. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Vibraphone and tambourine player Jack Ashford (second from left) and bassist Bob Babbitt (seated) helped anchor the Funk Brothers' sound Wednesday at the Wiltern. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
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