VIDEO MOTOWN'S FORGOTTEN MUSICIANS 'FUNK BROTHERS' FILM TELLS STORY OF TALENTS WHO PLAYED ON COUNTLESS HITS.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

Watching ``Standing in the Shadows of Motown'' brings a combination of joy and sorrow. It's a documentary about the Funk Brothers, the relatively unknown group of studio musicians that helped create the soul sound of the then-Detroit-based label during its heyday in the '60s.

The joy comes from hearing the surviving members of the group tell their stories on this remarkable documentary, out today on a super two-disc DVD, and from re-experiencing the timeless Motown music, from ``Heat Wave'' to ``What's Going On'' to ``My Girl.'' The sadness comes from knowing how little recognition these guys have gotten in their lifetimes and how some of them didn't make it long enough to receive even the too-little, too-late accolades being given them now.

The group - all of whom are now in their 60s and 70s - are said to have played on more No. 1 songs ``than the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley combined.'' Considering the hit factory that Motown was in that era, there seems little doubt the claim is true.

The remaining members of the band - which had about 13 musicians at the time, including multiple drummers, guitarists, etc. - are playing with some guest vocalists Wednesday night at the Wiltern.

Listening to the stories band members and others tell in ``Standing in the Shadows'' makes you shake your head at how quickly these musicians were forgotten. For instance, the late James Jamerson - a groundbreaking bass player - actually had to scalp a ticket to sit in the audience to watch the TV special for the 25th anniversary of Motown in the mid-'80s.

In another, a friend of the late guitarist Robert White tells how they were in a restaurant together not long before White's death in the early '90s when the famed guitar opening to ``My Girl'' came on the sound system just as the waitress approached.

White, who created the riff, lit up when he heard it and began to tell the waitress about it, then stopped and simply gave her his order. When his friend asked why he didn't tell her who he was, White just replied that she'd probably think he was some old guy blowing smoke. That goes a long way in illustrating how anonymous the Funk Brothers felt they were. Luckily, ``Standing,'' which took some 15 years to make, has some footage of White talking about his career, which only makes the story more poignant.

The documentary is a mixture of reminiscences by the group, as well as others who were part of Motown at the time, and new performances of some of the classic hits with the help of Joan Osbourne, Bootsy Collins, Meshell Ndegeocello, Chaka Khan and Ben Harper, among others. There are also re-creations of moments in the Funk Brothers' careers, including trying to get the two white members of the group home safely during the 1968 Detroit riots. Given the fact there was little archival footage of the Funk Brothers, the re-creations may have seemed a necessary substitute, but they mostly seem at odds with the organic nature of the film.

Luckily, there are a lot of extras on the DVD, including commentary from director Paul Justman and producer Allan Slutsky, deleted scenes offering more of the Funk Brothers' great and often funny stories, multiangle jam sessions and two featurettes. There is an interactive ``Virtual Recording Studio'' that allows DVD-ROM users to arrange and record music from 10 tracks of instruments taken from the group's recording sessions.

After seeing this movie, you'll likely want to run out and fill in any gaps in your Motown collection, although the Funk Brothers were listed on very few albums created in the basement at 2648 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit, in Studio A - or the Snake Pit, as it was called. When Berry Gordy - who deserves credit for recruiting most of the band members - took Motown to Los Angeles in 1971, the move effectively ended the group. Many stayed in Detroit; some, like Jamerson, followed but never found the success or recognition they had in the Motor City.

Still, when you listen to keyboardist Joe Hunter or the vibes and percussion of Jack Ashford, you hear mostly joy in their voices, the joy they put into their music. Pianist Johnny Griffith - who died at 66 the week the film came out - explains that Hunter told him: ``Just play what you want to play. They don't know what they're listenin' to anyway. If it's too much, they'll let you know.''

As we know now, it was never too much. It was perfect.

``Standing in the Shadows of Motown'' (Artisan) lists for $22.98.

`MONTEREY POP' DONE RIGHT: There is a moment in D.A. Pennebaker's film ``Monterey Pop,'' the documentary on the famed 1967 rock festival, in which Cass Elliot of the Mamas and Papas can be seen mouthing the word ``wow'' after witnessing a performance of ``Ball and Chain'' by Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company. Anyone who was lucky enough to have seen Janis or Jimi Hendrix or Otis Redding during their brief, shining but ill-fated careers undoubtedly had a similar reaction. A few months ago, Criterion released a digitally remastered three-disc set of ``Monterey Pop'' that is a dream.

One disc includes extra performances by some of the acts in the original film - the Who, Simon and Garfunkel, Jefferson Airplane, and the Mamas and the Papas - as well as others not included - Laura Nyro, Electric Flag, the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield. A third disc is dedicated to the collected performances of Redding, who was backed by Booker T. and the MG's and the Mar-Keys, and Hendrix with his Experience mates, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell.

Electrifying is the term that best sums up how it feels to view the high points of ``Monterey Pop.'' It isn't like being there, but it's the closest thing you'll get to the feeling. One caveat: Not everybody made great music. The '60s had its own share of clinkers, but there is plenty of good stuff here. The film documents the ephemeral nature of time: Within a few years, Elliot, Hendrix, Redding, Joplin and the Rolling Stones' Brian Jones, who is seen haunting the crowd, would be gone, as would a few lesser-known lights who performed there. So, in a way, this DVD is a testament to an era - but one to stand up and cheer.

``The Complete Monterey Pop Festival'' (Criterion Collection) lists for $79.95.

WILCO ON FILM: The critically acclaimed rock band Wilco has always had trouble getting a following beyond its faithful. Not fitting easily into most radio niches, the Chicago-based band has never been a big seller. In ``I'm Trying to Break Your Heart,'' director Sam Jones chronicles Wilco in black and white as it records its fourth album, ``Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.'' The quarreling that ensues has all the makings of a soap opera. Jeff Tweedy, the band's lead singer and main songwriter, and guitarist Jay Bennett are at odds throughout the recording, and eventually Tweedy fires Bennett. Of course, the fact that Wilco is, in essence, fired by its label, Reprise, when it rejects the album doesn't help matters.

As fans of Wilco know, things turned out all right for the band, when Nonesuch, which like Reprise is owned by Warner Bros., bought ``Yankee Hotel Foxtrot'' and it became a moderate hit - or a substantial one by Wilco standards. The two-disc DVD includes the usual commentary (in this case by the director and the band) plus 70 minutes of extra footage with other Wilco songs and alternate versions of the ones in the 92-minute film.

Even if you're not a Wilco aficionado, ``I'm Trying to Break Your Heart'' is a raw look at the pitfalls of the music business, even for a relatively successful band. As a plus, though, you might even become a fan.

``I'm Trying to Break Your Heart'' (Ryko) lists for $29.95.

FUNK BROTHERS: STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN

Who: The legendary session men with guest vocalists Joan Osbourne, Maxi Priest and Darlene Love.

Where: Wiltern Theatre, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.

When: 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Tickets: $38.50 to $58.50. Call [phone] or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

What else: The Funk Brothers will be at the Virgin Megastore, 8000 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday to judge finalists in a vocalist contest. The winner will perform one song with the group that night.

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Photo:

BOB BABBITT, left, BEN HARPER and EDDIE WILLIS in ``Standing in the Shadows of Motown''