| Author | Message | ||
  GO_GET_GONE_GIRL (gogogirl) 3-Pundit Username: gogogirl Post Number: 70 Registered: 5-2004 Posted From: 63.158.248.191 |
All, How do you all feel about the fact that evidently some folks are upset at who didn't appear for Motown 45? I'll say! Surely - it could have been done better. I will watch most of it just to see some of my faves - but since I love to keep with the news too - I might switch it back and forth. Here's hoping - there is a change of producers for the Fifthieth, indeed. http://www.eurweb.com/articles /musicpages/05172004/musicpage s1455205172004.cfm http://www.eurweb.com/articles /musicpages/05172004/musicpage s1455105172004.cfm | ||
Eli (phillysoulman) 5-Doyen Username: phillysoulman Post Number: 372 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.163.30.134 |
Dang!! What about the Funk Brothers???? | ||
NYC Diva (nyc_diva) 2-Debutant Username: nyc_diva Post Number: 28 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 158.57.150.226 |
Hey GoGoGirl....long time!! I am somewhat disappointed about Stevie, Diana and some of the other prominent Motown acts not being there, but I think they (the producers) did the best that they could do with what they could get. I don't know if I'm crazy about the idea of having so many outside acts performing Motown stuff, although I heard that Macy Gray's version of Marvin's "Let's Get It On" was pretty good. Personally the acts I want to see the most are going to be there (Lionel Richie/The Commodores/Mary Wilson/Cindy Birdsong) so I'm not too disappointed, even though they won't be performing together (Lionel and the Commodores), but that's another story... Looking at the lineup for the broadcast, looks like they got mostly the "B" acts to come out in full force, and unfortunately the people who would really hold my interest are no longer with us.  Oh, well, Suzanne and Berry will supposedly be behind Motown at 50, so I guess that's something to look forward to. | ||
LaBrenda (dotchain) 4-Laureate Username: dotchain Post Number: 74 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 166.68.134.174 |
re: that link!...Oh ! my Gosh! I have been out of the loop! who is Mary Reeves? | ||
GO_GET_GONE_GIRL (gogogirl) 4-Laureate Username: gogogirl Post Number: 71 Registered: 5-2004 Posted From: 63.158.248.191 |
All, I agree w/both of yous. Don't get me wrong NYCD - it appears as if the producers did the best they could. Yet........... they had a long time to plan. Never the less and just the same - this music show should still get me to finger poppin' - so I'm sure it will be all good - and the producers should get some props for their efforts, indeed. After all - they did bring it to the peeps. | ||
LaBrenda (dotchain) 4-Laureate Username: dotchain Post Number: 75 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 166.68.134.174 |
There's always someone left out of these things.I think one or two of the obvious no-shows needed more coaxing or just plain want to be missed in the midst of their flailing/failing careers perhaps.A low ebb at the time of the performances scheduling? who knows? but let's be grateful that some on the past non-invitees managed to get their grand selves invited this time around. I'm chompin' eager for the festivities.I'll just overlook the tackier new additions to the 'label' and rally round those older legends.I'm ready with the vhs in place.Let's party! | ||
NYC Diva (nyc_diva) 2-Debutant Username: nyc_diva Post Number: 29 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 158.57.150.226 |
GogoGirl, I wonder who was actually asked to participate in this show, and who wasn't??? And of those who were asked, who turned the invitation? I do agree with you, they had enough time to plan. I have the feeling that some people, like MJ and Diana, given their recent problems with the law, were not even considered, which I don't like...but I do understand it. I would have definitely loved to see Rick James, Teena Marie, the Funks, and the remaining original Miracles attend, in addition to some other acts. But like you all, I will still be watching. | ||
prettybaby (prettybaby) 1-Arriviste Username: prettybaby Post Number: 5 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 138.88.187.224 |
Maybe all those big heads could not fit in the same place. A star is a star and i kinda like the stars that will appear tonight. It is about Motown and the music. | ||
Don (don) 4-Laureate Username: don Post Number: 151 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.75.175.225 |
I would've like to see Kim Weston, Brenda Holloway, Bobby Taylor to help make it a bit more appealing. Not the same ole drip drab achievement speech and the picture perfect happy fairy tale, fa, la, la, la. | ||
Hey (aychdub) 2-Debutant Username: aychdub Post Number: 12 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 69.141.122.25 |
FROM TODAY'S N.Y.TIMES: A nice review in advance of the airing, and more of what the show was/is really like... Simply Motown, a Nostalgic Mixture of Amusement and Resignation By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN Published: May 17, 2004 Lionel Richie, the father of the reality star Nicole Richie, appears on ABC tonight to introduce "Motown 45," a celebration of the 45th anniversary of that Detroit label. "It's all about the music," he says, and at this unadorned concert of Motown hits, which features no awards or film clips, the claim is more true than it usually is. But the concert is also about the pairings: white kids in jeans and black grandpas in gilt and glitter; duets by Nick Lachey and Jermaine Jackson, Joss Stone and Smokey Robinson. This generation bending is sweet, and it makes it clear how � from the 60's to the 1983 "Big Chill" revival to the current "American Idol" tributes � Motown music has become nostalgia itself, and the all-purpose expression for low-key American moodiness. In this emotional order death is only the night shift, and that's a splendid thought. In large quantities Motown seems to induce a trance made in equal parts of amusement and resignation. Its defining lyric may be "no, no, no, no, no," a serene corrective to the racket of yeses in pop music. Motown's refusal, the slow shaking head, is calming, as in, "Don't worry." Televised concerts are often boring, but certain questions lend interest to tonight's affair. How are the Temptations holding up? Does Thelma Houston ever get sick of doing "Don't Leave Me This Way"? How's the great Macy Gray faring? Why do Berry Gordy Jr. and Jermaine Jackson look alike? A tightly scripted roundup of tested and retested hits by performers who don't ever slip anyhow, "Motown 45" is super-smooth, with few surprises. That's just as well. Seeing these smiling performers doing their shrugging half-dances is relaxing. And it provides one more chance to miss Marvin Gaye and all the others. And then there's the moment when Lionel Richie joins Kelly Rowland, the former Destiny's Child singer. The song is "Endless Love," and the duet proves to be a perfect showcase for Motown's blend of old and new, memory and desire. Ms. Rowland, who has everything still to prove, sings to the audience, while Mr. Richie sings right to her, supporting her voice in a way that seems improvised. It's thrilling, and you can almost forget about Nicole. MOTOWN 45 ABC, tonight at 8, Eastern and Pacific times; 7, Central time John F. Hamlin and Jeff Margolis, executive producers; Tisha Fein and Mickey Stevenson, producers. WITH: Lionel Richie, Cedric the Entertainer, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Smokey Robinson, Kelly Rowland, Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong, Joss Stone, Nick Lachey, Jermaine Jackson, Thelma Houston and Macy Gray. | ||
marv (marv) 2-Debutant Username: marv Post Number: 27 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 205.188.116.138 |
Wow! It may have taken 21 years (since "Motown 25"), but the Supremes were finally able to do a medley of their hits for a national audience and they were terrific! Mary looked great (I loved the way Cedric introduced her) , Cindy still has it and Kelly was a Supreme surprise she was very good. I am a very, very happy fan right at this moment that our girls proved once again why they are the undisputed greatest female group of all time. They looked and sounded great. I was surprised at how high up the stage was from the audience, but put a mic in Mary Wilson's hand and she just works the stage. The rest of the performers were great, although Theo Peoples forgot some of the words to "Reach Out I'll Be There," I was very pleased at the quality of show ABC presented tonight. I loved the "In Concert" type format. This was very well done without the use of old film clips. Jermaine Jackson sounded good and looked much younger than his age. The Funk Bros. were cooking and Thelma Houston? Fagettaboutitt!!! Gladys Knight was tremendous, Smokey was, well Smokey and the young lady from "American Idol" is already a star in my opinion. Great show, great new memories were made tonight! | ||
Ron Murphy (ron_murphy) 3-Pundit Username: ron_murphy Post Number: 44 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.42.90.140 |
I would grade the production at about C-, the producers had all kinds of proformers and material available to them that would have made this show outstanding.....at least provide the links from Hitsville in Detroit to the move to LA...where were any film or pictures relating to Motown's past?...they send out an idiot with Richie and hold up a record..big deal..when are the morans that think they can run this kind of production going to realize that there is many millions of people 40 and over that this kind of program should be geared to...younger folks have many other shows on tv for them...many of the tunes sung were oversung and going off the note. now I knew this is what was going to happen but I wanted to wait until it was over to form my final opinion...the producers dis'd most of the artists that needed to be included, and everyone on this forum knows who. by trying to please everyone, you please no one. | ||
Sue (sue) 4-Laureate Username: sue Post Number: 80 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 64.12.116.138 |
So true, Ron. | ||
motesartsound (uncle_derrald) 1-Arriviste Username: uncle_derrald Post Number: 2 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 66.127.78.28 |
I watched a few minutes of Motown 45, and uh... (oy vey here) I wasn't impressed on the show's location on taping where I found out on imdb.com. WHY THE SHRINE AUDITORIUM (in nearby South Los Angeles near USC*)? So what's wrong in recording the show in Detroit? Mickey Stevenson served as co-producer of this also. *I thought of locations in mind between Wayne State University to United Sound (how is this studio doing now?) to USC/Shrine Auditorium to South Los Angeles; formerly South Central. So much for the show. Enjoy your gin & tonic, Uncle Derrald PS: I found an excellent programme/program you can downstream. It is called "Let The Good Times Roll" on www.goodtmesroll.org. DLM | ||
ralph (ralph) Moderator Username: ralph Post Number: 222 Registered: 3-2004 Posted From: 209.240.205.61 |
The Commodores are performing as I'm typing this. Basicaly, the show sucked. The sound was terrible! Reminded me of the poor quality of the sound of the PBS do-wop series. The mixing was non-existant. If you want to compare something, listen to my brother Russ' mixing of Motown 25. You'll know what I'm talking about. On the whole, very, very disappointing. One bright spt. Gladys doing Neither One Of Us. The girl proves she still has the pipes and shows how it's done. Unfortunately,the song was marred by the annoying background audience noise. Doesn't anyone know how to produce a musical anymore??? | ||
Michael/Cleoharvey (cleoharvey) 2-Debutant Username: cleoharvey Post Number: 20 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 4.167.246.72 |
I just watched the show and am angry with the people who bad mouthed Kelly Rowland. I thought she sang just fine, especially Endless Love with Lionel Richie and she looked incredible. My thoughts. The show was not as good as Motown 25, the ghosts of Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder loom to large. Also true knockout performances were hard to find. Faves: Gladys Knight (WOW... this diva is still the bomb) Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong, Kelly Rowland (thought that it looked a bit under rehearsed and wish I could have heard more of the background harmonies but it was great to see Mary and Cindy. I always enjoy seeing Smokey Robinson no matter how he sounds. Thelma Houston (terrific... makes you realize how she was wasted at Motown) Michael McDonald (has to be the singingest white guy around. He gave me chills during Signed, Sealed, Delivered) Kelly Rowland/Lionel Richie duet of Endless Love (simply beautiful. You guys who attacked should be ashamed of yourselves!!) Temptations okay but the performance seemed a bit lackluster. Hated the Nick Lachey/Jermaine Jackson duet. Did not like Raven Symone. No matter how many times I hear the "new" Four Tops I miss Levi Stubbs. I can't help it the man is one of the greatest singers to come out of Motown. | ||
alphanguy (alphanguy) 2-Debutant Username: alphanguy Post Number: 24 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 65.148.31.82 |
I agree, this is the first time I heard the new 4 tops, and I thought.. "what is this??" The Supremes were able to evolve into a great (IMO, beter) group wihtout Diana, but the tops without Levi just doens't work for me.. AT ALL. I thought Mary soudned great on "Stop", and "Baby Love", "You Can't Hurry Love" needed work, but this is Mary's weakest Supremes number, IMO... Mary should have done "You Keep Me Hangin On" and let Kelly sing "You Can't Hurry Love". Cindy sounded like she always does, quite pleasant and passable, but she LOOKED incredible! And it was so good to see her and Mary together onstage. Thelma Houston and Gladys Knight really were GREAT! but I will never forgive them for not putting Martha on! We didn't even get a one second clip of Lois' backside! I also agree that all the people who trashed Kelly's perfromance should be ahsamed, she counded wonderful, and on Endless Love, I didn't miss La Ross one bit! BTW.. that Lionel Richie looks good in a pair of Jeans don't he? He's still in really good shape! | ||
funkcity (funkcity) 1-Arriviste Username: funkcity Post Number: 2 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.169.238.98 |
Ralph you are dead on it! The mix sucked major league. The old variety shows sounded MUCH better. And this had the king of specials Ed Green doing the mix! Go figure! | ||
Moe (moe) 4-Laureate Username: moe Post Number: 95 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 24.140.73.100 |
I have it on tape but I watched a bit of it. After getting the shock of my life with Raven doing "Superstition" I made a mad dash for the bed (yawn). | ||
Soul Sister (soul_sister) 6-Zenith Username: soul_sister Post Number: 549 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 65.43.156.232 |
GHOST TOWN was exactly what came to my mind! See my answer on the Wayne Brady thread. S.S. | ||
ralph (ralph) Moderator Username: ralph Post Number: 223 Registered: 3-2004 Posted From: 209.240.205.61 |
Funkcity, Yeah, I even hesitiate to call it a mix. All you had was a low level of track behind the vocals. No dynamics..no nothn'. I really was expecting more from this show. Moe, I couldn't even tough out all of Raven's performance. I had to channel surf until she was, thankfully, outta there. | ||
ralph (ralph) Moderator Username: ralph Post Number: 225 Registered: 3-2004 Posted From: 209.240.205.61 |
Regarding Ms. Heffenan's revue of the show in the N.Y. Times...Hey Sue...do you think you can give this chick a call and give her some professional advice...like get a different job? | ||
Randy Russi (randy_russi) 3-Pundit Username: randy_russi Post Number: 61 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 169.139.180.100 |
TERRIBLE! What a shame! People who should have been treated so well were disregarded. All the new youthful people who weren't even around in the 60s were treated like they were the stars. The Supremes haven't been an opening act since the Motortown Revues of the early 60s. The biggest shock was cutting Martha out. Why? Terrible, terrible program. The producers and editors need to go back to school. | ||
Sudi Kamau (sudi_kamau) 3-Pundit Username: sudi_kamau Post Number: 48 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 66.117.198.35 |
The show was dreadful - and the mix was atrocious indeed. I enjoyed Tom Joiner and his gang panning it on his morning show. They had to shush Jay Anthony Brown for saying that if Stevie Wonder heard Wayne Brady singing "I Wish", he'd gouge his own eyes out. Too many singers on the pop side of the ledger seem to spend their time eating and drinking and chasing women and stuff to keep their chops up as they age, and most of the young ones are crap to begin with. Even though the generic Temptations dujour were fairly long in the tooth, age is no excuse for their poor intonation and burlap tone. There are plenty of church singers older than them who don't sound that bad. I did like Gladys Knight's performance of "Neither One of Us." Also, I've never had any reason to pay much attention to Kelly Rowland, but she's not a bad singer and she's not bad looking either. Better to my mind than the much ballyhooed Beyonce on both accounts. I commented to one guy I know, that the show just demonstrates that black people generally don't have any soul any more. He said, "You're just now finding that out?" | ||
Common (common) 1-Arriviste Username: common Post Number: 3 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 209.2.55.172 |
Repost from the Brady thread: Hello everyone! Just giving a quick shoutout to everyone here on SD. Hope things are going well for everyone. Now for the Motown show... One word: HORRENDOUS!!!!!! I'm in agreement that Gladys Knight & Thelma Houston were the saving graces of the show. I am mystified as to why they don't invite the surviving singers to sing their own songs. I'm tired of hearing other folks performing(or is it mangling??) 'What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted'. Isn't Jimmy Ruffin still performing???? Why didn't anybody call him??? This is crazy. And Cedric & Kimberly Locke were laughable to say the least. Why couldn't they get Kim Weston??? I don't even want to comment on dreadful Macy Gray's 'rendition' of Marvin's 'Let's Get It On'. I'm not even going to go any further. For the person who said they saw age when they watched the show, hell, even I was offended & pissed off by the quality of the show. It was shitty to say the least. I agree with SoulSister it was a slap in the face to the surviving Motown artists. They deserve more respect than this show represented. And that's my buck fifty. Have a great day everyone! Peace! | ||
Russ Terrana (russ_terrana) 1-Arriviste Username: russ_terrana Post Number: 7 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 198.178.8.81 |
Even though there were a couple of moments (Gladys for one)the show was a very big nothing. There were no good shots of the Funks and the arrangement on "what becomes of the broken hearted" was not it's best.(could have used Bruce Millers touch) Plus the sound quality, or lack of quality made it hard to watch. The lack of bass and others such as keyboards and guitars gave no excitment. The band was great, they just could not be heard. It's amazing how a bad mix can spoil the soup. | ||
funkcity (funkcity) 1-Arriviste Username: funkcity Post Number: 3 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 66.77.89.170 |
There was no bass, no blend of vocals, no balance between main duet singers. And with all that advertising (money) they certainly had enough time to remix it properly! I tried listening in stereo, mono and surround and it was equally as bad. My friends at work here also commented at the dismal audio quality. Gladys was THE class of the show and she really showed all the young folks how it's done! | ||
Juicefree20 (juicefree20) 6-Zenith Username: juicefree20 Post Number: 920 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 24.46.184.162 |
Regarding the audio: I noticed that both Wayne Brady & Brian McKnight were always singing behind the beat. I could understand Brady being off, as he's not a true singer. When it happened with Brian, it led me to believe that there was a problem with the monitoring as regards delay. I could be wrong, but they were behind. If you watch a tape of their performances, it will be obvious. | ||
Chi Drummer (chidrummer) 1-Arriviste Username: chidrummer Post Number: 2 Registered: 5-2004 Posted From: 64.107.153.120 |
Like most everyone else here I too am just terribly disappointed after waiting weeks for this show to air it was just TERRIBLE!!!! I'm sorry but the only thought that came to mind while the show was running was, "I see DEAD people!" Not only were the acts performing dead, but I could help counting the number of band members dead or MIA: Supremes 1-dead, 1-mia Temps 4-dead! vocals-mia Four Tops 1-dead printed lyrics-mia Commodores 4-mia(presumed dead) Gladys Knight 2pips-a-missing Thelma Houston's dress-mia Marvin,Tammi and Jimmy Ruffin(?)-dead Funk Bros -please don't tell me that Joe Messina is dead, but he was definately-mia Bright side, in my opinion: Gladys, Michael McDonald and Brian McKnight showed us and these younger wanna-bes what it's like to have real talent. To the producers of this mess...shame on you all! |
