Scott and I watched the documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown (both discs!) and have been listening to classic Motown songs ever since.
Incredibly, songs that have practically become wallpaper through sheer familiarity ("My Girl," "Heat Wave," etc.) sound brand new now that I'm listening behind the vocalists and truly hearing the brilliant band of session musicians known as the Funk Brothers. I can imagine them all in that cramped studio, each doing their thing. I can see guys stamping on plywood boards to get that bam-bam-bam sound on "Baby Love." I can attach names and faces to familiar piano riffs and bongo beats. I have a better understanding of how they're making the Motown sound that was really like no other.
Motown.
It's really got a hold on me right now.
