The explosion of streaming services and specialty programming has been a boon to fans of music films. Documentaries are especially popular, and the pipeline is full of projects looking at stars, eras and styles. This film is featured on Showtime, and examines the oft-told story of Motown during its glory years. Don't expect dirt, as it was commissioned by Motown's current ownership as part of the label's 60th anniversary celebration, but we already know it's a great story.
Of course the soundtrack is a big part of it, and the compilers took the easy route, piling on hit after hit. That's still only a portion of Motown's dozens and dozens of classics during that time. You could make a two-hour collection of just Stevie Wonder alone, and not run out of Top 40 hits. It's more a question of what has to be there: "Dancing In The Street," "My Girl," "My Guy," "Heat Wave," "Shotgun," "Where Did Our Love Go," and "I Heard It Through The Grapevine," both Marvin Gaye's and Gladys Knight's versions. The only odd choice here is a Jackson 5 b-side, "Who's Lovin' You," but it's been covered so many times, and been reissued in England as a single, so it has gained at least cult status.
The documentary only covers up to when the company moved to Los Angeles, so the latest material here is from Marvin Gaye's groundbreaking What's Going On, which ushered in the albums era for the label. This collection is one of the best Motown samplers around, with its only fault its parade of over-familiar hits. As if that's a bad thing.
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