Motown: The Golden Years
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This book receives a big push on its front cover by the caption "More than 100 rare photographs". To be honest I'm not exactly sure what a 'rare' photograph is, as it is the norm for only one copy to exist of most photographs. Presumably Bill Dahl means 'photographs which have not been previously published'. Maybe the 'rare' tag is a marketing ploy to grab the interest of the British Northern Soul Scene which is often accused of valuing obscurity at the expense of quality. Despite being American the author is well aware of the movement because the book readily acknowledges those Motown records which it has taken to its bosom. The tome is divided into three sections; 'Defining the Sound of Young America', 'A Dozen Motown Superstars and one terrific house band'. 'More Motown Greats'. Needless to say there could be plenty of debate as to whether the author has separated the 'Superstars' from the merely 'Great' accurately. Much as I love Junior Walker, who in this book falls into the 'Superstar' category, I doubt if many would agree that he was more influential than the songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland who are categorised as merely 'Great'. I also suspect that people's judgements will be influenced by which side of the pond they live on. Many artists did significantly better in England than they did in their home country, whilst for other artists the converse is true. In the main Bill probably got it about right with just one or two borderline exceptions. Certainly no one could doubt that Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson are in the Superstar category, but people like Gladys Knight are less clear cut. Most of her big hits came after she left Motown. The first two sections of the book are very well written and in the main deal with the professional lives of the artists rather than their personal ones. Well written they may be, but they contain very little that has not appeared in dozens of other publications already. Thankfully part three more than compensates with vast amounts of information about Motown's lesser known stars. Names I had heard, but knew little about, Abdullah, Andantes, Sisters Love, The Underdogs, Liz Lands and Hattie Littles are all covered. The big surprise for me was that Meatloaf used to sing with the label. One endearing feature of this book on a personal basis is that they list a particularly fabulous website (guess which one) as a reference. The disappointment is that they made a mistake on transcribing its URL. In summary, the book is very well researched and well written. The first two sections are rather basic for the soul aficionado, but would make a wonderful introduction for people with a more passing interest. Section three is the highlight of the book, with plenty of information about Motown's more obscure artists. I am sure that even the so called 'experts' would find something of interest within its pages. I actually read it from cover to cover, but it could equally be well employed as a reference book. Oh! and the photographs? Whether 'rare' or not they were certainly rather excellent! |
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Why Not visit the Authors other Website, 'The Alternative Blackpool Website' at http://www.localdial.com/users/jsyedu133/bpool This Site Last Updated 18/05/05
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