Calling Out Around The World
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The concept behind this publication is incredibly simple. Collect as many articles and interviews which have appeared in soul or pop magazines about Motown as you can, throw in a few specially written articles and hey pesto you've got a book. Outrageously basic, but also extremely effective. The fact that most of the articles have already been published virtually guarantees a high standard of writing. The fact that they come from such a broad variety of sources means that their perspectives are varied and also guarantees a wide variety of writing styles. The book is divided into three sections, although it is nowhere stated what the themes of these three sections are. The first appears to be about the growth of the corporation. The second is a series of profiles about individual characters or artists. The nice thing about this sector is that it doesn't just focus on the big names, but also considers lesser artists, choreographers, backing musicians and producers. The third part seems to be a collection of miscellaneous items which didn't fit into either of the other two sections. This includes Important Motown Tracks, the relationship between Northern soul and Motown, the future of motown and a look a Motown's best ever British Concerts. The book ends with five very useful appendices including; a UK Motown Discography, a list of the best-selling Motown singles, a review of rarer singles, the top ten tracks as selected by the Motorcity fan club and a final piece on the Motown Museum in Detroit. The forward to the book is written by none other than Martha Reeves herself. The fact that these are reprints of old essays means that nothing new is being said, none the less it is an interesting collection of articles. I have to confess that many of them I had not read before so for me the perspectives, if not the content, were new. The book caught and held my attention from the first page to the last. A novel but simple idea which worked very well. If I have any criticism at all it is the size of the text. Most Motown aficionados will be well into their forties by now, and this font does nothing to ease the prospect of eye strain. The editor would have been better advised to have spread the content over a few more pages as the extra trees chopped down would have been well worth the effort. |
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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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