i remember seeing this when it came out... once by myself and another time with a friend. we laughed so loud at ben harper the lady behind us told us to shut up. i mean, what was he doing there? he was so flat. bootsy collins fared much better than harper. i do feel though, that the focus was still on the singers, and not enough on the musicians. i do love how they shared stories about jamerson though- because james jamerson is the greatest bass player on this earth! charles mingus actually comes after him (when he DOES play) but jamerson i think got the shaft. they all did.

MJJstudent said:

i remember seeing this when it came out... once by myself and another time with a friend. we laughed so loud at ben harper the lady behind us told us to shut up. i mean, what was he doing there? he was so flat. bootsy collins fared much better than harper. i do feel though, that the focus was still on the singers, and not enough on the musicians. i do love how they shared stories about jamerson though- because james jamerson is the greatest bass player on this earth! charles mingus actually comes after him (when he DOES play) but jamerson i think got the shaft. they all did.

One of my fave documentary films(and I have may faves). And I have to admit with you there that there wasn't much emphasis on the Funk Brothers as opposed to the vocalist, but at least it shed some light on the so-called "Motown Sound" and the dynamics behind it, prior to that film, I wouldn't know who The Funk Brothers were,,,,like many of the people interviewed in the film.

You really think Ben was flat though?

i do think he was flat... his style of singing doesn't fit with this type of music in my opinion.

MJJstudent said:

i do think he was flat... his style of singing doesn't fit with this type of music in my opinion.

Understood

i thought this was good:

and here is one of the greatest jamerson bass licks: