I wish the music sounded more…
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b-touch — 13 years ago(October 20, 2012 07:21 PM)
When this score was first written in 1978/79, there was a concerted effort to make it NOT sound so much like Motown, for fear of lawsuits from Berry Gordy or Diana Ross. What came out instead was a hodgepodge of non-Motown 60s music (the score draws from Chuck Berry, James Brown, Etta James, and Wilson Pickett, though obviously there is still some strong Supremes influence in there). Most of the arrangements, however, have a strong 70s R&B/disco sound: "Steppin' to the Bad Side", for example, has the definitive 70s disco shuffling high hat and sounds more like Chic ("Le Freak") than anything else.
The renditions of the songs in this film version sound more like Motown/60s music than the original versions ever did - the theme now has a Motown stomp, "Steppin'" goes gospel instead of disco, "Jimmy's Rap" sounds more like James Brown than Kurtis Blow, and "One Night Only" (Effie's version) draws directly from the glossy mid-70s R&B ballad style you might hear in a slow Temptations (Dennis Edwards version), Donna Summer or early Teena Marie record.
Still, even the film versions are hampered by the fact that they have to sound appealing to the MTV crowd that likes and buys a certain style of (heavily synthesized and pitch corrected) contemporary R&B rather than soul music. If you're no fan of "regular" Beyonc or other pop-R&B music, this movie will be a tough sit-through. -
jackiefoxybrown — 13 years ago(February 24, 2013 07:57 AM)
Lol,I'm not too ashamed to say this but I saw this movie for the first time on ABC & I actually feel the same was you do. Even though the movie was decent I found myslef wanting to put ear plugs on because the music is unbearable. I'm a fan of old school music ,exspecially motown,you know motown had those great catchy melodies,hard hitting bass,but the music in the film sounded like music from a middle school urban play,not my cup of tea,but hey who am I to talk I'm not berry gory or some musical guru.
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b-touch — 13 years ago(March 01, 2013 09:34 PM)
Question - has anyone on here who claims to "like Motown music" ever actually heard a full Supremes live album or seen either of their TV specials?
In performance (and in this film, all but one of the songs the Dreams perform is supposed to be a live performance versus a recording), their arrangements were as (I don't mean this term as an insult) schmaltzy and Broadway-bound as anything in this film.
I know the modern casual fan is likely only familiar with hit singles, but Motown did their best to force the Supremes into a Broadway/Vegas/Copacabana format on numerous occasions. -
alcockell — 12 years ago(June 06, 2013 10:20 AM)
Just streaming this one - http://subscription.we7.com/album/The-Supremes/At-The-Copa-Expanded-Edition?m=0
Yow! Ronnie bloody Hazlehurst, Norrie Paramor or Ron Pearson or what?
HARDLY the same as the Funk Brothers backing them
That house band WRECKED it! -
blue489 — 12 years ago(July 10, 2013 02:33 AM)
In response to B-touch's question I will just speak for those of us who "claimed" to like Motown music. Yes we have heard those live albums and yes we have watched those live performances. What do we think of them? That those arrangements sucked and that it isn't the sound that people are referring to when they talk about Motown or what made the label iconic and so damn good.
I find it hard to believe that the songwriters for Dreamgirls were trying to be that authentic and be like, "Hey so since they are performing live we should make the songs sound like those crappy Las Vegas style arrangements that the Supremes were pushed to perform." (not sure if that was a point you were suggesting).
Whoever posted that response about the songs sounding too show tuney and Broadway is likely because they were written for exactly that - Broadway, makes a fair point. It's just a little bit of false advertising I suppose, since it is about Motown so I would think that those who are interested in the story will like that style of music and would therefore not mind hearing that style of music in the musical.
Again, I still think Little Shop of Horrors and even Hairspray have much better sixties throw-back inspired tunes than this musical. -
b-touch — 12 years ago(August 16, 2013 09:53 PM)
It's true that the songwriters for Dreamgirls weren't trying to be authentic to Motown music - they actually went out of their way to make the songs NOT sound like Supremes songs because they were afraid of being sued when they were writing these songs in the early 1970s/early 1980s. There was also the issue that these songs were originally written to fit together as a cohesive operetta (if anyone has seen or heard the original stage version of Dreamgirls, it's about 70% sung). and to be frank a lot of the songs don't work as well in the film broken up and done on their own.
However, it's also in true that, intentionally or not, in not making the faux-Motown revue you would expect "Dreamgirls" to be, they actually came closer to what the Supremes actually sounded like in concert vs. how they sounded on their albums. Venturing beyond their 25 or so hit singles and their B-sides leads into strange worlds of schmaltz.
I'm not really sure if it's false advertising, because the show didn't have to be what "Motown the Musical" turned out to be, but I suppose that's what the public expects, particularly in the film version where everything is slavishly recreated to look like Motown (and to be clear, the music producers for the film version of Dreamgirls - The Underdogs - did attempt to please all parties by making the songs sound more, uh, Motowny AND more modern AND keep true ot the original piece. A really impossible task taken all together) -
giant-can — 10 years ago(July 23, 2015 04:42 PM)
However, it's also in true that, intentionally or not, in not making the faux-Motown revue you would expect "Dreamgirls" to be, they actually came closer to what the Supremes actually sounded like in concert vs. how they sounded on their albums. Venturing beyond their 25 or so hit singles and their B-sides leads into strange worlds of schmaltz.
not to be rude, but this is absolute nonsense. there are literally 3 or 4 official supremes albums devoted to pre-rock or showtunes. the rest of their 20+ albums sound like conventional (and sometimes exceptional) pop-soul of whatever year each one happened to be released in. -
LiteraryLane — 10 years ago(October 20, 2015 07:51 AM)
The point b-touch makes is very true of the appearances the group made as Diana Ross and The Supremes. Just look at their 1967 and 1968
Ed Sullivan Show
appearances. Gordy insisted they sing a mainstream pop song or show tune in addition to one of their own songs. You see this in many of their TV appearances during the late '60's. The Ernie Ford special performance is another good example, when they perform "Old Mill Stream". As early as the
I Hear A Symphony
LP, they slipped a mainstream song or two into the mix. The live albums they recorded were also an unusual mix of Rock n Rroll, pre-rock pop, and show tunes. They had several unreleased albums that strayed far from their usual style like
The Supremes Sing Ballads and Blues
,
There's A Place For Us
, and
Diana Ross and The Supremes Sing Disney Classic
s.
"It is rare for people to be asked the question which puts them squarely in front of themselves." -
b-touch — 9 years ago(January 03, 2017 12:32 PM)
It probably would have been better if I'd said "often leads into strange worlds of schmaltz".
And there are more than just four such albums: "The Supremes Sing Rodgers & Hart", "Diana Ross & the Supremes Sing and Perform 'Funny Girl'", "The Supremes at the Copa", "Live at London's Talk of the Town", All of "I Hear a Symphony" that isn't Motown originals, "TCB", "On Broadway", and most unreleased live recordings that have been released after Diana Ross left.
One might strongly debate adding "A Bit of Liverpool" and "We Remember Sam Cooke" to that list as well. It isn't just whether or not they're singing standards and showtunes; it's how whatever they're performing is arranged. -
bubblegum_jenocide — 9 years ago(October 31, 2016 04:23 PM)
I don't think the music was trying to sound like 60's music. It was based on a Broadway musical, and I thought the music in the movie sounded like show tunes or whatever the term is.
Anyway, I loved the soundtrack to the movie, still listen to it today, and still love the old Barry Gordy Motown stuff. You can enjoy both, and I do.