September 27, 2016: The release of a 6 DVD box set “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever!”
Following plans back in 2015 to release this box set, it is finally here!
Celebrating the first quarter century of the little company that founder Berry Gordy Jr. turned into Hitsville, U.S.A., his history-making success story deserved a history-making concert—MOTOWN 25: YESTERDAY, TODAY, FOREVER! It debuted on NBC on May 16, 1983, and the morning after became an immediate water-cooler sensation. The highlight that caused the most talk was Michael Jackson’s world premiere of his moonwalk (aka “six seconds that changed the world”) but MOTOWN 25 had an abundance of other buzz-worthy moments, too—reunions by the Miracles, the Supremes and the Jackson 5; the first battle of the bands between Four Tops and The Temptations; and the hottest comedian in the world at the time, Richard Pryor, as host. Motown 25 was not simply a 2-hour TV special…it was a flashpoint cultural event!
The show deservedly won an Emmy Award, but has been unseen for over 20 years, until today. Available now in an expanded 6-DVD deluxe version, it features 5.1 Surround Sound that reveals the music to its fullest potential. Major Motown artists perform their hits at this once-in-a-lifetime concert:
- The Tears of a Clown Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
- Uptight (Everything’s Alright) Stevie Wonder
- Baby I Need Your Loving Four Tops
- What’s Going On Marvin Gaye
- My Girl The Temptations
- I Want You Back The Jackson 5
- Ain’t No Mountain High Enough Diana Ross
- Billie Jean Michael Jackson
- Plus Mary Wells, Martha Reeves, Junior Walker and many more!
The DVD:
Video:
One might ask why this important show isn’t available on Blu-ray, and that’s mainly because there isn’t an HD source to begin with. The show was shot on SD video, and with the 1983 standards, you can understandably expect a lot of video noise inherent to the technology. Yes, if it’s inherent to the technology, it’s not technically noise, but when modern audiences see the obvious issues like chroma noise, aliasing, color bleeding, comet trails, etc, they might be disengaged. So I’m here to let you know that Motown 25 is recreated as faithfully as possible.
Audio:
Here’s where a Blu-ray release might have helped. A DTS-HD 5.1 release would have been dynamite when paired with this show. However, the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 options are more than welcome, vibrant and full-of-life additions. The 5.1 track will make you feel as if you’re part of the audience, since it has a healthy amount of surround presence.
Extras:
Where do we even begin? First of all, when the feature is only 1/6th of the DVD package’s runtime, is it fair to call the rest “extras”? The glossy package comes with what looks like a loose recreation of the program booklet, another booklet with tons of essays, and a whopping 6 DVDs.
Disc 1:
Roundtable: A delightful 25-minute conversation with some of the artists, recorded in 1983.
The Making of Motown 25: A 30-minute featurette where the show’s crew discusses how the whole thing came together.
Disc 2:
Marvin Gaye Rehearsal: This is a godsend for hardcore R&B fans. We watch uncut footage of Gaye rehearsing before the show. As usual, the man reminds everyone why he was the captivating presence that he was.
What’s Going On?: A 30-minute featurette about Marvin Gaye. If you need a crash course on this legend, this is the right place.
Interviews: An hour of interviews with producers Suzanne De Passe and Don Mischer that go into great detail about their experiences working for Motown.
Disc 3:
Roundtables: Two featurettes, running a total of 90 minutes. First one follows the producers of the show as they walk through the original stage and talk about their memories. The second one recreates the 1983 musician roundtable where the same musicians talk about the show in what looks like the late 90s or early 00s.
Reach Out I’ll Be There: A 12-minute featurette where the musicians and producers talk affectionately about The Temptations’ and Four Tops’ performance together.
Come and Get These Memories: A 15-minute featurette where singers and workers at Motown discuss the beginnings of Motown.
Interviews: In-depth interviews with Duke Fakir, Otis Williams, Claudette Robinson, and Martha Reeves, that clock in at about 70 minutes.
Disc 4:
Believe it or not, this is where we get to the “official” bonus features.
Songwriters’ Roundtable: This is another essential feature, a one-hour 1983 roundtable with the Motown songwriters. Since these people are not stars, their loose and friendly approach to their memories working for the label are infectiously warm.
Dancin’ In The Streets: This is an 18-minute featurette where contemporary musicians gush over their love of Motown tunes.
Interviews: Yikes! About 2 hours of interviews with many songwriters and producers. This is where we get to material for the extra hardcore fans.
Disc 5:
Stevie Wonder Rehearsal: As a huge fan of Stevie, it was great to see this uncut rehearsal footage, even though it was only 9 minutes long.
You’ve Really Got a Hold On Me: A 15-minute featurette on The Miracles.
My Guy: A 13-minute featurette about Smokey Robinson.
I Heard It Through The Grapevine: A 10-minute featurette about the unique Motown sound.
Motown 25 Reboot: A 5-minute featurette about how the new 5.1 track was put together.
Interviews: Over an hour of interviews with Smokey Robinson, Adam Ant, and a couple of Motown executives.
Disc 6:
Interviews: You knew it was coming to this. This disc contains over 3 hours of interviews with writers, producers, and executives from the label. This stuff if for the extra, extra hardcore fan.
OMG!!! I WANT!!!!! :O