stip wrote:Lament, what would you say is the major difference between, say stax and Motown? What should I be listening for?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motown_sound#Motown_Sound
This is a pretty good breakdown of the Motown sound...
"Motown specialized in a type of soul music it referred to with the trademark "The Motown Sound". Crafted with an ear towards pop appeal, the Motown Sound typically used tambourines to accent the back beat, prominent and often melodic electric bass-guitar lines, distinctive melodic and chord structures, and a call-and-response singing style that originated in gospel music. Pop production techniques such as the use of orchestral string sections, charted horn sections, and carefully arranged background vocals were also used. Complex arrangements and elaborate, melismatic vocal riffs were avoided.[11] Motown producers believed steadfastly in the "KISS principle" (keep it simple, stupid)."
Interesting that Smokey Robinson doesn't believe it's a real thing. But perhaps that has to do with how much of the Motown sound is because of him. In some ways Motown was more like it's own act than it was a label. Between the in house songwriting teams (especially Holland-Dozier-Holland) and the in house band (The Funk Brothers), you had a lot of the same people involved with almost everything the label put out in the classic-era.
I would say The Dock of the Bay doesn't embody any of the Motown techniques. The bassline serves a rhythmic purpose as opposed to a melodic purpose. It's a pretty raw, stripped back arrangement compared to the lush, layered arrangements of most Motown songs from that period. There's no backing vocals or harmonies. It pursues a meditative calm as opposed to the high drama of most Motown classics. Like I said, it's more like a lazy Stones song than it is a Motown song.
TEAM HARMLESS FOREVER...