Has the Motown Catalog Aged Well?

[jobeterob]

Last weekend, we played A Hard Day's Night, the CD, in my truck. My wife commented that a lot of the Beatles early catalog has not aged well. I was going to post a few videos and see what you thought about how Motown aged as opposed to the Beatles early work.

[jobeterob]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhPvtDDxEV0

[jobeterob]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdT324yoQcs

[jobeterob]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg2i0PDR73Y

I've put this song in here for review because it is the song that is often referred to as bubblegummy. I'm not sure that it qualifies in its recorded version as bubble gum. The sax, Diana's vocal, the call and response.

But here it.

[jobeterob]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joqjBAJx4ZA

[jobeterob]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEym6eJ8fa0

[jobeterob]

Gosh, listening to these songs answers this question for me.

[thanxal]

I drive a bunch of 12 year olds around as part of a neighborhood school and summer activities carpool and always have some part or other of the Motown playing in the car. In the last several months, I've been asked for:
1. Luvbug
2. Up the Ladder
3. Each Day is a Lifetime
4. Heatwave
5. I Can't Help Myself
6. I Wish it Would Rain
7. Bless You

I don't know if they like the beat, the lyrics or whatever, but when kids hear Motown, they love it. I play Motown continuously at work and people love to dance. No one is ever sad when they hear a Motown song.

Motown is forever.

[144man]

I often hear Beatles' records on the radio and to me they largely sound as good as they ever did. However, I don't think their more experimental tracks have aged particularly well, especially the White Album. "Revolution 9" is almost unlistenable.

Similarly, I don't think Motown's psychedelic era has aged very well. Although records such as "Cloud 9" still sound great, they are very much of their time.

[midnightman]

The Beatles' 1962-66 recordings have aged well, anything above that with some exceptions [[Hey Jude, Come Together, Something and Let It Be, etc.) hasn't, especially the experimental work.

But Motown's music is timeless imho.

[Jimi LaLumia]

I just saw the summer blockbuster of 2014, Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy, and The J5, and Marvin & Tammi drove the audience into ecstasy..no Beatles to be had on the soundtrack [[although Ziggy Era Bowie and 'Cherry Bomb" by The Runaways perked me up tremendously, alongside the Motown Sound being heard in IMAX!)..Motown catalog has aged very well..

[jobeterob]

I often hear Beatles' records on the radio and to me they largely sound as good as they ever did. However, I don't think their more experimental tracks have aged particularly well, especially the White Album. "Revolution 9" is almost unlistenable.

Similarly, I don't think Motown's psychedelic era has aged very well. Although records such as "Cloud 9" still sound great, they are very much of their time.

Good points by you and Midnightman.

I don't think some of A Hard Day's Night has aged as well as Where Did Our Love Go, Baby I Need Your Lovin and My Girl.

[nabob]

The Beatles' 1962-66 recordings have aged well, anything above that with some exceptions [[Hey Jude, Come Together, Something and Let It Be, etc.) hasn't, especially the experimental work.I am not a Beatles fan the stretch of anyone's imagination, but I love hearing these songs whether by the Beatles or by another stylist. These four are timeless for me.

While the Motown catalog definitely has its place in the musical legacy of our time, the younger generations know little about the artists and will identify anything R&B from the 60s or 70s as Motown music.

[stephanie]

If you ask a die hard Beatle fan they will tell you ALL of the songs have aged well. I LOVE the early Beatle songs like Shes A Woman and everything on Beatles 65 which with Rubber Soul I think are their 2 best albums. Most people go ape over Abbey Road and Revolver and the introspective stuff. Give me Help and Norwegian Wood anyday over anything on Sgt Pepper. I know people hail it as one of the greatest albums ever made and at the time I can see why. The pop culture aspect of the front cover of the album and the experimentation but I will take Pet Sounds over the Beach Boys anyday. Its funny both groups thought the other one had outdone the other when these albums came out.

I think the Motown catalog as aged very well compared to the Beatles. Dont get me wrong but the Yellow Submarine and Magical Mystery Tour [[ and it seems most on this thread agree) is virtually unlistenable today. I didnt even like it then.

[Glenpwood]

A majority of Motown product has aged well and will remain timeless but there are some oyster shells that don't have pearls. I cannot say the Lewis Sisters output trumps Rubber Soul or that Mick Jagger lost sleep over the Supremes version of Satisfaction. The Beatles influenced a lot of Motown production teams and they in turn loved and took elements from Motown. Also I assume we are only comparing the Detroit years. I don't think the later eighties/early nineties Top 40 fare like Rockwell's "Obscene Phone Caller" or M.C. Brains "Oochie Coochie" are in the same area code as The Beatles at their worst [[heck even the fab 4 solo stuff of the same period is better). Classic Motown works because the best players, producers, and engineers intersected with the best material and singers to create a catalog that changed the face of pop and soul music and continues to do so. The Beatles also did a similar thing in their own lane they just created most of it themselves with George Martin. Both deserve their props....

[RossHolloway]

A majority of Motown product has aged well and will remain timeless but there are some oyster shells that don't have pearls. I cannot say the Lewis Sisters output trumps Rubber Soul or that Mick Jagger lost sleep over the Supremes version of Satisfaction. The Beatles influenced a lot of Motown production teams and they in turn loved and took elements from Motown. Also I assume we are only comparing the Detroit years. I don't think the later eighties/early nineties Top 40 fare like Rockwell's "Obscene Phone Caller" or M.C. Brains "Oochie Coochie" are in the same area code as The Beatles at their worst [[heck even the fab 4 solo stuff of the same period is better). Classic Motown works because the best players, producers, and engineers intersected with the best material and singers to create a catalog that changed the face of pop and soul music and continues to do so. The Beatles also did a similar thing in their own lane they just created most of it themselves with George Martin. Both deserve their props....

I think its the other way around, the Beatles had THREE Motown covers on their first album, in addition to them covering other r&b artists. The Beatles are just given blind credit for being so influential, when I think their influence was some what limited.

[soulster]

I cannot agree with your wife. I think the Beatles catalog has aged very well. But, I do think that there is a lot in the Motown catalog that has not. Truth be told. some early Motown is downright terrible! Of course, with all that music, you're bound to hit some clunkers.

[Motown Eddie]

Last weekend, we played A Hard Day's Night, the CD, in my truck. My wife commented that a lot of the Beatles early catalog has not aged well. I was going to post a few videos and see what you thought about how Motown aged as opposed to the Beatles early work.

For me, the Motown Catalog has aged very, very, well. I grew up loving Motown Records when they were at their peak in the '60s; I'm always coming back to the major hits, the LP cuts & b-sides, and the "Lost & Found" tracks from the vaults and I'm always entertained. It's a matter of individual taste as to whether a certain style of music has 'aged well' or not.

[Motown Eddie]

I cannot agree with your wife. I think the Beatles catalog has aged very well. But, I do think that there is a lot in the Motown catalog that has not. Truth be told. some early Motown is downright terrible! Of course, with all that music, you're bound to hit some clunkers.

Yes, some early Motown tracks are terrible [[and have not aged well at all) but the big mid '60s hits [[like "My Girl", "Baby I Need Your Loving", "Baby Love", "Uptight", "Take Me In Your Arms", I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and many others) haven't aged a day [[for me anyway).

[skooldem1]

How can you compare one groups catalog against the catalog of a whole company?

[supremester]

It's hard to be objective about these things, however, my girls are 18 & 21. They and their friends' cultural exposure to the music is way skedded to Motown over The Beatles. Oldies stations play a lot more Supremes than Beatles, it seems. That being said, many of them don't know who The Supremes or Temptations are - but they've heard the names. They know the songs, however. They know who The Beatles are, but not much of the music.
Personally, I love a lot of The Beatles stuff, but it has not, to my ear, aged as well. I still love Help, Hard Days Night, Walrus, Sgt Pepper, Blue Jay Way - lots of John & my hubby George's stuff. Paul's Elenor Rigby still is brilliant to me. I think John's vocals hold up very well and really sell songs that, today, are somewhat marginal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42luHhrsNhg

[Ngroove]

When something's at least still pretty danceable when heard, just as today as it was yesterday - they're still doing its job.

Maybe it's just me - being a subjective Motown lover who loves most of Motown - but c'mon - one listen to for instance - Martha Reeves' "Heatwave" or "Quicksand" - dontcha wanna get up, clap hands, dancin', and singin' along to her still infectiously catchy "Charleston" beat?

No matter how many times I'll hear it in my life - Diana Ross' "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and the Supremes and Temptations' "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" will always have its affect on me.

Personally, might be the sentiments - could apply to the young - I'm still only twenty nine -or /and to those who heard them the first time . Michael Jackson - to me - is that pure and innocent "old soul" whose purity and innocence and true talent's been recorded during his years in Motown - 1969 to 1975, and 1978's "The Wiz" - rather than when he became a giant pop monster not so later on.

Some names and songs, I might find "dated":

Charlene - "I've Never Been To Me", but not to say her later songs were boring stinkers, as long as it's at least rock / pop / dance sounding fusions, like "Hit & Run Lover", rather than just sleepy middle-of-the-roaders.

T.G. Sheppard; yes, I know, Big Country / Western star of his day; but "Motown" and "Country" are just two too big of contradictions, maybe just sayin' it because I'm not a Country person either.

Georgio: Leave the machismo swagger and a lot more subtle innuendos, to Rick James.

And Queen Latifah - had, tried to enjoy, her "Black Reign" album once, her big song out of it, "U.N.I.T.Y.", and "Just Another Day" - the only things remotely "listenable", the rest, the same aggressive "dime a dozen" raps of its day, mid 90s, to still today, often take-no-crap angry, often suggestive, and wayyyyyy too many profanities for something with the "Motown" emblazoned on its album.

[soulster]

How can you compare one groups catalog against the catalog of a whole company?
That was my next post!

[Bokiluis]

If you haven't seen "Motown, The Musical" because in my opinion, it answers this question very well. I smiled elatedly, I cried more than I thought and "wow" was a word that came up after many of the songs/performances. "More complete thought: "was how so much came out of those magical little houses".

The Beatles catalog is quiet durable, especially the innocence of the early recordings evolving into mind-blowing songs like "Revolution".

[radionixon]

I think the Detroit-era stuff has aged incredibly well. The musicians did an amazing job - most Motown hit records are so well-played, well-sung, well-produced and well-written that they don't sound out of place mixed with other tracks on the radio, and not just oldies stations.

[[As for depth, I've got a radio show where I play nothing but Motown, and I've got through 38 hour-long episodes without repeating a song, and whilst I'm biased I don't think we've started scraping the barrel yet - there are still loads of big hits left. The amount of quality material that came out of Motown in the Sixties is just staggering).

When we get to the early 70s, as 144man said, the psychedelic soul and FM rock cuts sound much more "of their time" - ironically, what was seen as progressive when it was made, now sounds dated in a way the Golden Age stuff just doesn't.

80s Motown has dated far worse than 60s [[and even early/mid 70s) Motown for me - the plasticky drums, synthetic strings, cheesy guitar riffs, anodyne production sheen. [[The same can be said of both Paul McCartney and the Beach Boys' efforts from around the same time, interestingly.) Even when the actual songs are good, the style irrevocably date-stamps them; the likes of DeBarge or Teena Marie stick out like a sore thumb as soon as I put them in a playlist, which is why they've not featured on my show yet.

Anyway, yes, to answer your question, I think it's aged well.

[splanky]

How can you compare one groups catalog against the catalog of a whole company?

The most sensible statement in this thread...

[keith_hughes]

Then let's tweak the question a little, and ask how the Northern Songs catalog compares to the Jobete catalog, 40-50 years on.

The Beatles were nowhere near as good musicians as the Funk Brothers, and the recording techniques used to capture their sound were way inferior to Motown's. So their records inevitably sound dated compared to Motown's. But the songs? I know which catalog I'd prefer to own [[if I were offered the choice, and had the money!)

[radionixon]

Then let's tweak the question a little, and ask how the Northern Songs catalog compares to the Jobete catalog, 40-50 years on.

The Beatles were nowhere near as good musicians as the Funk Brothers, and the recording techniques used to capture their sound were way inferior to Motown's. So their records inevitably sound dated compared to Motown's. But the songs? I know which catalog I'd prefer to own [[if I were offered the choice, and had the money!)

Interesting question. I think if we're talking about right now - assuming I'm buying one catalogue tomorrow morning, and ignoring all the royalties earned up until now, just looking at the future - I'd definitely go with Jobete.

There are all these statistics about there being thousands and thousands of covers of Beatles songs and radio play and all that, but actually I think that's in the past now. We've already had the CDs, the Anthology series, the remastered CDs, the downloads, the watershed use of Beatles music in ads, all leading to a flurry of excitement which settled down to a more natural ticking over; other than the morbid prospect of what happens [[long, long from now, I hope!) when we lose the surviving Beatles, the records and the songs now have to stand on their own forever. And I believe that puts Jobete and Northern Songs on an equal footing.

With Northern Songs, you've essentially got Beatles songs and covers of Beatles songs, neither of which in my experience gets much radio play or use in adverts these days. Meanwhile, regardless of how many different covers there are out there, I'd wager Motown recordings of Jobete songs get more radio play nowadays than the Beatles' repertoire, both individually and as a whole [[indeed you'd expect Jobete to win the latter, because there's just so much more volume there), and that spread also makes it easier to sell your songs to soundtrack adverts without them dominating the ad; obviously if I'm the publisher I'm probably going to say yes to almost everything, but even in real life I'd guess it's quite a lot easier/cheaper to license e.g. The Happening to hawk mattresses than it would have been for I'm Only Sleeping, never mind All You Need Is Love.

Even on a personal level, I'd rather have Jobete; there's just so much more depth there. The Beatles had around 500 [[?) songs [[including all those early R&B and rock & roll covers) and maybe 100-150 really good ones, but you couldn't do 38 hours of a Northern Songs radio show without repeating yourself, and I think even just looking at the very top of the mountain, the cream of the crop, if you were to pick a top 20 for each, radio and mechanicals probably favour the big, big hits of Motown over those of the Beatles now anyway. However much you like Eleanor Rigby, I think you'd be nuts not to pick Jobete.

[[Usually this is where someone produces an article to show I'm completely wrong and that the Beatles' music out-sold the entire Motown repertoire in 2013 by 4:1 or something...)

[jobeterob]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnzT6EV27yk

[jobeterob]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB48ZvBHmxQ

[jobeterob]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6pLV9xZczM