Motown vs Stax (1 Viewer)

[saintsfan]

I went last night and saw "Motown the Musical" and it got me to thinking about an old disagreement I have with a buddy of mine.

With regard to music, he and I enjoy different flavors of ice cream so to speak.

With him, everything is grit or edge. With me, it's melody.

So I guess I don't have to tell you which side I'm on. IMO Motown has FAR better songwriters. The melodies are far better. I happen to love the way those records sound. Some would say they sound overproduced, but I love the sound of them. The bounce they have. Both companies have stars, but I think Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye alone are greater artists than anyone over at Stax. This is not to say that I don't like Stax. I certainly do, but IMO it's doesn't sniff Motown in terms of significance or quality. To me, it's not close.

So which one do you like and please give some reasons...

 

[SacramentoBob]

Depends on which era of Motown we're talking about. I think I might like the Normal Whitfield era better than the Holland-Dozier-Holland era. But I like post Motown Holland-Dozier-Holland (Invictus/Hot Wax) better than Motown Holland-Dozier-Holland as well.

Overall I think I'd say I like Stax/Volt/Enterprise better than Motown/Tamla/Gordy.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Stax??

 

[Tom Skerritt]

Stax for me, if only because of Otis Redding. But Booker T and the MGs are incredible. Those dudes (all but Booker T) were band for the Blues Brothers.

Motown is great, but gimme Stax.

 

[saintsfan]

Depends on which era of Motown we're talking about. I think I might like the Normal Whitfield era better than the Holland-Dozier-Holland era. But I like post Motown Holland-Dozier-Holland (Invictus/Hot Wax) better than Motown Holland-Dozier-Holland as well.

Overall I think I'd say I like Stax/Volt/Enterprise better than Motown/Tamla/Gordy.

And see, I love HDH. I don't think Motown was every really the same after they left. Not that they didn't still have lots of good stuff. Whitfield is great, but HDH with The Temps and The Supremes...that was some great stuff.

 

[brianj74]

Motown:
The Temptations
Marvin Gaye
Stevie Wonder
Diana Ross & The Supremes
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
The Four Tops
Martha & The Vendettas
Jackson 5
Gladys Knight & The Pips


Stax:
Otis Redding
Sam and Dave
Rufus Thomas
Isaac Hayes
Wilson Pickett
Albert King
The Staple Singers
Booker T & The MGs

[SIZE=13.3333px]It depends on what you like...polish or grit ?[/SIZE]

 

[saintsfan]

Stax for me, if only because of Otis Redding. But Booker T and the MGs are incredible. Those dudes (all but Booker T) were band for the Blues Brothers.

Motown is great, but gimme Stax.

This is another great argument. Booker T and the MGs were bad asses, no doubt, but the Funk Brothers were no slouches either.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I don't think that the top-flight talent at Stax takes a back seat to anyone, but Motown just had more of it than anyone else. The business models and way they worked were completely different, so it's kind of hard to compare them apples to apples overall.

I will say this: Booker T & the MGs being integrated when and WHERE they were was, I think, a bigger deal and influence than many realize these days. Decent band, too......

 

[PIK95]

Is this a joke? Motown by a mile. Smokey might be the best song writer of all time, the voices of so many artists, and the funk brothers. Of course the hits and the individual stars is the easy answer. There will never be another Motown.

 

[saintsfan]

I don't think that the top-flight talent at Stax takes a back seat to anyone, but Motown just had more of it than anyone else. The business models and way they worked were completely different, so it's kind of hard to compare them apples to apples overall.

I will say this: Booker T & the MGs being integrated when and WHERE they were was, I think, a bigger deal and influence than many realize these days. Decent band, too......

No doubt. Racially, however, Motown also, and to a much larger degree than anyone else, changed the perception of what a "black" artist was and could be. Look at the Supremes. Elegant, beautiful, and great music. They crossed over in a way nobody did at Stax. White girls wanted to be the Supremes. I know because my mom was one of them. Motown more than anyone else made people color blind when it came to music.

 

[John Bender]

Stax for me. I'm a blues musician and I'd say that sound is more prevalent in Stax records - especially love the Hammond sound. Love Sam and Dave.

Also love me some Smokey, and it's a tight race.

Stax

 

[saintsfan]

Is this a joke? Motown by a mile. Smokey might be the best song writer of all time, the voices of so many artists, and the funk brothers. Of course the hits and the individual stars is the easy answer. There will never be another Motown.

Believe it or not, this is a topic. Like Beatles vs Stones...

These two companies were, in many ways, the faces of the growing market for soul and R&B

 

[Eephus]

Philadelphia International (Thom Bell, Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, etc.) deserve some love in this thread. And love is the message.

 

[saintsfan]

Is this a joke? Motown by a mile. Smokey might be the best song writer of all time, the voices of so many artists, and the funk brothers. Of course the hits and the individual stars is the easy answer. There will never be another Motown.

If you are comparing commercially, it's certainly Motown, but I was asking more from a personal preference standpoint. Some people prefer the grittier sound of Stax over the more polished commercial Motown sound

 

[saintsfan]

Stax for me. I'm a blues musician and I'd say that sound is more prevalent in Stax records - especially love the Hammond sound. Love Sam and Dave.

Also love me some Smokey, and it's a tight race.

Stax

And I'm a musician too, but not a blues guy. Although everything is rooted in the blues, I like melody. To me, it's about the tune...

That's why this is a good conversation to have.

 

[PIK95]

No worries. Rick James got arrested at Motown for being AWOL from the Navy. That's pretty funny imo. He was living in Canada.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Is this a joke? Motown by a mile. Smokey might be the best song writer of all time, the voices of so many artists, and the funk brothers. Of course the hits and the individual stars is the easy answer. There will never be another Motown.

If you are comparing commercially, it's certainly Motown, but I was asking more from a personal preference standpoint. Some people prefer the grittier sound of Stax over the more polished commercial Motown sound

I love both Eta: I probably love more Temptation records than any other artist this side of the Beatles and Grand Funk, but Otis Redding is my favorite singer.

 

[Eephus]

The homogenization/globalization of the music industry has been a negative. The fact that we can debate distinctive sounds from Detroit, Memphis, Chicago, Philadelphia, LA, etc. decades after the records came out and people can place them in their mind's ear really isn't possible today. There are still a handful of artists today with a sound closely aligned with a city or region but that's more because of relationships/collaborations between the artists than a sound associated with a record label or recording studio.

 

[saintsfan]

Is this a joke? Motown by a mile. Smokey might be the best song writer of all time, the voices of so many artists, and the funk brothers. Of course the hits and the individual stars is the easy answer. There will never be another Motown.

If you are comparing commercially, it's certainly Motown, but I was asking more from a personal preference standpoint. Some people prefer the grittier sound of Stax over the more polished commercial Motown sound

I love both Eta: I probably love more Temptation records than any other artist this side of the Beatles and Grand Funk, but Otis Redding is my favorite singer.

Me too bro.

The difference between me and my buddy I was discussing above is that I love both. He absolutely hates Motown. Thinks it's bubble gum crap. He's got issues...

 

[saintsfan]

The homogenization/globalization of the music industry has been a negative. The fact that we can debate distinctive sounds from Detroit, Memphis, Chicago, Philadelphia, LA, etc. decades after the records came out and people can place them in their mind's ear really isn't possible today. There are still a handful of artists today with a sound closely aligned with a city or region but that's more because of relationships/collaborations between the artists than a sound associated with a record label or recording studio.

Yeah. Back then, they all had a sound. I'm from New Orleans. Can pick out on the radio which ones had musicians from New Orleans in a second. They have a sound....

 

[metoo]

Marvin Gaye is my favorite, that harmony...singing to himself.

 

[Eephus]

The homogenization/globalization of the music industry has been a negative. The fact that we can debate distinctive sounds from Detroit, Memphis, Chicago, Philadelphia, LA, etc. decades after the records came out and people can place them in their mind's ear really isn't possible today. There are still a handful of artists today with a sound closely aligned with a city or region but that's more because of relationships/collaborations between the artists than a sound associated with a record label or recording studio.

Yeah. Back then, they all had a sound. I'm from New Orleans. Can pick out on the radio which ones had musicians from New Orleans in a second. They have a sound....

Leaving out New Orleans from the earlier post was a big omission.

I guess there are still discernible regional sounds in hip hop but I don't listen to enough rap to catch any but the most obvious ones.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Is this a joke? Motown by a mile. Smokey might be the best song writer of all time, the voices of so many artists, and the funk brothers. Of course the hits and the individual stars is the easy answer. There will never be another Motown.

If you are comparing commercially, it's certainly Motown, but I was asking more from a personal preference standpoint. Some people prefer the grittier sound of Stax over the more polished commercial Motown sound

I love both Eta: I probably love more Temptation records than any other artist this side of the Beatles and Grand Funk, but Otis Redding is my favorite singer.

Me too bro.The difference between me and my buddy I was discussing above is that I love both. He absolutely hates Motown. Thinks it's bubble gum crap. He's got issues...

Good God. Has he ever heard David Ruffin sing?

 

[saintsfan]

Is this a joke? Motown by a mile. Smokey might be the best song writer of all time, the voices of so many artists, and the funk brothers. Of course the hits and the individual stars is the easy answer. There will never be another Motown.

If you are comparing commercially, it's certainly Motown, but I was asking more from a personal preference standpoint. Some people prefer the grittier sound of Stax over the more polished commercial Motown sound

I love both Eta: I probably love more Temptation records than any other artist this side of the Beatles and Grand Funk, but Otis Redding is my favorite singer.

Me too bro.The difference between me and my buddy I was discussing above is that I love both. He absolutely hates Motown. Thinks it's bubble gum crap. He's got issues...

Good God. Has he ever heard David Ruffin sing?

Yeah. I know...

 

[saintsfan]

For those that are interested, BTW, Motown the Musical was outstanding. I love Motown and so I am very familiar with the catalogue, but there were a few surprises. What I came away more impressed with than anything, honestly, was the sheer volume of material. I mean, my God. The Temps, the Four Tops, the Supremes, Smokey and the Miracles, Marvin, Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Martha and the Vandellas, and Gladys Knight. Even the less known ones. Jr Walker, the Contours, etc. And that outstanding band. And the song writers.