Suggesting I listen to Motown instead, is the equivalent of recommending Green Day to a Punk.
I love Motown, but compared to the upbeat 4/4 time sig. of most Northern Soul, it comes across as too polished and produced. And in my opinion the raw sound adds to the overall feel.
You've obviously seen the clip in the link of my last post.
The music, the dancing, the people and the whole scene, go hand in hand with this brand of soul.
Even the musicians involved in the making of this music are of high quality, many of them big name jazz players from the 60's. Some of which included members of Motown's own in-house band members, such as the Funk Brothers, moonlighting for the smaller R&B labels to earn a few extra bucks (anonymously of course). The rawness of this sound is in part due to the tight budget these labels were working to. It wasn't unusual for these spins to be cut in one take.
Add all this to the obscureness and rarity of these wonderful tracks...and therein lies the magic.
