Wow, i never thought that all those years ago when i first heard the motown sound that i would be listening to podcasts celebrating the labels 50th birthday. Music genres come & go & on the most are quickly forgoten to make way for the next new wave of music. Motown however bucked a trend as it still seems to sound as young, fresh & exciting as it did all of those years ago. In fact if anything, it has matured with age like a fine wine but sadly its listeners have not faired quite so well with the same passage of time (speaking for myself at least obviously). What started off as the sound of young America has now become the sound of young, middle aged & elderly Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Africa, Australia etc. Not only did the music break down race barriers, support the civil rights movement, become a soundtrack to the Vietnam war but it has now gone on to have legendary status & to be a truly global phenomenon. The motown 50 podcasts are essential listening if you have any interest in the legendary label. There is enough here to keep anyone interested with rare vintage artist interviews, a vintage interview with Berry Gordy, interviews with modern artists & producers commenting on how the label has influenced them in the work that they do. There are also some very interesting stories about how some of the songs we all know & love were brought to life by the writers in the first place. 5/5.
