Pop Music : Notes Prove Hard to Carry in ‘Motown Revue’

In the early ‘60s, Motown Records helped launch the careers of newcomers like Stevie Wonder, the Supremes, the Miracles and Marvin Gaye by giving them exposure and performing experience in traveling revues. The ‘90s version of that concept, “The Motortown Revue,” rolled into the Hollywood Palladium on Friday.

Anyone who saw those early Motown revues can see that this one (also scheduled to have played the Celebrity Theatre in Anaheim Sunday night), featuring Motown’s crop of new artists, is comparatively minor-league. Though the show’s major acts--the Boys, Today, the Good Girls--have had hit records, none seem unusually talented. Singers like Gaye and the Supremes were impressive and loaded with star quality even as rookies.

The new revue included six acts performing sets lasting between 15 minutes and a half-hour. All were backed by musicians except the rappers who, of course, were accompanied by taped tracks.

By far the most talented artist was Milira, a 19-year-old gospel/R&B; singer. But her style could use some toning down and fine tuning, and she was hampered by lame material.

Rapper Rich Nice was backed by some potent music tracks but his delivery was woefully weak. The trouble with female rapper M.C. Trouble was that her mile-a-minute delivery made her lyrics unintelligible.

Today, a male vocal quartet, spent too much time trying to be cool and sexy--playing the teasing playboys. If they want to live up to their billing as the next Temptations they had better learn to sing on key consistently. The Good Girls, touted as the new Supremes, are known for their remake of their forerunners’ “Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart.” They performed energetically but sang erratically.

Much of the crowd at the Palladium, which slowly filled up during the nearly 3-hour show, was pre-teen, and clearly was there to see the Boys, whose half-hour set closed the show. Though cute and poised, the four young Compton brothers now based in Northridge are not the reincarnation of the Jackson 5. These youngsters can barely carry a tune. They weren’t impressive, except to the young females who regarded them as swoon-bait.