Death to the soul forum

spacecoyote · 25-10-2006 11:16am #1

So, i know this has never been an especially busy forum (at least in my time here anyway). is there no demand for soul/rnb music anymore?

are people just not motivated by current soul music. Admittedly enough alot of stuff that could be classed as r'n'b in the charts is tripe but surely there are still some modern singers who people enjoy to listen to. I recently picked up the latest Goapele album which is very enjoyable, although i would probably take Jill Scott or Erykah Badu over it. John Legends album, although I haven't heard it as yet, is supposed to be an improvement on his 1st solo effort, which i found thoroughly enjoyable so i can only be optimistic about it.

could it be due to the fact that many modern strong soul artists, eg Maxwell, D'angelo, just have such a smallback catalogue and release so few albums that there is just not enough good new music being released to spark conversation?

Is it because much of the music which maybe classed as R'n'b never makes it past the general music forum?

Or is it because we really are bereft of talented soul singers. is there any artist in our modern era with whom we can draw comparisons to Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Curtis Mayfield & the likes?

StevieG · 25-10-2006 12:14pm

Nah soul/r&b is as strong as ever
There's just no-one posting here about it but i don't think its a reflection of the music

Orizio · 25-10-2006 9:50pm

I'd take that Goapele album over Erykah Badu anytime,but I guess thats just me.BTW, SA-RA(who produce on that Goapele album as you know,they worked with the likes of J Dilla and Platinum Pied Pipers in the past))are supposed to drop an album sometime soon, watch out for it I can almost guarantee it will be an incredible mix of Hip-Hop,Soul and funk...

But yeah this forum is depressing.Maybe it needs a new regurly posting moderator...:D

spacecoyote · 26-10-2006 7:34am

Orizio wrote:

But yeah this forum is depressing.Maybe it needs a new regurly posting moderator...:D

ahem....subtle man, very subtle

marlowe · 28-10-2006 7:53pm

spacecoyote wrote:

Or is it because we really are bereft of talented soul singers. is there any artist in our modern era with whom we can draw comparisons to Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Curtis Mayfield & the likes?

I'd argue that if Curtis Mayfield was around today he'd be something like Gnarles Barkley. It's not too difficult to imagine Curtis singing 'Crazy' with all them high vocals 'n' strings 'n' edgy lyrics.

I'd have to say Andre 3000 was the new Sly Stone.

I know what you mean though. It's hard to find singers of the same class as Otis or Marvin. I reckon they're out there though. I'm constantly scouring myspace to see if there's any undiscovered greats.

I know I'm going to be laughed out of it when I say this, but Andrew Strong had a great voice on him. I wouldn't for one second defend the watered down covers that the commitments did, but I reckon he had the best white guy voice going for a while there.

spacecoyote · 30-10-2006 9:04am

well i do agree to some extent there alright, Strong could really belt out tunes

Papillon87 · 02-12-2006 1:07am

stay positive guys! soul is still very much alive! i'm still a teen and get a lot of strange looks from my friends when i harp on about marvin, aretha, and the rest. the older stuff is the best. maybe it's cos i do a lot of singing and i just love singing all that kinda stuff. apart from john legend, joss stone can't really call anyone else a soul artist at the mo. the term is bandied around so often in relation to what is essentially r'n'b music. anyone heard of that irish girl laura izibor. iv seen her on tv a couple of times.

Savman · 03-12-2006 2:15pm

I remember talking to Andrew Strong and him saying he can sell thousands of records in Scandinavia but for some reason unknown to man, Irish folks just wouldn't buy his records. I was a bit surprised cos he has some really good stuff (does a great version of "Aint No Mountain High Enough" with his sister Niamh)

Regarding Soul in general, I would put Christina Aguilera into the same category as all the great Soul vocalists. Excluding, of course, the crap pop rubbish she churns out occasionally, she has some set o' lungs on her (check out "Impossible" with Alicia Keys). I'd say she will mature and grow out of the "Dirrty" phase to prove her worth.

'spose Eva Cassidy could be considered a Soul Vocalist but we all missed the boat there unfortunately. The thing is, there are still some great Funk/Soul Artists out there you just have to find them.

Lust4Life · 05-12-2006 5:35pm

i think it's cuz so many of them cross-over into other genres.
Tenatious D for example. Jack Black is Pure Soul at the core, but.... well, you've heard their stuff so you know it doesn't get airplay on soul stations! heh!

And Beyounce ought to do more soul. She is a true talent. But she exerts it in the pop genre instead. Sad.

Just my opinion. But you asked for opinions.:p

Makaveli · 06-12-2006 3:57am

This place never really took off in the first place.
Irish people must not have any soul (or funk or rhythm & blues).

spacecoyote · 06-12-2006 9:35am

Makaveli wrote:

This place never really took off in the first place.
Irish people must not have any soul (or funk or rhythm & blues).

he he, reminds me of the scene in Eddie Murphy Raw where he's slagging off the way white people dance

Lust4Life · 07-12-2006 1:41am

Oh noes! You can't say that! Haven't you seen the Commitments?:p
Saying Irish People have no Love of Soul would just crush my dreams!

spacecoyote · 08-12-2006 9:01am

yeah Lusty, you'll be jealous to hear that Andrew Strong played regular enough sets up around my direction!!!

Lust4Life · 11-12-2006 12:40pm

In the words of Napoleon Dynamite... Lucky!

fish-head · 12-12-2006 2:55am

What's called RnB in the charts doesn't stand for rhythm and blues anymore, it stands for Rumps and Bling.

Papillon87 · 16-12-2006 4:16pm

fish-head wrote:

What's called RnB in the charts doesn't stand for rhythm and blues anymore, it stands for Rumps and Bling.

hehe! but so true! i think most r'n'b music today is basically pop music with more bling. the artists just don't want to be considered pop, for some reason. christina does have a great voice, i haven't got her new album but it is supposed to be a lot more soul/blues type inspired music than she is normally associated with. beyonce, used to love her but listening to her lately (especially that new song) I think her voice is overrated. She's way stretching for those notes!

stomper45 · 21-12-2006 3:38am

there are some people into real soul

sleepless nights rare soul club
the belvedere
gt denmark st, d2
8.30-2.30 € 8.00

every month since april 2002 playing rare motown & northern soul off original vinyl http://sleeplessnightsns.tripod.com

Dance til ya drop, mainly uptempo 6ts rare soul

this month in aid of AWARE

Lust4Life · 29-12-2006 12:42pm

Has anyone listened to Norah Jones?
Her albums really don't reflect the releases that actually get airplay.
The woman really has soul and talent.

In surfing, it appears that her producers have been pushing her for years in various venues not quite knowing where to market her music.
I for one am very glad I've taken the time to look into her stuff.

Death to the soul forum

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