modern soul music - is there any good stuff out there?

[Bomber]

dunno if i'm included in that, but i'm under 40 and i'm not rejecting 'the majority.. ' etc, or even consciously rejecting any one strand of it. it just doesn't do it for me, and god knows i've tried. i haven't written anything off out of hand, and as new things come along i give them a fair shot (i even listened to the John Legend album twice. which is 2 hours i'll never get back ) . as for judging what is or isn't soul, surely my opinion is as valid as anyones, as is anyone's on this thread (bearing in mind Kained hasn't posted ).

What he says !!

I am over 40 and I also give anything a fair chance to impress, however much of the stuff that comes under the 'Nu-Soul' banner as too much of the 'Craig David' factor for my taste and totally lacks Soul and energy .!! There are some exceptions of course but a trawl through Soul/Funk archives pre-1975 tells it's own story as to why so much 'Nu-Soul' & Hip Hop Begs , borrows and steals from that era. It's just plain Funkier !!
You may as well admit that you are too young trabuquera and stick to easy listening stuff

[Dwight Trible is cool !! Just thought I would mention the fact!!]

 

[BadlyDrawnGirl]

Is there any good modern soul music out there at the moment - anything without any of that shouty rapping nonsense?
And absolutely non of that vocal histriniocs shite that seems to dog so much music these days.

So who is todays equivelant of Sly and the Family Stone, or Isaac Hayes or the greats from the Tamla Motown stable?

I know I've asked this before or another thread but the only reply I got then was "Amp Fiddler" - which is distinctly under whelming ...

I think I know what you mean here. Old school soul was from the soul in a way that it rarely ever is now, and it made you feel its pain. It got its hands dirty, whereas now most of it is just too damn nice. I think Alicia Keys has some pleasing tunes, but pleasing isn't enough - and I find John Legend sickly and mind-numbing.

As a result, I remain on eternal hold for the dwindling releases of the few old masters that are still with us (Stevie Wonder; Al Green; Isley Brothers; Solomon Burke), although those still vertical who actually continue to make music are in a seemingly even smaller minority - hello Aretha...?

Of the 'new' breed, Mary J Blige seems closest to the spirit of the original soul IMO. Usher occasionally has his moments. And, though they're generally still at the stage of being dismissed as R'n'B cannon fodder, I reckon that Mario and Lemar might have much to offer in future.

 

[Dubversion]

every now and then i still hear an R&B / soul track that rocks. the Amerie single (if that counts as R&B) was a recent example. things like Beautiful by Pharrel and Snoop. jesus, some of my favourite ever singles are r&b tracks (NO Diggity etc) so it's not like i fight liking this stuff. but it seems to be mainly either syllable-mangling overwrought overvocalised nonsense or smug plodding nonsense.

 

[Clintons Cat]

Jaheim

 

[jodal]

D'Angelo is the best modern soul artist out there at the moment. Check out 'Devil's Pie' and of course 'Brown Sugar'.

I really like K-OS. His LP Joyful Rebellion is pretty damn cool and has energy by the bucket-load.

 

[May Kasahara]

Try Jamie Lidell's latest album, Multiply.

 

[Structaural]

ugh

all this kind of stuff - from Floetry to Alicia Keys to John Legend to etc etc etc, almost anything that passes for modern soul, is so fucking soulless. there's a smugness, a sense of being overly pleased with itself, that really galls. there's no sweat any more.

I get ya... but I'm enjoying quite a few tracks on the new album... whatever floats your particular boat...

I think Erykah Badu and Jill Scott are well worth a listen too. But you can't really beat the old stuff.

 

[Bomber]

Try Jamie Lidell's latest album, Multiply.

Agreed ! This is a good album although I still give Lewis Taylor the edge [the two go together in my view ] for contemporary white soul boys. Although I saw Lidell live at Manchesters recent Futuresonic event and the show was dissapointingly devoid of Soul despite his excellent vocal ability, plus some twat was on stage with him doing arty light effects which a three year old would have shown up !

 

[DaveCinzano]

I presume you like Jill Scott, Wolfie?

you beat me to it

 

[Boogie Boy]

There is some great material being produced, it is just a question of actually moving outside the mainstream and exploring what is available. If you pm me I will quite happily record some material for you, some of which I think you might like.


BB

 

[stavros]

Despite all the commercial stuff, some of the Neptunes stuff is quite soulful too.

Mainly on Kelis' early stuff. And they will always be the second best producers from Virginia, behind the legend that is Timbaland. His stuff with Tweet, Aaliyah, Genuwine and even Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River" is astoundingly good.

 

[trabuquera]

Modern soul and its dilemmas

All fantastic suggestions here. I guess I had the snark dial pushed way past 10, but seriously. A lot of the discussion here is about the dilemma of liking the virtues of classic 70s soul, but not liking rap, so a lot of the natural heirs of the soul artistes of today are, by definition, ruined for you if you can't stand rap. catch 22.

Myself I bow to NO ONE in my love of 60s/70s soul masters and mistresses, but I don't have a problem with contemporary stuff either. I love all of it - even that shouty rappy stuff. But I have to say I also see the point about not liking some of the nusoul stuff either because it's too slick, too glib, too commercial, or too pastiche. (And if they need to pastiche, it shows you just how top the older artists really were, no?)

and just for a final contradiction: I'd say Mary J Blige is, by far, both the most original and the most soulful of more contemporary artists. However - the horror! - she is officially titled the Queen of Hip Hop Soul ...

 

[BadlyDrawnGirl]

... she is officially titled the Queen of Hip Hop Soul ...

I don't get these 'tags'...all a load of pretentious bollocks.

MJB is a true star, though. What separates her from almost everyone else is that you can feel the passion (and the pain) in the words she sings...and IMO that's what made old school soul.

 

[Boogie Boy]

Myself I bow to NO ONE in my love of 60s/70s soul masters and mistresses, but I don't have a problem with contemporary stuff either. I love all of it - even that shouty rappy stuff. But I have to say I also see the point about not liking some of the nusoul stuff either because it's too slick, too glib, too commercial, or too pastiche. (And if they need to pastiche, it shows you just how top the older artists really were, no?)

and just for a final contradiction: I'd say Mary J Blige is, by far, both the most original and the most soulful of more contemporary artists. However - the horror! - she is officially titled the Queen of Hip Hop Soul ...

Although I agree with your general point, it has to be said that there are a number of 'neo-soul' artists who now reject this label - the most notable of which (and perhaps the most recent) being Jaguar Wright (however she then decided to cover 'Woman To Woman'....... ).There are some fantastic albums out there, and great artists such as Adriana Evans and Rahsaan Patterson, Frank McComb, Omar....I do get quite depressed with the constant references to Jill Scott and Erykah Badu, as good as they are they are not alone.

I also have a problem with Mary J Blige, incredibly over rated, but she hasn't done too bad for a session backing singer. Which just shows what a good producer and software can do.

BB

 

[mwgdrwg]

Although I agree with your general point, it has to be said that there are a number of 'neo-soul' artists who now reject this label - the most notable of which (and perhaps the most recent) being Jaguar Wright (however she then decided to cover 'Woman To Woman'....... ).There are some fantastic albums out there, and great artists such as Adriana Evans and Rahsaan Patterson, Frank McComb, Omar....I do get quite depressed with the constant references to Jill Scott and Erykah Badu, as good as they are they are not alone.

I also have a problem with Mary J Blige, incredibly over rated, but she hasn't done too bad for a session backing singer. Which just shows what a good producer and software can do.

BB

Over rated my arse.

 

[Boogie Boy]

Over rated my arse.

Okay I have changed my mind. Incredibly over rated - with perhaps two good albums under her belt - both of which notably relied on the work of the producers involved.

BB