BCB 100 - Al Green

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Matt Wilson
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Postby Matt Wilson » 14 Jul 2006, 15:41

soul-a-skope wrote:
Matt Wilson wrote:
soul-a-skope wrote: if you're not happy with the concept of the philadelphia soul sound, then i understand.


:lol:
He's certainly on a roll, isn't he?


still judging artisitic merit on chart positions and hit records :wink:


Still getting no one to agree with you? :wink:

And in the case of soul--the vast majority of great soul singers had US hits.
Surely even to you this should be no secret.

Bungo the Mungo

Postby Bungo the Mungo » 14 Jul 2006, 15:48

Matt Wilson wrote:
soul-a-skope wrote:
Matt Wilson wrote:
soul-a-skope wrote: if you're not happy with the concept of the philadelphia soul sound, then i understand.


:lol:
He's certainly on a roll, isn't he?


still judging artisitic merit on chart positions and hit records :wink:


Still getting no one to agree with you? :wink:

And in the case of soul--the vast majority of great soul singers had US hits.
Surely even to you this should be no secret.


you think that by stating my opinion i'm looking for back up?

i couldn't give a monkeys about where or if records were hits. obviously you do.

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Matt Wilson
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Postby Matt Wilson » 14 Jul 2006, 15:54

soul-a-skope wrote:i couldn't give a monkeys about where or if records were hits. obviously you do.


Soul music is a singles medium though. To say you don't care for the hits is ridiculous. Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Smokey Robinson, Curtis Mayfield, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, etc.--all had hits.

To state that Green had a certain amount of hits (most all of them great by the way) isn't dumbing down the conversation but stating the obvious for a philistine such as yourself.

Who gives a damn whether you like Al Green anyway? It isn't as if he needs your validation to be in Cooperstown.

Bungo the Mungo

Postby Bungo the Mungo » 14 Jul 2006, 15:58

Matt Wilson wrote:Soul music is a singles medium though. To say you don't care for the hits is ridiculous. Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Smokey Robinson, Curtis Mayfield, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, etc.--all had hits.

To state that Green had a certain amount of hits (most all of them great by the way) isn't dumbing down the conversation but stating the obvious for a philistine such as yourself.

Who gives a damn whether you like Al Green anyway? It isn't as if he needs your validation to be in Cooperstown.


what the hell are you on!

no i don't give a monkeys about chart positions or hit records!

i'm just giving an opinion on al green. if you don't like it, it's fine by me, no need to take offence that i don't share your taste in music.

you wanna call me a philistine, so be it. says more about you than me :D

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Matt Wilson
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Postby Matt Wilson » 14 Jul 2006, 16:06

soul-a-skope wrote: what the hell are you on!

A chair at the moment.

no i don't give a monkeys about chart positions or hit records!

Ooo, you are sooo cool not to care about singles.

i'm just giving an opinion on al green. if you don't like it, it's fine by me, no need to take offence that i don't share your taste in music.

You don't offend me "soul" a-scope, if you're gonna spend three pages arguing with people about Al Green then don't get your knickers in a twist when someone gives it back to you.

you wanna call me a philistine, so be it. says more about you than me :D


Uh, Okay then...

Bungo the Mungo

Postby Bungo the Mungo » 14 Jul 2006, 16:22

[quote="Matt Wilson"][/quote]

it's cool not to care about hit records? news, to me :shock:

we're debating al green. i gave my opinion. i answered some posts on the subject. if that equates to "getting my knickers in a twist" then so be it!

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nathan
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Postby nathan » 14 Jul 2006, 16:55

Well I must say that I always see far more Al Green records posted in now playing than Solomon Burke and quite frankly, that worries me.

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Owen
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Postby Owen » 14 Jul 2006, 17:46

soul-a-skope wrote:
Matt Wilson wrote:
grimble gromble wrote: a non-soul fan reunion!


You must be the first graduate of the T Berry school of soul.


well t-berry is the man (like i didn't already know it)!

seriously though, al green? style over substance, surely?


It's as much about the drumming as the voice as great as that is. I've never quite warmed to him in interviews and there is a little something missing from the whole package but he's still excellent

i like some of the weirder covers as well. the albums are worth investigating

album - call me
Song - jesus is waiting

The Modernist

Postby The Modernist » 14 Jul 2006, 18:03

Beautiful voice, but his stuff can lapse into formula -it's no better than a lot other stuff in the same genre really.

Best track : Tired Of Being Alone.

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Guy E
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Postby Guy E » 14 Jul 2006, 18:46

soul-a-skope wrote:
Guy E wrote:
soul-a-skope wrote:
Davey The Fat Boy wrote:Just for interest sake - can you elaborate? In which area does Green lack substance for you?


the style, his voice, is fantastic. by substance i mean the material. i'm not a fan of smooth 70's soul, or the phillie sound in general.

Phillie, Memphis... what's a 1000 miles between friends? :roll:


well, you'll note i said sound, not location!

if you're not happy with the concept of the philadelphia soul sound, then i understand.


Are you saying that to your ears Willie Mitchell's productions in Memphis have the same impact and character as Gamble & Huff's in Philadelphia; that it's all a pile of generic-sounding smooooooth 70's soul?

I think you should schedule a check-up at the Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat clinic, my friend.

Bungo the Mungo

Postby Bungo the Mungo » 14 Jul 2006, 18:57

Guy E wrote:
soul-a-skope wrote:
Guy E wrote:
soul-a-skope wrote:
Davey The Fat Boy wrote:Just for interest sake - can you elaborate? In which area does Green lack substance for you?


the style, his voice, is fantastic. by substance i mean the material. i'm not a fan of smooth 70's soul, or the phillie sound in general.

Phillie, Memphis... what's a 1000 miles between friends? :roll:


well, you'll note i said sound, not location!

if you're not happy with the concept of the philadelphia soul sound, then i understand.


Are you saying that to your ears Willie Mitchell's productions in Memphis have the same impact and character as Gamble & Huff's in Philadelphia; that it's all a pile of generic-sounding smooooooth 70's soul?

I think you should schedule a check-up at the Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat clinic, my friend.


almost. i'm saying that in my opinion there's a significant element/influence of the philadelphia soul sound in al green's records.

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Guy E
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Postby Guy E » 14 Jul 2006, 23:31

soul-a-skope wrote:
Guy E wrote:
soul-a-skope wrote:
Guy E wrote:
soul-a-skope wrote:
Davey The Fat Boy wrote:Just for interest sake - can you elaborate? In which area does Green lack substance for you?


the style, his voice, is fantastic. by substance i mean the material. i'm not a fan of smooth 70's soul, or the phillie sound in general.

Phillie, Memphis... what's a 1000 miles between friends? :roll:


well, you'll note i said sound, not location!

if you're not happy with the concept of the philadelphia soul sound, then i understand.


Are you saying that to your ears Willie Mitchell's productions in Memphis have the same impact and character as Gamble & Huff's in Philadelphia; that it's all a pile of generic-sounding smooooooth 70's soul?

I think you should schedule a check-up at the Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat clinic, my friend.


almost. i'm saying that in my opinion there's a significant element/influence of the philadelphia soul sound in al green's records.


Whenever discussions on this forum move away from the finer points of ROCK sub-genre minutae the generalizations get disappointingly broadstroke.

Willie Mitchell's productions on HI and Gamble & Huff's on PI both hit stride (read: hit the top of the charts) in 1972. That was the year G&H had hits with Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes, Billy Paul, The O'Jays and that Al Green released Let's Stay Together AND I'm Still in Love With You (Willie Mitchell had less luck with Ann Peebles, Otis Clay, O.V. Wright and the rest of his stable). The artists and producers on both labels had fairly long histories by that date and frankly, it's hard to say who was influencing who. Would PI have found their groove without the example of Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye (and his Motown brethren), Atlantic Records, et. al.? Would Memphis have been a hotbed of recording activity if STAX hadn't made dreams come true in that city throughout the 1960's? They were both producing National and International hits so they certainly heard the work of the competition, but to my ears that spurred each label to define what was uniquely its own, not to absorb the other's vision.

The sound of Al Green and Billy Paul is miles apart; they only sound "similar" if viewed at a glance from a great distance. I view music that I don't like from such a distance... Heavy Metal f'rinstance. This has convinced me that all music in that genre is cut from the same scrap of smelly cloth. Non-fans jump at the chance to say the same about any number of stylistic genres/periods; all rockabilly sounds alike, all post-punk sounds alike, all 70's soul sounds alike, etc.

Bungo the Mungo

Postby Bungo the Mungo » 14 Jul 2006, 23:40

soul-a-skope wrote:
Matt Wilson wrote:


it's cool not to care about hit records? news, to me :shock:

we're debating al green. i gave my opinion. i answered some posts on the subject. if that equates to "getting my knickers in a twist" then so be it!


*Wilson looks up 'getting my knickers in a twist' in 'Rolling Stone Guide To Rock'*

Bungo the Mungo

Postby Bungo the Mungo » 14 Jul 2006, 23:57

Guy E wrote:
soul-a-skope wrote:
Guy E wrote:
soul-a-skope wrote:
Guy E wrote:
soul-a-skope wrote:
Davey The Fat Boy wrote:Just for interest sake - can you elaborate? In which area does Green lack substance for you?


the style, his voice, is fantastic. by substance i mean the material. i'm not a fan of smooth 70's soul, or the phillie sound in general.

Phillie, Memphis... what's a 1000 miles between friends? :roll:


well, you'll note i said sound, not location!

if you're not happy with the concept of the philadelphia soul sound, then i understand.


Are you saying that to your ears Willie Mitchell's productions in Memphis have the same impact and character as Gamble & Huff's in Philadelphia; that it's all a pile of generic-sounding smooooooth 70's soul?

I think you should schedule a check-up at the Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat clinic, my friend.


almost. i'm saying that in my opinion there's a significant element/influence of the philadelphia soul sound in al green's records.


Whenever discussions on this forum move away from the finer points of ROCK sub-genre minutae the generalizations get disappointingly broadstroke.

Willie Mitchell's productions on HI and Gamble & Huff's on PI both hit stride (read: hit the top of the charts) in 1972. That was the year G&H had hits with Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes, Billy Paul, The O'Jays and that Al Green released Let's Stay Together AND I'm Still in Love With You (Willie Mitchell had less luck with Ann Peebles, Otis Clay, O.V. Wright and the rest of his stable). The artists and producers on both labels had fairly long histories by that date and frankly, it's hard to say who was influencing who. Would PI have found their groove without the example of Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye (and his Motown brethren), Atlantic Records, et. al.? Would Memphis have been a hotbed of recording activity if STAX hadn't made dreams come true in that city throughout the 1960's? They were both producing National and International hits so they certainly heard the work of the competition, but to my ears that spurred each label to define what was uniquely its own, not to absorb the other's vision.

The sound of Al Green and Billy Paul is miles apart; they only sound "similar" if viewed at a glance from a great distance. I view music that I don't like from such a distance... Heavy Metal f'rinstance. This has convinced me that all music in that genre is cut from the same scrap of smelly cloth. Non-fans jump at the chance to say the same about any number of stylistic genres/periods; all rockabilly sounds alike, all post-punk sounds alike, all 70's soul sounds alike, etc.


some interesting ideas and thoughts there.

so, anyway, what do you like about al green?


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