I was a late fan of Motown and I say, for want of a
better all purpose description, a late fan of pop music made by African
Americans that would eventually morph into Soul music.
This was the case because my first exposure like many
was through radio and what was played was largely Motown of the 1960’s. The Motown sound was tinny, extremely narrow and
voice driven. Post Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin' On?”(The record that saved Motown IMO) this would grow somewhat into
an organic thing with all the different instrumentation and sound the studio
can offer which was Soul. What made earlier
Motown special and what I particularly liked about it aside from the talented
vocalists, was the songwriting which was full of clever metaphors, sugary
melodies, and middle 8’s that come out of nowhere….So different from the repetitive
sex driven R & B of today.
But one could not luxuriate in the music of
Motown. It was far too anxious and
jittery and thin for that. Like Punk
almost but without Punk’s greater social meaning.
The Philadelphia sound of the early 70’s on the other
hand was lush, full of strings, not rushed.
The singing wasn’t as frantic but full of the sad wisdom of the heartbroken
and the flip side – joyous celebration. The
songs were even more complex, the lyrics even less formulaic .
The Delfonics were the first Philadelphia sound band
to make it big but The O Jays, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes and others soon
eclipsed them.
My favorite band of this period was The
Stylistics. They had the best singers,
the best songs, the best production. And
there were a lot of very good producers and songwriters around the scene –
Gamble and Huff and Thom Bell to name two of the best and most successful.
There is a mature sadness in the Philly sound as if
Motown is the teenage experience and Philly for adults.
No comments:
Post a Comment