It’s been said, and rightly, that there’s no soul in the Playlist, so this is something I hope to change with this new section. Each time I’ll be reviewing two soul albums. They may be connected, they may be by the same artiste, or not. And I readily admit I know next to nothing about soul music, so bear with me and throw any corrections --- or recommendations --- my way that you think I might need.But when I personally think of soul, particularly male soul singers, two names leap instantly to mind:
Luther Vandross (1951-2005) was one of the leading voices in the world of soul music. He worked with such luminaries as Diana Ross, Chaka Khan and Donna Summer to name but a few, and over the course of his career won eight Grammy awards and sold over twenty-five million records. Between 1981 and 2003 he released thirteen albums, and was inducted posthumously into the Soul Music Hall of Fame in 2012.
Releasing his first single at the tender age of ten, George Benson has been at the forefront of jazz, soul and pop music for over fifty years now, releasing a total of thirty-six albums. I see he’s more inclined towards the jazz end of the spectrum rather than the soul, so perhaps not good news for me. Or perhaps it will be helpful, in my attempts to wrestle jazz to the floor and choke the … I mean, my endeavouring to endure, I mean enjoy the genre. Or not. With two more Grammys won than Luther, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Benson is certainly a hero of soul music.Now as I say I know little to nothing of either artiste, but I know enough to know that not only are or were they respected in their genre, they are or were giants within it. What I know of each is their singles, so whether I’m choosing representative albums of theirs here or not is purely chance; it’s a hit-or-miss affair, and there’s no real reason why I’ve chosen the recordings I have, but this is what I’ve decided to do.
Give me the reason --- Luther Vandross --- 1986 (Epic)
The album that gave Luther Vandross his first chart hit as well as four other hit singles, it’s the sixth in his discography and comes five years into his career. It also shows the artist standing on the brink of success, which would take him through the eighties and nineties and into the early twenty-first century before his untimely death from a heart attack following a stroke in 2005.
Album opener “Stop to love” is a funky, almost Princelike track with boppy synth and keys, rippling piano and some really slick bass. Vandross’s voice when it comes through a few moments later is initially low, but smooth as silk and when the keys kick in they’re almost AOR in style. It’s a very uptempo and happy opener with, rather surprisingly to me at any rate, a pretty sweet guitar solo. Nice little drumtrack as well as a stuttering guitar leads in “See me”, a slower piece rather nicely piano-led with some sprinkly keyboards and a really nice groove. Nice to see also that he wrote his own material, with two tracks penned solo by him while the rest, other than a cover version, are all co-written with others.
“I gave it up (When I fell in love)” rocks along nicely on a real striding rhythm, pads going off all over the place, a cool walking bass taking the melody and a real sense of fun in the lyric. Super little sax solo in there --- sadly no matter where I look I can’t get lineup details, so I can’t tell you who the horn player is. The first of the ballads comes with “So amazing”, and it is. If there’s one thing soul music performers do well it’s love songs, and this is no exception. Driven on sweet piano with some lovely backing vocals it’s a great vehicle for Luther’s voice, not surprisingly chosen as one of the five singles from the album. I’ve seen the movie “Rutheless people” --- though it was some time ago --- so I’m expecting to recognise the title track, as it was used in the soundtrack to that movie. I must say, it doesn’t ring any bells right away. Nice tight soul rocker, hopping along with purpose and yeah, I think I remember it now.
Much stronger vocal from Vandross on this, lots of punch in it with some nice jangly guitar too. Does wear on a little too long though, sort of wandering around with no idea how to end. Gregory Hines duets with him on the second ballad, the sweet “There’s nothing better than love”. I’d only say if you’re going to have a duet on a lovesong would you not be better to do so with a member of the opposite sex? Still, the two voices work well and complement each other, and there are some really pretty female backing vocals. Trumpeting keyboards and digital piano paint a nice backdrop to the song, which was of course also a single, as was the next one, “I really didn’t mean it”. Almost close to a very early House sound, it has big thrumming bass, popping percussion and some biting guitar, and I know this song. I never really liked it I have to say. An uptempo song after the ballad, but a little throwaway I feel.
There’s one more ballad, the longest track on the album in fact at over six minutes, and “Because it’s really love” doesn’t disappoint. Another fine love song with a smooth performance from Luther, and I’m not sure but it sounds like there’s an orchestra playing on this. Strings section, at least, unless someone is a very good synth player. The album ends on a cover, somewhat disappointingly, and he does a good version of the old Bacharach song “Anyone who had a heart”, but I would have preferred another original song, given that there are only nine tracks altogether on the album.
TRACKLISTING
1. Stop to love
2. See me
3. I gave it up (When I fell in love)
4. So amazing
5. Give me the reason
6. There’s nothing better than love
7. I really didn’t mean it
8. Because it’s really love
9. Anyone who had a heart
20/20 --- George Benson --- 1985 (Warner Bros)
Again, this album contains one song I know from Benson’s own repertoire, plus one or two others I may have a passing familiarity with. It’s his twenty-second overall, and comes smack bang in the middle of his soul chartmaking period, when he was one of the major names in the genre. Later it seems he gravitated more towards jazz music, so this is about the right time for me to sample one of his albums, given that this section is titled “Soul2Soul” and not “Jazz2Jazz”...
Fast funky opening with digital piano and the sort of drumbeat that reminds me of a-ha’s “Take on me” (sorry but it does!) as “No one emotion” gets us underway in fine style. Nice brass section --- I’m not mad about brass as you know, but it fits right in with soul music --- and a sort of strings effect keyboard presiding over everything. Benson’s voice is clear and precise, easy to see why he’s been one of the major voices of soul music for decades. Interestingly there’s quite a fretburning guitar solo, and as George is a guitarist himself I’m going to assume it’s him pulling it off. “Please don’t walk away” keeps things funky but slows the pace slightly, with some boppy piano and some nice solid keyboards. Some vocoder comes in right at the end, which is odd because it literally fades out as soon as it begins; like, why bother? Anyway that takes us into “I just wanna hang around you”, the first ballad, with my old friend digital piano holding court. It’s okay but a bit generic and a little empty of ideas too. Then we get the original of the song which was a major hit for Glenn Medeiros, “Nothing’s gonna change my love for you”, which is about as sugary a ballad as you can get, given that this is the eighties.
Benson does a decent job with it, but it should come with a dental warning, there’s so much sugar crammed into it, and I’ve never liked it. Right, so now I know who to blame! What a terrible song! If you wanted one song to characterise the eighties “wimp ballad”, this is it. Nice bit of guitar near the end, but it’s not going to make me like it, in fact, nothing’s gonna change my dislike of this song. Far better is the piano-driven “Beyond the sea (la mer)” which is I think an old song and very jazzy with some nice trumpet and horns. Benson’s voice suits this perfectly, making me wonder if I should check out some of his more recent jazz-oriented albums?
The title track I know, it having been one of the singles released from the album, and it’s an upbeat, sort of jazzy song bemoaning chances lost and decisions not taken. Nice jumping, bubbly keyboards run this song along uptempo lines with Benson really enjoying himself behind the mike and, likely, behind the guitar too. Warbly synth solo doesn’t in fairness add anything to it, and it’s an okay song but I wouldn’t go crazy over it. Some of that scat singing George is famous for takes us out and into “New day”, which is a nice ballad with gospel overtones, throwing in the old Zep line
“Really makes me wonder”, though I expect it’s just coincidence rather than any sort of tribute to Plant, Page and Co. Actually, Benson sounds very like Prince here, especially on the higher notes.
“Hold me” is a decent mid-pacer but nothing about it gets me excited, while “Stand up” is a jazz instrumental, so that definitely keeps my skirt well in place. It’s well executed and well played but as I’ve said before I basically find a lot of jazz quite boring, and this sounds more like that sort of music you hear in supermarkets really. Bit better when he throws in some scat singing over the music, but even so it’s way too long at over five minutes. The album comes to a close then on a much shorter track, and the better for it. “You are the love of my life” clocks in at a mere two and a half minutes, but with a duet performance from Roberta Flack it’s pretty close to the standout, right at the end. It’s just as long as it should be, doesn’t overstay its welcome and takes the final bow perfectly.
TRACKLISTING
1. No one emotion
2. Please don’t walk away
3. I just wanna hang around you
4. Nothing’s gonna change my love for you
5. Beyond the sea (La mer)
6. 20/20
7. New day
8. Hold me
9. Stand up
10. You are the love of my life
Soul is never really going to be my thing, I know that. I’ve never liked it that much and while I can certainly see the merits in the music and applaud its artistes for what they do, it’s all a bit too soft and sugary and laidback for me. Of course, this is I suppose what would or could be described as “smooth soul” perhaps; there are other types like the sort of music Sam Cooke and Ray Charles made, and no doubt many subdivisions within the genre. But smooth soul, such as this is, just doesn’t do a lot for me.
Of the two albums I listened to here, Luther Vandross’s effort impressed me far more than George Benson’s, though why this should be I don’t know. Neither are really albums I intend to listen to again, nor do I have any plans to check out further work by either artiste, and I wouldn’t turn the songs of either off if they came on the radio, but these are not albums I would spin for pleasure. However in a straight knockdown, for me, Benson v Vandross ends with a knockout for Luther, and it’s not even close.
Next time out I’ll be looking into two of the major ladies of soul. Till then, keep rock --- er, keep it smooth cats!
