In a message dated 8/29/00 6:47:23 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< As for 'Lonely Room', 'Harlem Shuffle'.... YIKES! >>
Actually, I'm almost positive that with "In My Lonely room", the Action took
a half realized Supremes B-side and turned into a soulful classic. Listen to
the way the band lays into that tune (the drumming alone), it makes the
Motown version sound thin and fleeting. Reg was a great soul singer-unless
you're so narrow minded as to only be able to understand soul in the context
of a black singer from either Detroit or Memphis. Of all the British singers
who were plowing through R&B at the time, Reg's voice was the one that stood
out for not jut mimicking American soul, but including enough homegrown
pathos to make it his own. I think that if you're only hearing British R&B in
the context (or in comparison) of the American originals, you're really
missing out on a lot. To me, the whole thing that's so amazing is that
there's no reason why any British R&B should have really worked. You're
talking about a whole style of music that existed purely as an appreciation
and a desire to emulate as another-and yet, they created valid music of their
own. There's a lot to be said for the desire to transcend your reality. And
then the British sent it back across the ocean and in every small town there
was some anglophile kid with a pile of Yardbirds LPs trying to get something
going in the garage. It's 3rd generation soul
Corin
___________________________________________________________
T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16
Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
