Leon Sylvers III Appreciation Thread
willie_fugal
1,862 Posts
That Whispers video thread was reminding me of Leon Sylvers III' place in the very highest and smallest echelon of producers. so many hits, so many sleeper bombs. his later tracks managed to be both glossy but full of depth, and his earlier tracks combine expertise of production and crafting of melody with the excitement of youth---he was 19 when Sylvers 1 dropped!
check dude out at 3:24 (and sister Olympia just before that):
add your favorite LS3 productions...
check dude out at 3:24 (and sister Olympia just before that):
add your favorite LS3 productions...
Comments
b/w
no songs/youtubes, but yeah, i missed this at the time: http://www.soulstrut.com/index.php/forums/viewthread/66695/
is it fair to simplify LS3's modern soul-era productions as Chic-Meets-Jacko?
I think Leon's sound had more of a "Southern/Midwestern" hump underneath his Slick (Sound of LA)sound compared to Nile Rogers and them's ultra-smooth New York Disco sound.
The Jacksons Post-Philly Soul/ MJ Quincy sound is a bit different. Less Keyboard noodling.
There is some overlap. Check Janet's first album, which is half Foster/Charmaine - half Rene & Angela which has Off The Wall overtones.
But Leon was doin it before MJ went 'solo' in '79.
HIGH HOPES
GROOVIN (THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING)
GOOD & PLENTY
Sooooo good.
http://www.discogs.com/SOS-Band-SOS-III/release/1754381
Album was completely produced by L. Sylvers III but Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis have writing credits for "High Hopes". Probably this first cooperation led to them producing "On The Rise".
for sure.
I didnt know he sang lead on that or ever. Cool.
I really would like to see a Sylvers Box set w/ some essays from cats back then and younger critics that have discovered their music to reconfigure them in the Soul pantheon.
IIRC the one O-Dub stated that their earlir material had a more "mature" feel when comparin them to The Jackson 5.
Despite their clonage, their has to be some merit given to them for being a self-produced/contained unit, when the Jacksons didnt create their shit until they left Motown. And they still were being produced by Gamble and Huff up until Destiny/Epic.
We tend to highlight his Boogie grooves but dude has his Slow Jam/Mid-tempo shit.
I know I've said that before, myself, when I wrote the "Black Bubblegum" chapter in the compilation book Bubblegum Music Is The Naked Truth. I was arguing the point that there was nothing bubblegum about those early Sylvers albums on the Pride label. On the other hand, little bro Foster Sylvers was as bubblegummy as the night is long, and even then, the lyrics that Leon Sylvers III wrote for "Misdemeanor" were a lot more sophisticated than solo MJ around that same era. Hell, the very TITLE of "Misdemeanor" was slightly more mature than anything the J-5 did on their first six albums or so.
Maybe i misquoted - and u said that, but while u may be on point, werent a good handfull of the earlier J5 songs, covers of other grown men Motown artists? Even if those Motown songs were the sound of young America?
You just said it - they were covers of OTHER adults' cuts. The mature songs that the Sylvers recorded were all created in-house, thanks to Leon.
Great insight to his total dedication to production
One, there can be a certain lack of economy; lots of guitar shreds and keyboard noodles that, while not deal-breakingly long, are long enough to pull you out of the song a little, in a way that doesn't happen in more "named" productions. Dude's obviously a heavy, heavy musician, and I think sometimes that clouds his editing instinct.
Two, there often seems to be one musical element that gets handled if not poorly then distractingly: the swampy vocal mix in "Misdemeanor," the weirdly prominent clave in Shalamar's "Just Stopped By," etc. Again, sometimes I find those eccentricities compelling, but sometimes they grate.
And three, the biggie: Relatively few deeply memorable vocal perfomances. The talent is there, the lyrics are there (mostly), the concepts are there, and shit always just flat-out sounds good, but not many of the vocals have that undeniable crystalline quality that sticks with you like a decent Jacksons cut.
I'm a fan of personal, eccentric shit, and as such I'm a Sylvers fan, for sure. Their whole package works for me--it just does. But still. They are ninety percent as good as any of their peers, but the ten percent that's off is an important ten percent, you know? I'm not saying their frequent omission from a-list discussions is entirely right, "but I understand."
(p.s.: I hope that none of the above comes off as me trying to shit on folks' appreciation; I'm really enjoying the discussion in this thread. And that panel-show clip with the Whispers is great.)
Anyone heard/have this? Motown 1989 = Post Modern Soul?
After running thru some of the songs on Utube - its sounds like New Jack Swing-ish steez.
and of course:
amazing to see how all the family members (at least shown) were so quick to point to Leon as the source of all the success.
loved hearing that he didn't care for Boogie Fever.
- Leon
Ripped