SOUL INSTRUMENTALS - yes or no?
pickwick33
8,946 Posts
Booker T. & the MG's, King Curtis, most of Willie Mitchell's stuff, early Meters on Josie before they started singing more...we all know that soul instros at their best can set one hell of a mood, like you're in the Juke Joint From Heaven.But for every Bar-Kays or Booker T. & the MG's, there's always a Soulful Strings or a Paul Humphrey & the Cool-Aid Chemists who could bore the living shit out of you, sounding like elevator Muzak with a backbeat. And to be truthful, this tangent was inspired by the Monk Higgins thread over yonder, where several people rode for his arrangements and productions, but his OWN records were met with a collective 
/"good for what it is" response.So what's your take on instrumental soul (from a field dominated by strong vocalists)? Can you groove on it like you do with your jazz records, or do you need a vocalist to make it complete? Who are your most - and least - favorite? Where do you draw the line between a strong groove and background music?And are those Cecil Holmes Soulful Sounds rekkids worth getting? Discuss.
/"good for what it is" response.So what's your take on instrumental soul (from a field dominated by strong vocalists)? Can you groove on it like you do with your jazz records, or do you need a vocalist to make it complete? Who are your most - and least - favorite? Where do you draw the line between a strong groove and background music?And are those Cecil Holmes Soulful Sounds rekkids worth getting? Discuss.
Comments
Soul Instramental Album?
Not big on them. For the most part, they seem a bit unfulfilling.
Replacing a vox with flute or piano always feels a bit empty.
Without a vocalist, your flaws are magnified.
Not sure why certain bands who started off instrumental later switched to having vocals. Was it them falling off talent wise?
When DJing in the past, I have had many requests from Beckys asking for "music with more words", ...so maybe it was a catering to the audience thing? Im not entirely sure.
I also am learning that instrumental music has to be written as instrumental music. And it is tough.
damn, son... you sayin' you don't ride for this one neither?
btw drew, i need your sweet soul mix(es) again... lost em in the great ext HD collapse of 2008
Thinking of soul instrumentals, the first thing came to mind (outside of a harder funk context) was Young-Holt Soulful Strut. What's the story on that again? I seem to remember reading that they were credited with recording the song but didn't actually play on it?
True. It was actually the Brunswick Records house band, but Young-Holt Unlimited got the credit, since they were popular at the time and were more likely to get the sales under that name.
When you have a bad vocalist that just sucks the instrumental always does the song justice. Or when you have a song that is half bad vocals and half good instrumentation shit comes out even I guess.
Monk Higgins stuff, the only thing I've listened to he had a hand in is "Sheba" SDTK.
I haven't heard the Redd Holt, so I can't speak on it.
I'll hit you via PM with them in a bit.
Otherwise, I'd usually take the vocal version of a track that has one.
"Soulful Strut" was written and performed by Chicago's own Pieces of Peace, who were then known as the "JaLynne Sound."
IIRC, producer Carl Davis had them working sessions behind just about everybody who was on Brunswick at that time.
Never understood the appeal of the song "Cool Aid" with that calliope organ.
does Willie Mitchell = Soul and the Meters = Funk? Are you counting all of JB's Instrumentals "Jabo", "Soul Pride" "Popcorn" etc.. Does Eddy Senay or Donald Austin count as Soul? Do organ combos count ? What are the limitations ?
For this thread, I'm talkin' about both of 'em. Soul AND funk.
and Bill Doggett have 45's from around '66 - '68 that really
kick - on Chess and Roulette, respectively. Dogget's "Funky Whistler"
is a banger, and the organ-guitar-drums combo on Cortez's sides
is almost unbelievably rugged. Cortez of course also has the album
"The Isley Brothers Way" where the Brothers just had him record
over the top of the backing tracks of their hits for their T-Neck
label, and it works pretty damn well.
Not as common, but still not too hard to find is Art Butler on Epic,
"Soul Brother" - which is another hammond workout with a slick groove.
I guess I think of "soul instros" as organ/guitar combos, huh?
A really good Dave "Baby" Cortez track on Roulette that I like is "Count Down," which actually has female singers, but their contribution is fairly minimal - it still feels like an instrumental to me.
You know what's really good? Those Lionel Hampton sides where he's playing vibraphone over various Brunswick/Dakar backing tracks for the Chi-Lites, Tyrone Davis, etc.. Works a lot better than it has a right to.
Yeah, I wrote Chess but was probably more of his Roulette
stuff as well - "Hot Chocolate" b/w "Soul Groovin'" is fire!
Great thread, and glad that the mention of Brunswick allows me the chance to add this:
The Lost Generation "the Young, the Tough and the Terrible"
The highlight is the haunting muted funk/soul instrumental of 'This is the Lost Generation'.
A little off the subject, but I have been meaning to ask several q???s about this puzzling album for a while.
First off: Brunswick???s website and other stuff I???ve seen indicate this is from 1972. However, the reverse of the sleeve has 1970 printed at the bottom???.. strange?
Surely ???The Sly, the Slick and the Wicked??? was the 1970 release?
Second: the album has no sleeve notes, no mention of any group members??? names, nothing. Very odd. But they have time and space to include an ad for the Brunswick Record Club ($2 for a 1 year membership = bargain!). Similar Brunswick output for the time at least has some liner notes???. So was this LP put together in a hurry?
Third: The track ???This is the Lost Generation??? has a writing credit for AJ Tribble. Is that a nom de plume for Eugene Record or Carl Davis? There are other references to this AJ Tribble on the internet, but no pictures. And the first Star Trek to feature tribbles was only a few years earlier, in 67. Hmmm???..
Onto the music itself: I count five ???Northern??? type uptempo tracks in keeping with the times. Two ballads, including ???Thin Line Between Love and Hate???. One funky catnip track in ???Sure is Funky???. So far so unremarkable.
And then in a very different vein, the vocal and instrumental versions of ???This is the Lost Generation???, which seem totally at odds with the rest of the set. And the instrumental is not a reprise, it???s a full blown version just 2 seconds shorter. Does this also hint at a rushed release? Not enough tracks for the album?
Seems to me this was a strange move, but surely great news for later generations who pick up on this beauty. The track still sounds fresh and ahead of its time.
Further observations: the group included Lowrell (Simon), of ???Mellow Mellow Right On??? fame.
And bizarrely, relatives of the groups??? Simon brothers convene for a 2001 LP billed as ???the New Lost Generation???, which really deserves an entry in ???the name of the band??? thread.
Last question: why is it every copy of this album I have ever seen has been stone mint?
And as far as instro versions falling short of their vocal counterparts, there are exceptions, Truman Thomas "25 Miles" is a lot more powerful than Eddy Star's OG, the viscious organ swells=bad ass.
Willie Mitchell "My Babe" "The Champion"
Damn near everything recorded by Mickey and the Soul Generation
Louis Cachere "The Hen"
and on and on and.......
and as far as LPs:
Charlie and Inez Foxx'x Mockingbird Band LP=
Favourites
R Lewis - Collage
War - H20 Overture
Soul Train (Pt 1&2) - King Curtis
It's A Man's Man's Man's World - Billy Larkin and the Delegates
Nearly as powerful as the vocal version, but I doubt even a vocal cover can step to the original. What I love about Larkin's version, which I attribute to it being instrumental, is that gives air to the song's pensive and sadder side.
1) Some are good
2) Some are bad
Verdict?
What are you, running for president?
b/w
This song has been my cel-phone ring for a while now. I don't think I will ever tire of it.