WELL HERE WE ARE ON SOULSOURCE READING THE FORUMS AND LOOKING AT ALL THINGS SOULFUL BUT HAVE YOU EVER ASKED YOURSELF WHAT IS SOUL?
The collins english dictionary defines SOUL as:
Spiritual and immortal part of human beings
Deep and sincere feelings
Black music combining gospel,blues and pop
Soulful-full of emotion
In a musical context the above references just about covers the aspects of why we regard certain records we all love as SOUL.
I personally would not regard blues as SOUL but would regard some gospel and the odd r&b record as being SOULFUL.
Back in the days of the Torch,Mecca/Casino etc i do not believe that many of the people(myself included) who frequented these establishments were particularly bothered wether the records we were dancing to at the time were SOUL. The only thing that mattered in those days was if it had a great dance beat and paid little attention to the lyrics or the lack of them. After all many of the tunes being played were not mass released and artists were unheard of. I am sure many of the dj's back in the day will disagree with that opinion but there was some real dross played at the time which masqueraded as Northern Soul ie, Rat Race.
Today there seems to be the divide between Northern Soulies(those who love to dance and listen to the old classics) and the modern/crossover/70s crowd who dance and listen to something a little different. Who are the ones who regard themselves as being lovers and followers of SOUL music?. Hopefully both will, but to do so must surely embrace aspects of both divisions.
I was speaking with Tommy Hunt the other week and asked him what he felt was SOUL to which he replied - SOUL is about life and love the pain and passion and when put into music is sang from the heart with your deepest feeling.
That just about sums it up for me when i first got bitten by this music called SOUL.
Would be nice to hear of some other opinions on this but please from your own perspective.
WELL HERE WE ARE ON SOULSOURCE READING THE FORUMS AND LOOKING AT ALL THINGS SOULFUL BUT HAVE YOU EVER ASKED YOURSELF WHAT IS SOUL?
The collins english dictionary defines SOUL as:
Spiritual and immortal part of human beings
Deep and sincere feelings
Black music combining gospel,blues and pop
Soulful-full of emotion
In a musical context the above references just about covers the aspects of why we regard certain records we all love as SOUL.
I personally would not regard blues as SOUL but would regard some gospel and the odd r&b record as being SOULFUL.
Back in the days of the Torch,Mecca/Casino etc i do not believe that many of the people(myself included) who frequented these establishments were particularly bothered wether the records we were dancing to at the time were SOUL. The only thing that mattered in those days was if it had a great dance beat and paid little attention to the lyrics or the lack of them. After all many of the tunes being played were not mass released and artists were unheard of. I am sure many of the dj's back in the day will disagree with that opinion but there was some real dross played at the time which masqueraded as Northern Soul ie, Rat Race.
Today there seems to be the divide between Northern Soulies(those who love to dance and listen to the old classics) and the modern/crossover/70s crowd who dance and listen to something a little different. Who are the ones who regard themselves as being lovers and followers of SOUL music?. Hopefully both will, but to do so must surely embrace aspects of both divisions.
I was speaking with Tommy Hunt the other week and asked him what he felt was SOUL to which he replied - SOUL is about life and love the pain and passion and when put into music is sang from the heart with your deepest feeling.
That just about sums it up for me when i first got bitten by this music called SOUL.
Would be nice to hear of some other opinions on this but please from your own perspective.
ROY