Sampling, or the cheap, despicable art of using other peoples' backing tracks to add a vocal chorus to (licensed or not), has been rife in rave clubs since the late '80s. But is there really place for it on the soul scene?
And my point is?......Well, in the early '70s we had fabricated soul records like "These Heartaches" by Dena Barnes (backing track of "Crying Over You" by Duke Browner) or "Baby You're The Fire" by the Del-Satins (backing track of "Double Cookin'" by the Checkerboard Squares). This year, two tracks to grace the scene have also exploited backing tracks from two very rare soul 45s. How many of you are aware that "Breakway" by Frank Popp has sampled "Those Lonely Nights" by the Soul Communicators on Fee, and that "This Time I'm Loving You" by Venicia Wilson samples "Hey Girl" by the Peter Hamilton Generation on Jamie (also covered up as "Downtown Generation" by Mike Post)??? Sure, they make pretty listenable sounds on a first hearing, but how far will this all go? I guess this can be viewed in exactly the same context as bootlegs - what would the BPI say about it all? Worse still, no one likes being taken for a mug, and the wool has already been pulled over enough pairs of eyes - it's about time the facts behind these "supersounds" floated to the surface.
I guess someome should start playing "The Rockefeller Skank" by Fatboy Slim: after all, he used "Sliced Tomatoes" by Just Brothers as a sampled track for it!!
Sampling, or the cheap, despicable art of using other peoples' backing tracks to add a vocal chorus to (licensed or not), has been rife in rave clubs since the late '80s. But is there really place for it on the soul scene?
And my point is?......Well, in the early '70s we had fabricated soul records like "These Heartaches" by Dena Barnes (backing track of "Crying Over You" by Duke Browner) or "Baby You're The Fire" by the Del-Satins (backing track of "Double Cookin'" by the Checkerboard Squares). This year, two tracks to grace the scene have also exploited backing tracks from two very rare soul 45s. How many of you are aware that "Breakway" by Frank Popp has sampled "Those Lonely Nights" by the Soul Communicators on Fee, and that "This Time I'm Loving You" by Venicia Wilson samples "Hey Girl" by the Peter Hamilton Generation on Jamie (also covered up as "Downtown Generation" by Mike Post)??? Sure, they make pretty listenable sounds on a first hearing, but how far will this all go? I guess this can be viewed in exactly the same context as bootlegs - what would the BPI say about it all? Worse still, no one likes being taken for a mug, and the wool has already been pulled over enough pairs of eyes - it's about time the facts behind these "supersounds" floated to the surface.
I guess someome should start playing "The Rockefeller Skank" by Fatboy Slim: after all, he used "Sliced Tomatoes" by Just Brothers as a sampled track for it!!
Gene Robertson