BBC 2 - Northern Soul at the Proms - Tv Broadcast Saturday Night

7 minutes ago, Chalky said:

We almost all recognise musical quality.  The orchestra was excellent as you would expect, they are world class musicians after all.  But the performance was cold and lacking everything we expect from the original.  As for flawed vocals you only had to listen to those on the proms.  They were distinctly average at best but I didn’t expect anything less. 

The vocals on display on the night @ the RAH were far better than any of the original artists could have produced at the event (as many are dead, whilst all the other's voices would have changed so much down the years that they wouldn't have been able to reproduce their own old performances anymore).

AN EXAMPLE OF THIS ... I brought Lou Ragland over to the UK to tour in 1990. One of the gigs he did was at the Old Trout (?) in Windsor. The crowd there wanted his old 60's / 70's songs but they also wanted his London 2 Step anthem "Makin Love". He sang over backing tapes but still managed to do a good job. Some guys approached me afterwards & said "Why was he miming to "Making Love" .. he wasn't I said ... but it sounded exactly like the record, vocally & instrumentally, whereas the other tracks didn't. That's coz he cut "Making Love" for his own label, so still had the original backing track available & he only recorded the song 5 years ago, so his vocal delivery are still the same. The other songs were to new backing tracks he'd made and his voice has changed over the 24 or so years since he originally cut the tracks.  They went away but I still don't think they believed me.

1 hour ago, Stephen Houghton said:

Then don't watch it doh

Didn't doh doh

1 minute ago, Wiganer1 said:

Didn't doh doh

So why are you bothering to comment if you didn't even watch the show ? How can you know what it was like if you didn't watch it ?

On 31/08/2023 at 00:28, Roburt said:

Two radio shows to listen to ... 

Listened to most of tonight's show & quite enjoyed it. What's the name of the NZ lady that's done a cover of "If This Is Love" ?

12 minutes ago, Roburt said:

The vocals on display on the night @ the RAH were far better than any of the original artists could have produced at the event (as many are dead, whilst all the other's voices would have changed so much down the years that they wouldn't have been able to reproduce their own old performances anymore).

AN EXAMPLE OF THIS ... I brought Lou Ragland over to the UK to tour in 1990. One of the gigs he did was at the Old Trout (?) in Windsor. The crowd there wanted his old 60's / 70's songs but they also wanted his London 2 Step anthem "Makin Love". He sang over backing tapes but still managed to do a good job. Some guys approached me afterwards & said "Why was he miming to "Making Love" .. he wasn't I said ... but it sounded exactly like the record, vocally & instrumentally, whereas the other tracks didn't. That's coz he cut "Making Love" for his own label, so still had the original backing track available & he only recorded the song 5 years ago, so his vocal delivery are still the same. The other songs were to new backing tracks he'd made and his voice has changed over the 24 or so years since he originally cut the tracks.  They went away but I still don't think they believed me.

I’ve seen plenty over the years who could still deliver vocally, I’ve seen some who can’t as well, Martha Reeves for one. 

10 minutes ago, Leicester Boy said:

I'm sure opera and country and western have musical quality.... Does that mean I can't be disappointed by listening to it, even if a select number of people who know their onions happen to like it. I stick with my original opinion thanks.

 

Country as they call it nowadays, is music for the masses as tens of millions Americans listen to it daily; it is plain, simple music but lacks soul to these soulful ears, explaining why I have about six records in the collections by Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. These listeners are easily pleased by a guitarist moaning about a dog, truck, lack of money or a woman who left him! Country listeners are very easily pleased. I’ll leave it to the opera buffs to comment on the quality as I generally find it unwise to pontificate on topics I know nothing about...

3 minutes ago, Chalky said:

I’ve seen plenty over the years who could still deliver vocally, I’ve seen some who can’t as well, Martha Reeves for one. 

But Martha’s music is definitely out of the top Motown drawer...this suggests the vocalists don’t need to have perfect pitch to deliver a decent performance. Part of the Northern experience is enjoying the tunes warts ‘n all, learning to live with little imperfections, not expecting perfect Mello Souls every 2 minute 20 seconds. And to please us, the music must be good, very good or excellent, otherwise we tend not to bother with it

16 minutes ago, Frankie Crocker said:

Country as they call it nowadays, is music for the masses as tens of millions Americans listen to it daily; it is plain, simple music but lacks soul to these soulful ears, explaining why I have about six records in the collections by Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. These listeners are easily pleased by a guitarist moaning about a dog, truck, lack of money or a woman who left him! Country listeners are very easily pleased. I’ll leave it to the opera buffs to comment on the quality as I generally find it unwise to pontificate on topics I know nothing about...

Well you seem to be pontificating about country music.  The country you describe is not the country music I listened to when my dad was alive.  He was as much into country then as I am into soul music.  There is an awful lot of soulful country music out there.

18 minutes ago, Frankie Crocker said:

But Martha’s music is definitely out of the top Motown drawer...this suggests the vocalists don’t need to have perfect pitch to deliver a decent performance. Part of the Northern experience is enjoying the tunes warts ‘n all, learning to live with little imperfections, not expecting perfect Mello Souls every 2 minute 20 seconds. And to please us, the music must be good, very good or excellent, otherwise we tend not to bother with it

Martha rarely been good singer IMO. 
 

Topic turning into a if buts and maybes.  Who knows what the original artists would be like? I’ve seen videos recently of Judy Street and she was crap.  But this is about the performance on the night of the artists chosen.  Some were trying to hard to sound black IMO.  By and large though IMO they were all very average and not remotely soulful, mind you half the tracks were pop anyway. 

3 minutes ago, Chalky said:

Well you seem to be pontificating about country music.  The country you describe is not the country music I listened to when my dad was alive.  He was as much into country then as I am into soul music.  There is an awful lot of soulful country music out there.

 

No, just commenting anecdotally... Having been to The States over 80 times, I’ve heard a LOT of Country music. I’m flying there on Monday for three weeks so I’ll hear a whole load more... C&W has morphed into something more contemporary eg Dixie Chicks. Yes there’s a huge amount of Country out there as anyone with a guitar can strum along to a home-made riff - it’s TikTok stuff for radio stations for the most part or line-dancing on Friday Nights, now understandably out of fashion.

Country music in the States is HUGE. When I was in Nashville finding next to no soul records, I decided to check out Record Row, the strip of recording companies and studios. It was a Sunday so I parked in the Sales-Person of The Month’s space - their name was Sandy Neas, made me laugh. When you drive for fun, or for a living, you learn stuff along the way that clocks up as experience though it may not be expertise.

Come on mush, we are all into the same music, they were big enough to learn it and sing it to there best, cut them some slack, ffs, all you knockers, you think you can do better, get in touch with the BBC and step up, any takers? I doubt it!!!

1 hour ago, Mush said:

Come on mush, we are all into the same music, they were big enough to learn it and sing it to there best, cut them some slack, ffs, all you knockers, you think you can do better, get in touch with the BBC and step up, any takers? I doubt it!!!

Well said Colin. To do what they did without the original sheet music defies belief. The orchestra and singers were totally on-sync throughout reflecting dozens and dozens of rehearsals. To have the vocalists rotating from backing-singers to lead was exceptionally impressive - in other words, any if the singers could have performed any of the tracks, pretty smart in my books. Sometimes I wonder why folk on a Northern Soul appreciation website don’t appreciate what’s served up to them...

Frankie, you summed it up perfectly mush, enough said

8 hours ago, Frankie Crocker said:

Well said Colin. To do what they did without the original sheet music defies belief. The orchestra and singers were totally on-sync throughout reflecting dozens and dozens of rehearsals. To have the vocalists rotating from backing-singers to lead was exceptionally impressive - in other words, any if the singers could have performed any of the tracks, pretty smart in my books. Sometimes I wonder why folk on a Northern Soul appreciation website don’t appreciate what’s served up to them...

Why does it bother you if people have a different opinion. Have you ever considered the reason we don't appreciate the proms is because we do appreciate ns. My last comment ,getting bored with people who can't cope with different views on a forum.

What tune would have complemented NS & Motown I wondered.

given the brilliant orchestra would they, could they emulate a chosen instrumental

my choice of wondering if they could,

Jnr Walker, Walk in the night,

would have been great for me to hear them play it. One of many of the brilliant Jnr Walker & The Allstars, who I was privileged to see

.https://m.youtube.com/watch?

13 hours ago, Frankie Crocker said:

Well said Colin. To do what they did without the original sheet music defies belief. The orchestra and singers were totally on-sync throughout reflecting dozens and dozens of rehearsals. To have the vocalists rotating from backing-singers to lead was exceptionally impressive - in other words, any if the singers could have performed any of the tracks, pretty smart in my books. Sometimes I wonder why folk on a Northern Soul appreciation website don’t appreciate what’s served up to them...

It’s not northern soul but an interpretation of northern soul tracks. They were nothing like the original. As I said, whilst excellent musician ship from the orchestra it was cold, soul less, lacking all the drive, enthusiasm and emotion of the originals.  Much of “our” music isn’t meant for an orchestra.
 

I’m on a forum that appreciates and celebrates northern soul, not imitation, and vocally it was a poor imitation and neither you nor anyone else will convince me any differently. 

ok looking at last 24/48 hours think it's fair to say that this topic is on its last legs

a lot of repeated points, views, arguments etc etc

if nothing new, discussion wise shows up, will be looking at closing the topic shortly

just so ya aware

I watched a movie a few weeks ago that a lot of people really enjoyed but I hated it.

The soundtrack was too polished, 

No emotion was shown in the performance of the actors.

The cinema audience was really annoying, they didn't make any noise but most were wearing I LOVE THIS MOVIE on their T shirts, how crap is that.

I think I'll watch it again this afternoon and hopefully I'll hate it even more.

5 hours ago, Jessie Pinkman said:

I watched a movie a few weeks ago that a lot of people really enjoyed but I hated it.

The soundtrack was too polished, 

No emotion was shown in the performance of the actors.

The cinema audience was really annoying, they didn't make any noise but most were wearing I LOVE THIS MOVIE on their T shirts, how crap is that.

I think I'll watch it again this afternoon and hopefully I'll hate it even more.

8 hours ago, Mike said:

ok looking at last 24/48 hours think it's fair to say that this topic is on its last legs

a lot of repeated points, views, arguments etc etc

if nothing new, discussion wise shows up, will be looking at closing the topic shortly

just so ya aware

Hey Mike....

why don’t you close the thread and set up a voting system....

all those for....yay

all those against....nay