Soul Blasphemy

[Optimal Saint]

What universally recognized classic, iconic, legendary song or artist do you just not care for?

Number one with a bullet for me is:

"Hey There Lonely Girl" by Eddie Holman

This song isn't on for more than a few seconds before I change the station. This is the only song of his I know, maybe I'd like his other songs more but I've never had any desire to find out

Funkadelic/Parliament

70s funk? Should be right in my wheelhouse. But for some reason they aren't. I like the big hits, Atomic Dog and Flashlight well enough but that's about all. I've listened to their albums, anthologies, live stuff outside of 2 or 3 songs they don't do it for me

I Want You - Marvin Gaye

Not the song. Love the title song. I mean the rest of the album. I've tried, oh, how I've tried. Marvin is one of my favorite artists and I've always hated how much I didn't like this album. I should, I want to. I've listened to the album dozens of times hoping that this time the light switch will go on and I'll fall in love with it. Hasn't happened yet. Maybe next time

Sitting on the Dock of Bay - Otis Redding

Another head scratcher. I've never liked this song. Even when I was a small boy, before I knew that classic soul would become my musical passion, before I knew what Stax was or who Otis Redding was I knew I didn't like this song. Even after discovering Soul, Stax and Otis I still don't like this song. It isn;t Lonely Girl bad, I can listen to it, but I don't enjoy it

I'm sure I have others but these are the ones that immediately come to mind

What are some of yours?

[sansradio]

This artist isn't from the same era [or even genre, for that matter], but Will Downing, full stop. And I appreciate smooth jazz for what it is. The man's work is a crashing bore. #sorrynotsorry

[woodward]

I listen to Sirius XM more often than not. Lately, I have noticed that they are making a concerted effort to play songs by James Brown. I was always familiar with Please, Please, Please by him but maybe only one or two others. I rarely hear one that I like. I guess that is because his attempt to get signed by Motown failed or I believe that he would have had many far greater and more recognized hits.

[daviddesper]

Obviously we could all spend as much if not more time on this thread than we do discussing our favorites. But like all of you, I definitely have some songs that fit this discussion.

Like Woodward, I am not a huge fan of James Brown. But perhaps I am somewhat influenced by the stories we have heard about his womanizing.

I also never really got the appeal of Sittin on the Dock of the Bay but that could be because it has just been played to death.

If there is a Motown song that just grates on my nerves [[and thankfully there are very few of those) it would be Papa Was a Rolling Stone. And [[don't crucify me here) as much as we all loved our Marvelettes, I find So Long Baby to be excruciating to listen to, but they were soooooo young then.

Those are my warm-ups.........now for the songs that I would gladly burn in the middle of Wrigley Field or wherever that was.......

Hey Jude [[any version but especially the Beatles original)
McArthur Park [[disliked Richard Harris' but can tolerate Donna Summer)
American Pie [[eight minutes of pure nonsense)
Lovin You by Minnie Riperton [[I dislike that so much that I refuse to give her a chance to impress me with any other song)

and the Granddaddy of them all...........that absolutely ghastly piece of trash by Blue Swede in which they ruined B J Thomas' perfectly fine Hooked on a Feeling. Every time I hear that mess, I wish they had their Ooga Chakas shoved up their...well you know where!

[Starguard4]

I am a huge fan of James Brown, especially the early 70s Sex Machine era thru to around early 1975.

But not, repeat not, a huge fan of Nina Simone - really is a total switch-off for me.

[lockhartgary]

I, too, am a James Brown fan but any later ballads by him I don't particularly care for. IMO, him signing with Motown would have not lasted long. I think he and Berry would have butted heads.

[carlo]

I'm on board with you guys...I feel the same about James Brown. I've also never been able to really get into Prince. I enjoy listening to his hits, but that's where it ends for me. I've bought a small handful of his albums over the years and just can't get into them. They're a bit too 'out there' for my taste. I still respect his artistry though.

[jsmith]

I love Eddie Holman's take on his big hit song. I also think lots of Will Downing tracks are top notch [[he was a pop chart hit artist in the UK and headlined shows here for years).
I have a blind spot for lots of sweet soul. I can take just about every Delfonics cut but can't listen to many Stylistics tracks [[the vocals being way too sickly sweet for me). Also any soul / funk track that has a rock style guitar middle break leaves me stone cold.

[Optimal Saint]

I listen to Sirius XM more often than not. Lately, I have noticed that they are making a concerted effort to play songs by James Brown. I was always familiar with Please, Please, Please by him but maybe only one or two others. I rarely hear one that I like. I guess that is because his attempt to get signed by Motown failed or I believe that he would have had many far greater and more recognized hits.

I have never heard that James Brown wanted to sign with Motown

I think that would have been an epic disaster, I can't see how it would have worked at all. If Berry found Marvin difficult to deal with I imagine James Brown would have been on a different level

[Optimal Saint]

Obviously we could all spend as much if not more time on this thread than we do discussing our favorites. But like all of you, I definitely have some songs that fit this discussion.

Like Woodward, I am not a huge fan of James Brown. But perhaps I am somewhat influenced by the stories we have heard about his womanizing.

I also never really got the appeal of Sittin on the Dock of the Bay but that could be because it has just been played to death.

If there is a Motown song that just grates on my nerves [[and thankfully there are very few of those) it would be Papa Was a Rolling Stone. And [[don't crucify me here) as much as we all loved our Marvelettes, I find So Long Baby to be excruciating to listen to, but they were soooooo young then.

Those are my warm-ups.........now for the songs that I would gladly burn in the middle of Wrigley Field or wherever that was.......

Hey Jude [[any version but especially the Beatles original)
McArthur Park [[disliked Richard Harris' but can tolerate Donna Summer)
American Pie [[eight minutes of pure nonsense)
Lovin You by Minnie Riperton [[I dislike that so much that I refuse to give her a chance to impress me with any other song)

and the Granddaddy of them all...........that absolutely ghastly piece of trash by Blue Swede in which they ruined B J Thomas' perfectly fine Hooked on a Feeling. Every time I hear that mess, I wish they had their Ooga Chakas shoved up their...well you know where!

Even the Tops version?



American Pie is one of those songs that when it comes on in the car I zone out and let my mind wander, after what feels like 20 minutes I zone back in and I'm like "this song is still on??!!"

[Optimal Saint]

I've tried to get into Nina Simone, other than Sinnerman and her version of Here Come the Sun I don't really like her catalog

[Boogiedown]

ya she's awful .... except of course to those who think she isn't ....

Esther Phillips another .... in small doses only.

[woodward]

I have never heard that James Brown wanted to sign with Motown

I think that would have been an epic disaster, I can't see how it would have worked at all. If Berry found Marvin difficult to deal with I imagine James Brown would have been on a different level

If you read Raynoma's excellent book, Berry Me and Motown, she relates the entire situation on pages 282 to 284. After much him hauling around, Berry in the end axed the deal. It was nearly completed but a friend of Suzanne DePasse who had dealt with James Brown had suggested to Berry that James Brown was a potential disaster.

[Motown Eddie]

and the Granddaddy of them all...........that absolutely ghastly piece of trash by Blue Swede in which they ruined B J Thomas' perfectly fine Hooked on a Feeling. Every time I hear that mess, I wish they had their Ooga Chakas shoved up their...well you know where!

Yeah; I can't stand Blue Swede's remake of 'Hooked On A Feeling' either. The Original Version of the song by B.J. Thomas is so much better.

[Motown Eddie]

As much as I love Marvin Gaye, I don't like the Here, My Dear album. While the record goes into detail about his divorce from his first wife Anna, IMHO the album is too long and the songs don't have any hooks.

[Stax_of_Motown]

Billy Paul - something about his voice I could never get on with. Hated "Me And Mrs. Jones", seemed to be in UK charts for months on end. Also "Let 'Em In" made worse continually having to listen to this in UK TV advert for Postcode Lottery.

Cannot understand though, dislike of "...Dock Of The Bay", whilst not my favourite Otis track, always loved its "laid back" feeling. Whilst great fan of Steve Cropper, love the unreleased / unfinished version with just the acoustic guitar.

[GrtGzu]

Gee I don't know... gotta go through my playlist and get back to you on this, but pretty sure I can pick something out...

Seems like the older I get, the less I can tolerate listening to anymore..

[Optimal Saint]

As much as I love Marvin Gaye, I don't like the Here, My Dear album. While the record goes into detail about his divorce from his first wife Anna, IMHO the album is too long and the songs don't have any hooks.

I get that it's not for everyone and definitely an outlier in his catalog but catch me on the right day I might say Here My Dear is my favorite album of his [[also think In Our Lifetime is very underrated)

He made the album he wanted to make, I have no doubt that he could have made thematically same album, maybe even the same frameworks of each song but make it in a much more commercial way if he wanted to

[Optimal Saint]

Billy Paul - something about his voice I could never get on with. Hated "Me And Mrs. Jones", seemed to be in UK charts for months on end. Also "Let 'Em In" made worse continually having to listen to this in UK TV advert for Postcode Lottery.

Cannot understand though, dislike of "...Dock Of The Bay", whilst not my favourite Otis track, always loved its "laid back" feeling. Whilst great fan of Steve Cropper, love the unreleased / unfinished version with just the acoustic guitar.

I don't understand it either

There's no reason why I shouldn't like it, I just don't

[Motown Eddie]

Here's a song that I've never liked; Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called To Say I Love You". While I'm a Massive fan of Stevie's work [and of course 'IJCTSILY' topped the charts back in 1984 remaining one of his best loved hits to this day], that song is just too lightweight for me.

[Spreadinglove21]

Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder. Especially when he goes for those high notes as I find his voice grating. In fact that's the case for a number of Stevie Wonder songs for me. He's a great talent but not much to my taste though I like a few of his songs and vocals.

[Boogiedown]

best heard in measured doses:

Curtis Mayfield
James Brown
Isaac Hayes
Jerry Butler [not sure why that is]
Sammy Davis Jr [and in the same vein Frank Sinatra ]
Peabo Bryson
Millie Jackson
Betty Wright

Added: Billy Paul

[jsmith]

SOUL GENIUSES .... Curtis Mayfield, Jerry Butler, Millie Jackson & Betty Wright.
. . . . . FACT.

[jboy88]

Donna Summer
Betty Davis
Janis Joplin

[Boogiedown]

not arguing over anybody's OPINION of who's a "genius" or not or anybody's opinion of who they ought or not listen to ... .... to clarify: I'm just talking about voices here ...or rather my limits to listening to them... .... listen to Betty Wright non-stop all day if that's your thing....I can't ... a couple of songs and I'm done

I bought CLEAN UP WOMAN on 45 when it was originally out btw .....her fake live album too.

Just thought of another one: Natalie Cole
if I can get through even one of her songs I'm doing good.

[motony]

as a big fan & fellow Floridian of Betty Wright, I HATED that fake LIVE LP.Henry Stone, although a great record man, he was a cheapskate & probably didn;t want to spend the money to do a real LIVE LP, equipment, ect.

[jsmith]

Have to agree with the post above.
Many idolise Janis Joplin tracks. TO ME, she just murdered [[in a very BAD way) loads of great soul songs.
Why Joplin fans don't listen the the 'far superior' original versions I have no idea.

[jsmith]

Jumping to the other extreme ... the work of a genius AND a fantastic vocal / instrumental performance ...



A track that doesn't deserve airtime [[IMHO) ...

[jboy88]

I bought a Billy Paul CD in my late teens and was not impressed! Which was disappointing because I love the Philly soul sound. However, he grew on me and now he’s one of my favorites. Funkadelic is also very much an acquired taste. But I agree about Millie Jackson. She has some great songs but can’t get into her.

[Boogiedown]

I also love the Philly sound yet MFSB's own LPs bore me to tears .... go figure ...

[copley]

Well here goes. Can't stand any of the following

James Brown
Anything Philly
Barry White
Phyliss Hyman
Luther Vandross
Jacksons/Michael/Janet

As Sly Stone said 'different strokes for different folks'.

[daviddesper]

Can't stand Phyllis Hyman????????????????? Off with his head!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jboy88]

Can't stand Phyllis Hyman????????????????? Off with his head!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s why the thread is called blasphemy! It’s what you say when you see an artist you love listed on the post

[copley]

It never bothers me if some one dislikes something I like. I just respect their opinion and move on. It would be a very dull world if we all liked the same thing.

[robb_k]

I just didn't like the changeover from Soul to Funk Music, and funkier Soul even for sweet mellow singers. James Brown changing from "Try Me" to "I Got Ants in My Pants". The Parliaments changing to Parliament Thang [[and whatever else they called themselves) - "Talking About My Girl" to whatever those funk songs were titled[[I can't remember even one title - but I HATED them all!), The Temptations from "My Girl" to "Ball of Confusion", etc.

It was just like my reaction in 1953-54, with The Robins singing such beautiful ballads on one side, and a horrible melodyless novelty song on the flip. Sometimes even The Checkers, Dominoes, Five Jets and other R&B groups did the same thing. I like sweet, beautiful melodic singing and sweet melodic instrumentals, regardless of the tempo. I like ALL beats, its the melody that I care about.

[lockhartgary]

I just didn't like the changeover from Soul to Funk Music, and funkier Soul even for sweet mellow singers. James Brown changing from "Try Me" to "I Got Ants in My Pants". The Parliaments changing to Parliament Thang [[and whatever else they called themselves) - "Talking About My Girl" to whatever those funk songs were titled[[I can't remember even one title - but I HATED them all!), The Temptations from "My Girl" to "Ball of Confusion", etc.

It was just like my reaction in 1953-54, with The Robins singing such beautiful ballads on one side, and a horrible melodyless novelty song on the flip. Sometimes even The Checkers, Dominoes, Five Jets and other R&B groups did the same thing. I like sweet, beautiful melodic singing and sweet melodic instrumentals, regardless of the tempo. I like ALL beats, its the melody that I care about.

I remember reading about Carl Gardner asking Leiber and Stoller when were the Coasters gonna do a class record.

I have the Coasters' One By One album mp3s, but I can't stand to listen to it.

[Graham Jarvis]

Try The Coasters "best"
I have all of the Coasters 45's the best of all! "Crazy Baby"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKwcexdSndM

[Sotosound]

I get that it's not for everyone and definitely an outlier in his catalog but catch me on the right day I might say Here My Dear is my favorite album of his [[also think In Our Lifetime is very underrated)

He made the album he wanted to make, I have no doubt that he could have made thematically same album, maybe even the same frameworks of each song but make it in a much more commercial way if he wanted to

My gut feel is that Marvin deliberately set out to make Here My Dear on the cheap. The instrumentation is sparse, his backing vocals aren't as multi-layered as on his other albums, and the mix was probably thrown together in a hurry by his recording engineer.

The remixes on the Expanded Edition double CD show how just better mixing alone could have made the album far better.

[[A solo conga can sound sparse and ineffectual if set way back in an echoey sound stage but, if closely miked, up front and dry, it can fill the sound stage and one's attention all by itself.)

Under the circumstances, however, this album was never going to be a labour of love.

[mr_june]

not arguing over anybody's OPINION of who's a "genius" or not or anybody's opinion of who they ought or not listen to ... .... to clarify: I'm just talking about voices here ...or rather my limits to listening to them... .... listen to Betty Wright non-stop all day if that's your thing....I can't ... a couple of songs and I'm done

I bought CLEAN UP WOMAN on 45 when it was originally out btw .....her fake live album too.

Just thought of another one: Natalie Cole
if I can get through even one of her songs I'm doing good.

What artist do you have a nice time with?

[Boogiedown]

What artist do you have a nice time with?

That's a very good question! I'm actually more of a Top 40 kind of person. I like to mix it up. Would buy an album and be mostly disappointed by suffering through songs I only sort of liked waiting for the good ones. I eventually gravitated toward greatest hits packages and live albums.

That's one of the reasons disco so suited me. Loved the variety. In fact the whole point of disco was weaving together different music, in and out, by different artists in a way that created a cohesive but complex night's experience. As a DJ I made sure I was providing a good mix of voices, for instance not too many female voices in a row, easy to do as there were considerably more songs by them .......
I do have Sinatra and the Beatles channels earmarked in the car ....but after at most a handful of songs I'm switching to something else.

At the house I'm house sitting, they have Echo and I've been letting Sarah Vaughn play pleasantly in the back ground all morning.

How about you mr_june , who works for you?

[Starguard4]

In small doses only: Bobby Womack. After a track or three, I start to find his vocals too edgy, grating and lacking in any sort of warmth. Time to hear someone else.

[sansradio]

Have to agree with the post above.
Many idolise Janis Joplin tracks. TO ME, she just murdered [[in a very BAD way) loads of great soul songs.
Why Joplin fans don't listen the the 'far superior' original versions I have no idea.

Thunderous amen. Although her adulation of blues and soul is well-documented [she did purchase a long overdue headstone for Bessie Smith, for example], Janis' approach always had a pick-me quality that grated on my nerves. Give me Bonnie Bramlett, Tom Jones or Dusty any day--artless, effortless and pure soulful singers without the try-hard [see what I did there?].

[144man]

I love the Miracles, but I find "Ooo Baby Baby" so dreary.

However my biggest blasphemy is probably preferring The Moody Blues' "Go Now" to the Bessie Banks original.

[Starguard4]

I love the Miracles, but I find "Ooo Baby Baby" so dreary.

However my biggest blasphemy is probably preferring The Moody Blues' "Go Now" to the Bessie Banks original.

Certainly can't agree with you on the Miracles - and prefer "Ooo Baby Baby" to many of their other ballads, including "The Tracks Of My Tears".

BUT, I'm in full agreement with you on The Moody Blues track - it really has got something special for me, probably buried deep somewhere, in the group's vocal harmonies. And it certainly didn't help matters that I heard the Moodies track years before hearing the Bessie Banks original - which, when it came, was a big big let down - and I never ever wanted to hear it again !!

[Boogiedown]

Certainly can't agree with you on the Miracles - and prefer "Ooo Baby Baby" to many of their other ballads, including "The Tracks Of My Tears".

BUT, I'm in full agreement with you on The Moody Blues track - it really has got something special for me, probably buried deep somewhere, in the group's vocal harmonies. And it certainly didn't help matters that I heard the Moodies track years before hearing the Bessie Banks original - which, when it came, was a big big let down - and I never ever wanted to hear it again !!

gorgeous but good gosh, blary!!!



this can't be the record's actual volume??



still blary ...

[jboy88]

More of an unpopular opinion, but I prefer Dee Dee Sharp’s later recordings with Gamble and Huff! Except for “I Really Love You”, I’m just not into her more popular Cameo-Parkway records. Actually, I’m not that impressed with Cameo-Parky records period.

[144man]

More of an unpopular opinion, but I prefer Dee Dee Sharp’s later recordings with Gamble and Huff! Except for “I Really Love You”, I’m just not into her more popular Cameo-Parkway records. Actually, I’m not that impressed with Cameo-Parky records period.

When the Marginal Cameo-Parkway compilations came out, I thought the tracks I hadn't heard before were pretty good.