Do you consider the early 1990's to be like another 60's Motown era?

[homebody]

The early 1990's 1990 to 1993 had this "Throwback" conscious of the 1960s with music like En Vouge,Boyz II men,Whitney Houston alot of music that had a classic feeling.Even biopics like "Whats love got to do with it" Malcolm X or movies like Sister Act which had alot of motown songs I consider that another 60's in a way before the gangsta rap and hip hop soul era started.There was a huge remininsce of the 60's in the early 1960's I think this was after the crack epidemic and problems of the 1980's I think the early 90's was a good time and 1998 was also good when "why do fools fall in love" came out but R&B got more sexual after 1993 in my opinion like TLC and Adina Howard people started to hate R&B because of the content.

[BayouMotownMan]

No way was it anything like the hit-making machine that was Motown in the 60s.

[homebody]

I mean like it was a vibe sort of like in the 60's with black culture and the music had soul like Jodeci "forever my lady" and Tony Tone Toni "it never rains in southern California".they had alot of hits which was similar to Motown era.

[jobeterob]

I see the point you are making, especially in terms of the very poor quality music that followed in the 2000's.

But, no, I don't think it was like another early 60's Motown era; that was a different time and Motown opened the white world to R & B Music; it was also a much simpler time when news didn't spread in seconds and when travel wasn't quite so easy.

[marybrewster]

I think outside of the 60's, the 90's were probably the most successful era for Motown. Just the Boyz II Men singles alone brought the company back into the limelight.

[smark21]

I think the R and B songs of the early to mid 90's were quite good. The genre was revitalized with the influence of hip hop. Some strong producers like LA and BAbyFace, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Dallas Austin, Malik Pendleton, etc.

Also, contrary to what Homebody said in their original post, gangsta rap was also thriving in the early 90's, thanks to the rise of NWA, Snoop Dogg, et. al.

[soulster]

Different era. There was no sense of a specific community of music like there was with Motown of the 60s, and even the early 70s.

[jillfoster]

Homebody... I see what you are saying, and I agree with you completely. I don't think it's neccesarily a Motown thing, there were alot of factors working at that time that were throwbacks to a previous era. There were a TON of great songs in that period, and then music all went to hell and has never recovered. But during that time, like you mentioned... Boyz II Men put Motown back on the map in a big way [[and let's not forget Sweet Sensation's version of "Love Child" hitting the top 10), En Vogue carried the girl group torch and had many memorable hits, Ace Of Base surfaced and was a throwback to Abba... and then MANY soul groups had some great hits that reminded me ALOT of Philadephia International/Gamble and Huff/Thom Bell, my favorite among them being this:


Whitney took over where Diana left off, working with Michael Masser, as did Natalie Cole with "Miss you Like Crazy", and of course, right before that... I think in 89, Donna Summer had her big comeback with "This Time I Know It's For Real", which led to a re-branding of disco music as "dance", and then it rose like a phoenix from the ashes with the likes of Cece Penniston and Cathy Dennis. And of course, the emergence of Wilson Phillips who had three daughters of sixties music royalty. So your statement is very accurate in that the music during that time frame was vibrant and memorable... the two main qualities 60's and the 70's had.

[tomato tom]

Motown did bounce back with some strong artists in the 90s apart from Boyz 2 Men. There was Gerald Alston, Milira, Basic Black, Today, Horace Brown, Brian McKnight, LA LA, By All Means, The Boys, Stacey Latisllaw, Johnny Gill. All good sounding to these ears. Ho, and MOJAZZ was started, albeit briefly. Its after this time scale that I think Motown lost it with new acts. IMHO..Paulo xxx

[jillfoster]

You know, Paulo... I think Boyz II men were HORRIBLE, that one dorky looking guy who always sang with his tongue sticking out [[was his tongue too big to fit in his mouth or something?), the rest were nothing to look at, either... and all they did was try to sing 18 separate notes within 2 or three words, it just made me tired to hear it. Luther Vandross was the same way, just butcher the melody of everything they touch. But on the other hand, this time period had some groups that emerged that were real gems. Soul II Soul had some really cutting edge and innovative stuff, well produced and a pleasure to listen to. and besides Donna Summer, Boy George and Duran Duran both had significant comebacks with awesome material like "The Crying Game", and "Come Undone". Great female signers like Lisa Stansfield, Taylor Dane and Oleta Adams emerged as well. A couple more throwback hits during that period was Aaron Neville's version of "Everybody Plays the Fool" [[which was AWFUL) and Gloria Estefan's cover of "Turn the Beat Around"[[which was far too close to Vicki Sue's version, it was plagaristic) But don't get me wrong, I love Gloria... and during this time she laid down what I feel is her best dance tune EVAH.. a song so infectious you can NOT sit still while listening to it:


and we should NEVER leave out the ultimate in comeback hits of that period... the first time I heard this I thought i'd died and gone to heaven:

[arrr&bee]

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa,you're kidding right???

[motony]

Not in anyway shape or form.IMHO

[RossHolloway]

NO. Not even comparable.

[tomato tom]

jillfoster.. I agree with you totally. I was NEVER Boyz II Men fan, but the others were great. I just wonder where they all disapeared to?..Paulo xxx