It’s impossible to strip rhythm ‘n’ blues and soul music away from rock ‘n’ roll as the latter would not even exist without the former. In the late 60s, the likes of Jimi Hendrix (above) and Arthur Lee (Love) would combine the flowering of psychedelic rock with R&B (funk ‘n’ soul) to create a sound that emphasises the best of both worlds.
Has been a while since I posted my discoveries at Spotify but better late than never. It’s truly amazing to me that so much of the music that I loved and collected as a young adult is easily available at a mouse click nowadays. Let’s talk about a couple of them, shall we?
DONALD FAGEN – Nightfly (1982)
I only got into Steely Dan much later in life but I did pick up singer Donald Fagen’s debut solo album on cassette due to the great press it was getting in the music magazines. It was a sophisticated hybrid of jazz, pop and soul that resonates to this day.
EARTH, WIND & FIRE IN CONCERT (Eagle Vision)
Like the Queen Rock Montreal DVD which featured Freddie & co at the height of their powers, this “in concert” disc captures Earth, Wind & Fire at their absolute peak. For rock scholars, it is interesting as it provides a glimpse of the groovy R&B-soul-pop that dominated the airwaves in the late 70s/early 80s, long before the dreaded hip-hop genre entered the frame and subverted the entire R&B music scene.
Recorded in 1981, this video finds EWF in prime condition, delivering their wonderful hits, of which the likes of In The Stone, Fantasy, Reasons, Shining Star, That’s the Way of the World and Let’s Groove are obvious highlights. Strange though are the omissions of two of the EWF’s most popular songs viz. September and After the Love is Gone.
One for the fans, certainly.
