Tag: R&B

282. Ray Charles

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

Episode 282 is RAY CHARLES.  If you had to describe American music in the form of one person, it would be Ray Charles.  He melded blues, R&B, jazz, and gospel into what we now call soul, helped integrate country, and reached out into pop standards and modern pop. A legend. That said, the albums themselves, especially after the mid-60s, are generally weak sauce.  I recommend a greatest hits collection or, better yet, video of concert performances as his smile and sway light up the venue.

Favorite album: Doing His Thing

Favorite song: What’d I Say

Compared to expectations: ↓

265. Curtis Mayfield

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(May 2020) Episode 265 is CURTIS MAYFIELD including his time in THE IMPRESSIONS.  I dig late 60s-early 70s soul/funk, a sound Mayfield helped create and mastered. That sweet falsetto is so distinctive.  I began with his time in The Impressions to get a full sense of his evolution from R&B into soul and the strong social commentary that characterized his work.  His quality dropped off after Superfly, into banal disco and then bland 80s adult contemporary soul.

Favorite album: Superfly

Favorite song: Freddie’s Dead

Compared to expectations: same

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264. Little Richard

~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(May 2020) Episode 264 is LITTLE RICHARD. The music and style of this Founding Father are encoded in the DNA of the rock and roll. Impossible to quantify the influence of his late 50s albums and singles. But that’s all you need to hear. His voice and charisma do lift some later recordings, but most of the rest is either gospel or a retread of previous material.

Favorite album: Here’s Little Richard
Favorite song: Keep A-Knockin’

Compared to expectations: same

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259. Stevie Wonder

~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(April 2020) Episode 259 of the “opus project” is STEVIE WONDER.  Everybody loves Stevie and knows his hits.  But you should dig deep into his albums, particularly from his “classic” period of 1972-76, to really appreciate his (inner)vision and talent as a song composer and multi-instrumentalist.  Those albums are essential listening — the diversity and mixing of styles, the integration of synthesizers, the social commentary.  His early teenage prodigy recordings are dispensible; the late-60s, early 70s albums a mixed affair, and the 80s pop cringe-worthy.

Favorite album: Innervisions

Masterpiece: Songs in the Key of Life

Favorite song: Superstition

Worst song: I Just Called To Say I Love You

Compared to expectations: ↑

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218. James Brown

~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(May 2019) Episode 218 of my “opus project” is JAMES BROWN. The Godfather of Soul, the Father of Funk, the Supreme Showman — all this is true. But if you groove out to James Brown — and I recommend that you do — find a greatest hits album and avoid the regular releases. There is a LOT of filler among and within albums: recycled, regurgitated, rerecorded material, even whole albums without any discernible JB content other than his name on the cover. This was another looooong one (63 albums). As with anything, best when funky.

Favorite album: There It Is

Favorite song: Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine

Worst album (tie): The Original Disco Man, The Merry Christmas Album

Favorite period: 1969-73 (most funky)

Special sauce: Bootsy and Catfish Collins

Compared to expectations: same

james brown

107. Earth Wind & Fire

~ ernopepper ~ 2 Comments

(January 2017) I have completed episode 107 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s full discography. This edition: EARTH WIND & FIRE. Classic funk, soul, rock and much else, always in a sunny and uplifting spirit. This was my go-to music whenever I felt depressed in high school (I listened to a lot of EW&F in high school). 70s is peak EW&F, 80s and 90s are pretty awful, but in the 00s and 10s they get their groove back.

Favorite album: All ‘n All

Favorite song: That’s the Way Of the World

Sentimental favorite song: In the Stone

Least favorite song: Boogie Wonderland

Compared to expectations: same

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98. Michael Jackson

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(October 2016) I have completed episode 98 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to an artist’s full discography. This edition: MICHAEL JACKSON. Simultaneously one of the biggest pop stars ever and one of the most overrated, IMHO.

Favorite album: Thriller

Favorite song: Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough

Don’t bother: His kid pop albums in the 1970s

Creepiest lyrics: ” You know I’m bad, I’m bad – you know it” and ” Monster / He’s a monster.”

Compared to expectations:  same

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