Capital of vintage soul

I’ve been immersed in music lately. Soul music in particular. Funnily enough, I found a photograph of the Soul Immersions dive boat that was used by the press at Antigua Race Week when I was writing my latest post for The Dabbler - the name seems curiously appropriate...

Anyway, I was totally won over by the Soul Revue at Vintage 2011 last weekend.






Ex-Rose Royce diva Gwen Dickey’s rendition of Love Don’t Live Hear Anymore was outstanding. And Percy Sledge’s performance of Lighter Shade of Pale was sublime – though a curious fact is that even he doesn’t know what the song's title actually means.










Then there was the Average White Band’s brilliant Hamish Stuart, who’s composed so many amazing tracks, mostly for other (more famous) artists… And the Flirtations’ shimmering rainbow dresses certainly added to the flavour of the ‘70s vintage soul vibe.
























I’ve also discovered a fantastic new radio station recently. The Soul of London plays, as the name suggests, soul – along with R&B, funk, gospel and even a little bit of reggae. They seem to get the balance of old school and new stuff just about right – and they’ve got a great website too, with a useful selection of videos.

Talking of which, here’s a ShopCurious recording from the Vintage soul revue of Gwen Dickey singing Wishing on a Star.

Are you?

Earth, wind, fire and water (part II)

After my amazing trip down the river to reach the O2 Arena (see previous post), I didn’t think things could get much better. But I’d never experienced Earth, Wind and Fire live before.  I don’t really know too much about the band, except that they’re awesome musicians –  Daryl Easlea rightly describes their first album, That’s the Way of the World, as a ‘spiritual soul masterpiece’.

Oh, and they wear fabulous ‘70s style disco costumes. Or at least they used to. I found a few pictures of the group from the late 1970s and early ‘80s, when their look was a sort of tribal fusion – mixing funky African and American Indian influences with the Elvis-style flare-legged jumpsuit look (we’ve some similar vintage flares at ShopCurious).

Then I stumbled upon a breakfast television interview with members of the band, where they’re looking decidedly conventional. In fact, Ralph Johnson is actually wearing a suit!

I also recall a very curious piece of information relating to the band… When I was at university, one of my fellow students visited her doctor complaining of feeling depressed. He didn’t prescribe any drugs, but suggested that she should listen to as much of Earth, Wind and Fire's music as possible.

You may not be as devoted a groupie fan as I am, but I thought the concert was awesome. Here are some clips. The first video is of supporting band, The Brand New Heavies, who were pretty damned good too. After a while, my hands got a little shaky from holding the camera above my head for so long. But it’s worth persisting with the second clip to hear Philip Bailey and a curiously cool sax solo.

Anyway, if you were feeling a bit down, I hope you’re now a little more uplifted?

Are you?