Blue Eyed Soul was a lazy catch all phrase that some music hack coined back in the sixties to describe anyone with white skin having the audacity to sing rhythm and blues or soul music.
And everyone from Rod Stewart to Adele, via Paul Young and Mick Hucknall, has subsequently been burdened with the tag. It should be redundant now, but you will still see a rake of compilation albums bearing the name, and flyers too for various club nights; as the duty roster included the likes of George Michael and Spandau Ballet, you'd know to leave your parka on the coat hook and your scooter in the garage. Northern Soul it is not.
One of the names (well, two to be precise) constantly mentioned when Blue Eyed Soul gets a name-check is Hall & Oates. Their take on all things soulful was never anything less than luxurious. It all sounded so effortless. And frighteningly good, too: Kiss on My List was just about as good as it got.
Here's a version Daryl Hall did as part of his Daryl's House series - a couple of octaves lower and a tad slower, I think it shades the original.
Back in the 1960's I had acquaintances who used to argue that white men couldn't sing the blues. Luckily for everyone, the Bonzo Dog DooDah Band release a song titled "Can Blue Men Sing The Whites" which knocked that argument on the head...
ReplyDeleteYou gotta love Neil Innes.
DeleteI like the other catch all term that hangs around the likes of Hall and Oates, Michael McDonald and the like - 'yacht rock' haha
ReplyDeleteNow that I like. Clap it in!
DeletePartial to a bit of yacht rock myself. But, why do we have to give it all labels anyway? - It's all a matter of opinion and taste although if a song is s**t, it'll be s**t whatever the colour of your skin.
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DeleteWhat about the colour of your yacht?
DeleteThat is a fine version of Kiss On My List and I kinda like Daryl's beard there.
ReplyDeleteMighty fine.
DeleteCrush?