Comments on: How sweet it is...

Question: How sweet it is...

gnutron — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:10:34 -0800

Are there any contemporary musicians reviving the doo-wop / late 50s / early 60s soul sound?

I love soul music. I am well aware of the ongoing soul revival. Sharon Jones, the Daptones, Amy Winehouse, Bettye LaVette, Darondo, etc.

All these artists seem to replicating the late 60s/early 70s soul sound. Not what I'm looking for here.

Are there any artists the reviving late 50s/early 60s sounds? I am thinking early Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Sam Cooke, Four Tops, Temptations, Delfonics etc. Vocal harmonies, orchestral arrangments or instrumentation, songs about love & relationships. I guess I prefer male vocalists but I'm interested in anything applicable.

By: pazazygeek

pazazygeek — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:20:21 -0800

Not male artists, and while they're not the best band evar, The Pipettes immediately came to mind.

By: Jaltcoh

Jaltcoh — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:33:06 -0800

Camera Obscura has a very retro sound and seems to be a throwback to the '60s girl groups. I don't know if that fits.

By: Jaltcoh

Jaltcoh — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:35:11 -0800

Oh, and Gnarls Barkley's hit song "Crazy" sounds sort of like an updated Marvin Gaye.

By: jbickers

jbickers — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:38:44 -0800

Ricky Fante, or Ryan Shaw

By: gnutron

gnutron — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:47:12 -0800

Great answers all. jbickers really nailed it, tho - that's precisely what I'm thinking of. Those names also led me to Ruthie Foster, who sounds nice, too (although she seems to be on the soul/blues end of the spectrum)

By: scody

scody — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:53:27 -0800

Man, I was going to suggest Ricky Fante, but I thought he might be too much in the late '60s/early '70s vein. Great, great singer, though... I saw him live around 2003 or '04 and he was phenomenal.

By: Atom12

Atom12 — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:20:01 -0800

Desco Records was a short-lived but terrific label that specialized in this very genre. Everything I heard from them was great. One guy who founded that went on to found Daptone Records (Sharon Jones' label) and the other guy started Soul Fire, which I'm not familiar with.

Definitely check out the Desco stuff, if you can find it.

By: Lacking Subtlety

Lacking Subtlety — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:26:14 -0800

SHE AND HIM

Repeat SHE AND HIM

best new band there is. Kinda reminiscent of Dusty Springfield

By: methylsalicylate

methylsalicylate — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:30:13 -0800

Duffy

By: Potomac Avenue

Potomac Avenue — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:45:38 -0800

There are some indie bands that fall under this category, tho they do it more twee than soulful. I'm thinking of late 90s-early 00s stuff like the Aislers Set and certain songs of Jens Lekman's.

By: faunafrailty

faunafrailty — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:52:26 -0800

TV on the Radio has some doo-wop-inspired songs. Not so much on the new CD, but on previous efforts (Young Liars, Return to Cookie Mountain).

By: carsonb

carsonb — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:10:25 -0800

Not exactly contemporary, but The Honeydrippers' EP is worth a (giggly) listen. Robert Plant wanted to revive soul and oldschool R&B in the early 80's.

By: Wilder

Wilder — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:14:10 -0800

seconding DUFFY, she's awesome!

By: swordfishtrombones

swordfishtrombones — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:54:26 -0800

Raphael Saadiq?

By: gnutron

gnutron — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:53:03 -0800

omg that Rafael Saadiq album is perfect, too. i'm familiar with his old stuff but this is a different sound than i'm used to hearing from him. thanks swordfishtrombones!

By: anarchivist

anarchivist — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:26:15 -0800

Potomac Avenue already gave props to Aislers Set - I'll second them, Camera Obscura, and propose Saturday Looks Good To Me - a fine blend of Phil Spectoresque walls of sound and little bit of Beach Boys.

By: citron

citron — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:28:30 -0800

Vivian Girls take some inspiration from doo-wop. they're v good

By: sconbie

sconbie — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:30:44 -0800

Little Red

By: gnutron

gnutron — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:16:35 -0800

Man, I just had to drop back in to remark how f*cking phenomenal I think Raphael Saadiq's The Way I See It album is. I always knew he was a talented, versatile musician - but I am just awestruck by these songs. Now I just gotta convince my ol' buddy John Legend to make an album like this.

By: Sweetie Darling

Sweetie Darling — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:29:31 -0800

I haven't heard it, but keep meaning to check out Boys II Men's Motown tribute CD.

By: Demogorgon

Demogorgon — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:23:43 -0800

The God Damn Doo Wop Band?

By: p3t3

p3t3 — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:43:06 -0800

Jamie Lidell's 2005 album "Multiply" is a little more eclectic, but is still essentially retro r&b/soul. My favorite tracks are Multiply and What's The Use.

By: Drexen

Drexen — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:38:09 -0800

Not quite doo-wop AFAIK, but: The Puppinin Sisters.

By: Piscean

Piscean — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:41:30 -0800

Adele? She's new out of Britain and not even 20 yet. I think she just won a Grammy or at least was nominated. She's part of that Winehouse wave but I think she's much better than Winehouse.

By: gnutron

gnutron — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:39:18 -0800

Jaime Lidell and Adele are good suggestions, too. But I already know about them ;)

By: shannonm

shannonm — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:31:20 -0800

James Hunter.