Soul Music
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Make no mistake this is not a typical 'pop' culture publication, it is a learned work supported by serious research and is sponsored by the department of anthropology from the University of Minnesota. I suspect the material is the foundation of a dissertation the author was writing for some academic qualification, but this is not explicitly stated. Although at times this tends to be academic the author does well in explaining his conclusions in jargon free language which makes them more accessible to the non-specialist reader. His text is well illustrated with masses of black and white 'historical' photographs. If I have any complaint about this book it is the fact that I found the title misleading as a greater proportion of it is concerned with the blues rather than soul. Clearly the transition from blues to soul is relevant but when the first ninety-two pages of a hundred and sixty five are entirely devoted to blues which are then re-visited for the last thirty the emphasis is clearly not on soul. None the less Haralambos stated aim of studying 'the decline in the popularity of the blues and the rise in the popularity of soul music' is clearly achieved. The book gives many relevant and interesting explanations about the relationships between gospel, soul and blues. They cause the reader to think about the music in ways they have never done before, and in this context it is startling and revealing. Its weakness is that its points are laboured and, once made, the author takes half a chapter to illustrate them. To give a simple example, Haralambos explains that 'blues' is without hope and that its singers accept their conditions without complaint or expectation of anything better. Soul borrowed an expectation of a better world from gospel, but translate it into a worldly context as opposed to a religious one. Gospel gives soul its optimism because it believes in a better world in heaven, soul starts looking for that better world on earth. This point, for which I have taken five lines would have taken Haralambos five pages. My main aim in reading this book was to help find a definition of soul, but to my disappointment Haralambos fudges the question. To him soul is subjective not objective. He says, 'Defining characteristics are to be found in the style of the singer and orchestration rather than in the song itself. In practise soul music is defined by consensus and example. There is little disagreement among black Americans over what is or is not soul music.' In this statement he reneges on his responsibility. If soul music is recognisable there must be reasons for it. I respect his text, but I would have respected it more if he had not just swept this issue under the carpet. Despite my criticisms this has to be the most thought provoking book on soul I have ever read. I don't deny that I would have preferred more points and less illustration, but the fault is understandable, he is after all trying to convince us of the merits of his arguments. This is not an easy reader but definitely one which will give its rewards for those prepared to persevere with it.
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Why Not visit the Authors other Website, 'The Alternative Blackpool Website' at http://www.localdial.com/users/jsyedu133/bpool This Site Last Updated 18/05/05
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