Was R&B after the 1980's really evolution?
 

I like the SOS band,Freddie Jackson,Luther Vandross,Whitney Houston,Teena Marie,but I really more prefer 70's soul/funk like Earth wind and fire.In the late 1980's people like Bobby Brown and Teddy Riley wanted to make R&B more "street" although it wasn't really street but I would have rather it stay in more traditional soul style and let hip hop be hip hop.Well the 1980's was the last decade when music actually was progressing very wll but 90's music especially R&B was mostly samples and trying to use more overty sexual lyrics.No one was complaining in the 1980's it was only until the 90's and 2000's people started complaining about evolutions of music.

Give up trying to figure out what went wrong in the 90's & 00's. Just be happy that the 70's happened and enjoy the fact there was awesome music back then.

The problem is this.

1. Its become more marketable. So most acts aren't looking to change things up if moneys coming in.

2. Any real, credible artist can't come up in the R&B world, they'd need to rise up through (imo) indie markets.

3. Most people trying this are fraudulent ****s. Even artists I listen to are generally ripping off ideals from the 70's. Even if it had never gone commercial, it wouldn't sound the same as it did in the 70's, so honestly, Cee Lo might be what it sounded like 45 years on.

In the early 1980s, soul music became influenced by electro music. It became less raw and more slickly produced, resulting in a style known as contemporary R&B, which sounded very different from the original rhythm and blues style.

See, I don't agree with that. Over time music tends to evolve to the point of meshing other genres into each other and attempting to create a new sound for better or for worse.

I liked the direction that was taken in the 90s and enjoyed R&B from that time.

If you want to hear something newer that is more alone the soul style, there are numerous Neo-Soul artists out there. I would consider John Legend, Erykah Badu and Maxwell Neo-Soul. I could be wrong but that's what I feel like they are.

RnB and funk evolved into hip-hop didn't they? And evolve doesn't mean get better, it just means changes.

yes evolve means changes but most of the time people that are so in love with the old school way of things think that the change is for the worse meaning they don't like the changes that have occurred.

British Soul artist like George Michaels & Sade made an impact in the states during the '80s, adding sophistication to R&B/Soul music in my opinion. George Michaels '87 release of the album Faith, is one of my favorite from that era, along with Sade's music too.
New Wave artist, had some nice basslines to their music during the 80s, and produced a lot of "one hit wonders", and good music like "A Ha's-Take On Me" for instance, which implicated contemporary R&B in their music.
I would suggest in my opinion, that R&B/Soul evolved in a big way during the '80s.(Wouldn't evolution in music be a constant ongoing process)? And best defined by music genealogy.

There can definitely be a soulful side to British music in the 80s. Some things may be one hit wonders in America but they may be more than that elsewhere of course.

I will suggest the band Depeche Mode, as being a good example of that.

A-ha were hardly a one hit wonder and were huge in the UK, Europe and most of the world.

Depeche Mode were big in America as well.

Not as big as were/are in other places.

I was really only using A Ha as being an example of good music from the 80s, verses their popularity. They didn't seem all that big to me.

A-HA is consistently on most top 100's for one hit wonders. What were the other big hits they are escaping me?

I`ve travelled around the world quite a bit and everybody I`ve ever met knows who A-ha are.

The Sun Always Shines on TV, Living Daylights, Touchy, Cry Wolf, Train of Thought, Hunting High and Low, I`ve Been Losing You, Manhatten Skyline, Crying in the Rain all reached the Top 20 in the UK plus they had 4 albums that also reached the top 20 in this time period of which three of them reached number 2.

Then we`ve got all the stuff since they reformed as well.........

I was growing up when they were big in the UK and everbody in the UK knows who A-ha are, they`re about on the same level in terms of popularity as say Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Culture Club etc which were huge bands in the Uk in the 80`s.

Thats where its lost on me, i live in the USA. Duran Duran and Culture Club were more then one hitters here, but Spandau Ballet really only had True.

Depeche Mode and A Ha are in no way big as other artist like Peter Gabriel or Inxs for example. The Cure and Tears For Fears had more positive reviews and notoriety here in the states. I guess it would all depend on what you are suggesting as being BIG.

And when you say nowhere near as big you need to define where exactly, I`m guessing you are talking solely about the USA here?

All the bands that have been mentioned were huge in the UK and to decide who were bigger than others, it really would be just a question of adding up album and singles sales figures, because all of these are household names here unless people were too young to remember these bands.

Depeche Mode was GIGANTIC in the States. They sold out the freaking ROSE BOWL and had over 120,000 people at the show i attended in 88. Right from the get go with Speak And Spell they were pretty noteworthy and had regular airplay at clubs i would go to. Some Great Reward wasn't long after and People are People skyrocketed them into superstar status. I agree with AHA not really being noteworthy in the States, but Depeche Mode was extremely popular.

Your opinion about Depeche Mode, is largely consistent with what I`d always heard about their popularity in the USA. It seems like VocalsBass is losing here by 2-1 :laughing:

While they are far more popular with women, I always found them to be very entertaining live. And being popular with the women always made the live shows very nice to look at. I'd say some of the most fun i've had at shows has been Mode shows.

I think we are straying from the topic as Mode has nothing to do with RNB.

I`d agree that they were always more popular with women but I`ve always been a huge fan of most of their material as well and seen them live on two ocassions.

Depeche Mode were popular here but mostly just within a certain niche. My understanding has always been that they were much more popular on the other side of the Atlantic.

The chart positions of their albums seem to back up my perception, though in later years it looks like things evened out a bit.

They`ve always been huge here in the UK and as they matured captured a different audience, their early poppy synth stuff was largely for school girls but as they grew darker, rockier and David Gahan became more drug induced they captured a much wider and mature audience around the late 80`s. As big as they are in the UK, they are just as big in the rest of mainland Europe.

Its interesting that we are talking about British groups of this era who were big in the UK and fairly big in the USA as well, What`s interesting though, is that I can remember certain British groups as well, who were big in the USA for a while but hardly sold anything here in the UK.

Do you remember A Flock of Seagulls and Wang Chung two such groups?

I'm gonna accept your apology on behalf of the USA.

Care to elaborate?

It was a joke. As in thanks for A flock of seagulls and Wang Chung but no thanks. :afro:

hahaha I admit they were nothing great but "I Ran" and the Wang Chung song from the film "To Live and Die in LA" were good songs!! I wouldn`t admit to liking these groups, but if the truth be told, they did have some good songs. If I remember rightly the lead singer of A Flock of Seagulls had a hairdo, that would have a done a hair metal band proud.

His hair looked like he had seagulls on his head, it was quite atrocious. Aflock of seagulls had a few other hits, Space age love song and Wishing were popular albeit pop fodder.

The Generation X Billy Idol style hairdo was still in fashion at that time.

In the 80`s what sort of stuff were you listening to?

Rap, Punk Rock, New Wave, Pop, RnB, Classic Rock. Just about anything. I used to be pretty big on listening to Mighty 690, KMET, and KROQ for reggae sundays and was really big into 120 minutes and bbc sessions.

You put me to shame with your variety, I`ve always listened to a looooooot of stuff, but its mostly always been within the paramerters of rock, pop and metal.

The nearest I ever got to reggae was some Bob Marley stuff and the Clash! The nearest I ever got to soul was Hall and Oates!

Thats not very near Reggae. You should check out the reggae section here, lots of good suggestions. While i normally would say something about Hall and Oates i just can't. They were dominating the charts in the early 80's and my mom absolutely loved those guys. Plus i've met the John Oates via work and hes one hell of a nice guy.

If you can make a connection from R&B to New Romanticism and then somehow connect Depeche Mode to that, then yeah they can be germane to said argument at hand.

I did notice that. Actually mentioned in a previous post how depeche mode wasn't very rnb, but i'm sure Dave and Martin have karaoke'd some Motown in their day. This thread has gone every which way to Sunday indeed.