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Spectropop V#0370

  • From: The Spectropop Group
  • Date: 01/15/00

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       Volume #0370                           January 15, 2000   
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    Enoch Light Presents the Fresh Young Sound of The Free Design
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Subject:     Soft Pop 
    Received:    01/15/00 6:48 am
    From:        chuck
    To:          Spectropop List
    
    
    
    Jamie LePage wrote:
    
    "so what is this evasive genre called soft pop"
    
    Jamie, There is no doubt in my mind that "soft rock" 
    exists as a genre post 1970 and the first band ever 
    mentioned when speaking of soft rock is Bread. Check out 
    the allmusic.com guide under styles and you'll see this 
    exact definition. Soft rock is definitely slow rock 
    ballads influenced by/or soft country rock 
    
    "Soft pop" is pop music usually before 1970 (except for a 
    few bands such as Free Design) that is soft, Everyday by 
    Buddy Holly, To Know Him Is To Love Him by the Teddy Bears,
    Come Softly by the Fleetwoods are good early examples. 
    
    By 1967 soft pop was very popular, and along comes Warner 
    Brothers' producer Waronker, a lot of other West Coast 
    & East Coast influences, Midwest, London and the hippy 
    cultural perspective, and up pops Sunshine Pop. Sunshine 
    pop is a whole genre unto itself! Its like soft pop but 
    it is different because its full of sunshiny choruses and 
    a late 60s hippy pop feel. Harpers Bizarre, Association, 
    Sunshine Company, Cowsills, Spanky and Our Gang and Free 
    Design are the best examples of Sunshine Pop Music. 
    
    Now soft pop which is NOT Sunshine Pop did not die in 1967, 
    it kept going strong. Good examples of post 1967 soft 
    pop are Simon & Garfunkel and the Moody Blues and the BB's
    Friends. Straight up soft pop, updated with a late 60s feel
    but without the upbeat sunshine choruses. Close but no 
    cigar.
    
    The Sunshine Pop distinction from Soft Pop and the Soft 
    Pop distinction from Soft Rock are quite useful. Simon & 
    Garfunkel and Love do soft pop chorus music without the 
    sunshine feel of Harpers Bizarre, Spanky or the 
    Association. Simon & Garfunkel are not a Sunshine Pop 
    bands but they are a soft pop bands. Certainly Love's 
    Forever Changes contains soft pop elements but Love is not
    Sunshine Pop. The Sunshine Pop distinction is used now by 
    record companies like Varese and Sequel to describe late 
    60s pop bands doing shared vocals like the Association on 
    Windy or Spanky on Sunday Will Never be the Same. Sunshine
    Pop does exist as a valid distinction these days. Bubblegum 
    exists and also psyche pop which is not sunshiny but is 
    overly hippy in feel. And Soft Rock exists to describe 
    that 70s style of county rock ballad/soft ballad/ rock 
    ballad music. 
    
    The genre that exists but hasn't been categorized yet by 
    the labels (to my knowledge) is 1956-1970 soft pop music.
    I think that Soft Pop is such a huge category of music and 
    isn't it just Pop music that is soft? The confusing thing 
    for me is a song like Blue Velvet by Bobby Vinton, it's pop
    music, it's soft, but is it soft pop or just the same soft 
    pop ballads that existed in the 30's or 40's or early 50's? 
    I saw the sheet music for Blue Velvet yesterday and it 
    was written in 1951. 
     
    Where is there a CD collection containing Frankie Avalon 
    and Buddy Holly, Simon & Garfunkel and the Moody Blues? 
    Rhino or somebody ought to get out there and put out a 
    soft pop box (Can you imagine the texture of the Rhino 
    box?). There certainly are lots of 90's modern soft pop 
    collections. 
    
    At the same late 60's time with soft pop and sunshine pop 
    bands up comes Bubblegum. What I really enjoy are Sunshine 
    Pop songs that border on Bubblegum Music. It's not
    much of a stretch to go from the Cowsills' The Rain the 
    Park to Sugar, Sugar which I think has Sunshine Pop 
    feeling in it but is just pure Bubblegum. The Cowsills 
    were aimed at 15 year olds the Archies and Bubblegum 
    aimed for 10 year olds, on up.
    
    Also interesting to me is that Abba, a 1970s pop band, 
    were so successful doing soft pop music in the soft rock 
    decade.
    
    Easy listening in the Big easy
    
    Chuck
    
    
    --------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
    
    
    Subject:     Sturm und Drang und Doo-Lang Lang
    Received:    01/15/00 6:48 am
    From:        jake tassell
    To:          Spectropop List
    
    Dear Spectropop
    
    I'm not so sure about all this 'sunshine pop' stuff - I'm 
    much more inclined toward 'Thunder Pop!', myself.
    
    Wagnerianly
    
    Jake 'Everyone knows it's Windy' Tassell 
    
    
    --------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
    
    
    Subject:     Before and After (Losing You)
    Received:    01/15/00 6:48 am
    From:        Jamie LePage
    To:          Spectropop List
    
    
    Nat wrote:
    
    >I couldn't leave on the Chad and Jeremy cut. 
    >Then again, the same tune "Before and After", made the 
    >grade when done by The American Breed, who also aren't 
    >really soft pop.
    
    I've never heard the American Breed recording, but have 
    you ever hear this wonderful Van McCoy song as recorded 
    by the Fleetwoods? I love their version!
    
    More reaction to the soft pop thread later, 
    
    Jamie
    
    
    --------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
    
    
    Subject:     Green Tambourine mystery
    Received:    01/15/00 6:48 am
    From:        Nat Kone
    To:          Spectropop List
    
    Maybe one of the experts on this list can solve this very 
    minor but still nagging mystery. It concerns the tune 
    "Green Tambourine".
    
    Somebody Xeroxed me the story on that song from the 
    Billboard something or other book. How Paul Leka, who 
    wrote the music, took the song to the Lemon Pipers and 
    told them that if they didn't record it, the label would 
    drop them.
    
    But the story doesn't mention the Peppermint Rainbow. I 
    have their record "Will you be staying after Sunday?" and 
    it's sorta soft pop in a Mamas and Papas kinda way.
    
    Anyway, the record is produced by Paul Leka and he also 
    wrote some of the tunes. And they do "Green Tambourine". I
    guess the singer is just imitating the Lemon Pipers here 
    but the instrumental track is identical. It sounds like 
    the exact same record.
    
    I'm trying to remember what the mystery is. I'll get back 
    to you....
    
    Nat
    
    
    --------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
    
    
    Subject:     We've All Gone Soft...
    Received:    01/15/00 6:48 am
    From:        Keith D'Arcy
    To:          Spectropop List
    
    Hello.
    
    This sort of discussion is what I wait for on the list. 
    I'm huge on soft pop, and I think it's the kind of 
    category that fans have defined rather than bands 
    themselves (not all of a band's material has this sound 
    sometimes, like the Paupers [whose "Oh That She Might" is 
    amazing]. It is a mixture of lots of subtle textures from 
    all the various pop genres we all like, but it's not a 
    clearly definable as, say... disco. The essential soft pop
    record has to be Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of 
    Friends LP on A&M. What I'd like to offer is a list of 
    things that I think are beautiful soft rock and pop 
    records, and If others do the same, I'll be in heaven. I 
    tend to go for the darker, moodier, slightly sad soft 
    rockers, and I'm not afraid to go into the early 70's a 
    bit.
    
    here are a few monsters:
    
    "Summer of Miranda" by Toast
    "Move with the Dawn" by Mark Eric
    "Butterfly" by the Hollies
    "Sun" by Margo Guryan
    "That's Alright (I Don't Mind It)" by Alzo
    "Summer in Your Savage Eyes" by Chrysalis
    "There is Now" by Euphoria
    "Looking Through Windows" by John Summers (thanks, Harvey...)
    "Take A Look at Love" by Sweet Charity
    "First Hymn from Grand Terrace" by Mark Lindsay
    "Happy Miranda" by Excelsior Spring
    "Welcome to the Rain" by Mid Day Rain
    "The Coldest Night of the Year" by Twice As Much
    "She's Beautiful" by Saint Jacques
    "You've Come This Way Before" by Nancy Priddy
    "Van Lingle Mungo" by Dave Frischberg (baseball soft rock)
    "It's Better Off This Way" by Terry Sylvester
    "Lisa Was" by Bergen White
    "Les Fleur" by Minnie Ripperton
    "Hurdy Gurdy Man" by the Sounds of Feeling
    "I've Seen to Dream" by Harmony Grass
    
    There's some of my favorites (there are thousands more...) and 
    I'd love to hear some of yours.
    
    Over,
    KD
    
    
    --------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
    
    
    Subject:     Re: soft rock
    Received:    01/15/00 6:48 am
    From:        Buffalo Bill Barnacle
    To:          Spectropop List
    
    Jill wrote:
    
    >the other day when I referred to "soft rock", 
    >someone thought I meant Bon Jovi!
    
    Well, I've always thought "Livin' On A Prayer" had a 
    real Harpers Bizarre feel to it :-)
    
    T.
    
    
    --------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
    End
    
    
                                                             
    
    
    

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