So here’s our final word on the meaning of soul, coming at you via this here link. It’s a link to download ‘Duk Koo Kim’ from iTunes – a track by Sun Kil Moon which for me, defines soul more than any words ever could.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading the columns as much as us! And feel free to drop us a line at musosguide AT googlemail DOT com if you feel you’ve got something to add to the breadth of opinions we’ve thrown at you.

Tomorrow’s final meaning of soul comes at you at 12 pm – in the form of a definitive mp3!

It’s a different spin then that the Reverend Vito Aiuto offers to our soul series… and here’s what he had to offer:

“The human person, created in the image of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual. The biblical account expresses this reality in symbolic language when it affirms that “then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Man, whole and entire, is therefore willed by God.

“In Sacred Scripture the term “soul” often refers to human life or the entire human person. But “soul” also refers to the innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him, that by which he is most especially in God’s image: “soul” signifies the spiritual principle in man.

“The human body shares in the dignity of “the image of God”: it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit:

“Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity. Through his very bodily condition he sums up in himself the elements of the material world. Through him they are thus brought to their highest perfection and can raise their voice in praise freely given to the Creator. For this reason man may not despise his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honour since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day.

- from The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Tomorrow’s meaning of soul comes from Laura Izibor.

Lee Malcolm: “The meaning of soul: listening to ‘Hurt’ by Johnny Cash and remembering you have one.”

Martin Teff: “”Soul is the where science, philosophy and death all converge.  It is the water between the meals of existence.”

Tomorrow’s meaning of soul comes from Rev. Vito Aiuto of The Welcome Wagon, whose Welcome To The Welcome Wagon album was produced by Sufjan Stevens.

Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Rosetta Tharpe, Mel Torme, Guitar Slim, Lee Baby Simms, Bernard Hermann, Leonard Bernstien, Paganini, George Gershwin, The Knack, Murder By Death, Julie London and Billie Holiday.

Tom Allalone, of Tom Allalone and The 78s, that’s who. The music is fun, assured, and sounds like it’s part of the grass roots rock ‘n’ roll era it’s so clearly been influenced by. Here’s Tom’s truthful take on soul:

“The word Soul is often used quite erroneously in my opinion. It’s a word that artists use to give themselves an air of deep rooted one-ness or spiritual connection with their music. Oasis for example, use the term quite a lot. I’d imagine the only soul they’ve known would be a Dover Sole. Their music is so derivative and contrived that it is almost empty of all soul and no amount of Hammond Organs or Beatles’ rip-offs will constitute a soul number.

“Quite often, people take soul to mean ‘Black Music’. Soul does not mean a black man or woman with a microphone. It does not mean a white man or woman with a microphone singing a song that a black man or woman made famous 20 years previously. Barry White and Imagination are prime examples of acts who will have no doubt use that word in their press releases, yet have absolutely no soul in my opinion. Murder by Death have more soul in their little fingers than in the whole of Barry White. It has nothing to do with creed or upbringing or even having things to rebel against. Its all about being disarmed and dropping all inhibitions. Amy Winehouse has got it. So have Arcade Fire. And yet Lionel Richie wouldn’t know it if he cut his face on it.

“Soul, in my opinion, has one meaning. Its honesty between writer/singer and listener. If Etta James can admit that she was ‘Almost Persuaded’ to cheat on her beau with a handsome stranger, she is bearing her soul to the listener. If you can expose your demons in a song, to perhaps thousands of people who think you’re cool, even if you’re admitting that you have been a complete fucker, thats soul. Soul is music that has zero pretension or concern for what’s cool in the perception of others. Soul is therapy for the musician, and the listener finds solace in hearing their ‘heroes’ experiencing and dealing with the same trials as them. Life is a painful existence most of the time, and soul or blues music is the support group.

“Soul is an admission of humanity and all the flaws that go with it.

“Having said this, there is a mysterious band of soul, that even without confessional lyrics, can seem like the most honest and impulsive sound imaginable. ‘Green Onions’ has this. I can’t explain it. If I had worked out what the MGs were doing to create such soul, i’d be a millionaire by now. But I haven’t… and I aint.

“If I ever get some soul, it’ll allow me to write sincerely about how unhappy I am. And on that day, I’ll be a happy man.

Tomorrow’s meaning of soul comes from members of band we love, Vessels.

Here’s what he had to say:

“Soul is a curious thing. It’s its own genre but weirdly, to me, most modern soul music lacks soul. The All Music Guide defines soul as “the result of the urbanization and commercialization of rhythm and blues in the ’60’s”. I imagine the term was born from artists possessing an obvious abundance of the quality. For me it starts with Billie Holliday, moves through Ray Charles, then James Brown, on to Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Sly Stone, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder.

“These days finding soul in an artist is not as clear-cut. For example, the retro-musings of Amy Winehouse are very soulful, while Duffy’s Dusty-style, cupcake R&B is not. Will Young and James Morrison have soul, while Leon Jackson and James Blunt are devoid. R. Kelly has soul to spare while Akon is the most soulless man in R&B (I heard him talking on 4Music about the ‘European Market’… any artist who mentions the word ‘market’ in an interview does not have Soul).

“I have a suspicion that Soul is directly linked to pain. The one thing an artist cannot fake is the experience bestowed by life from pain. An artist can show their experience of pain in my ways; in their voice, their dance moves, even off-the-cuff comments made on daytime talk shows. One thing I do know is soul is something you are born with. Artists and Labels can do their best to dress things up, but in the end, soul always rears its lonely, aching, wrinkled face, much like Miles Davis’ on that famous Montreux Jazz Festival poster.

“If you’re confused about who’s got soul these days and who doesn’t, below is a list fit to my standards: 

Justin Timberlake – a corporate, Disney puppet. But he’s got soul and he’s very, very, talented. Let’s hope one day he stops making cologne that looks like an MP3 player and gives us music chock full of the soul inside him. 

Chris Brown – more in touch with his soul than Justin, but still confused. 

Rihanna –She’s got it. Flaunted it in the beginning with ‘Pon The Replay’, but it got blurred somewhere along the way. She’s in a new video with Justin, maybe he had a hand in it. 

Beyonce – so much soul despite herself. Anyone who doubts it, watch the ‘Single Ladies’ video. 

Britney – she’s from Kentwood, Louisiana. The Deep South. She always had soul but didn’t know how get it out from behind Mickey Mouse programming. Somewhere between childbirth and attacking paps with umbrellas, she got in touch. I suspect K-Fed had something to do with it. 

Tom Chaplin of Keane – very white but soulful. 

Kings Of Leon – soulless. I’m sorry but they are. Anyone who names a record “Youth and Young Manhood” is too cool to have Soul. In a lot ways, Cool is the opposite of soul. 

Brandon Flowers of the Killers – still don’t know about him. The fact he’s a Mormon throws my radar off a bit.  

Coldplay – Chris Martin is in so much pain, I sometimes wonder. With one listen to ‘Yellow’ and you know the soul is there. Maybe it’s hiding beneath Gwyneth. 

Take That – great tunes but soulless 

Boyzone  – Ronan has a got soul. Met him and was proved right. To quote the man himself: “Life is a rollercoaster.”

Mika – no soul. Sorry. Imitating Freddie Mercury, perhaps the most soulful man in the history of Rock, still doesn’t give you Soul. 

Pink – soul, soul and more soul. A bit annoying how she rubs her Soul in your face, but she’s got plenty to go round. 

Alphabeat – the whole Danish thing is a tough one. A lot like Mormonism. But my girl Robyn is very soulful. With that in mind, I have to say Alphabeat are a bit soulless. Fascination is a cracking tune though. 

Katy Perry – she’s got soul. Can’t sing or dance, but has soul. It’s her best quality. 

Girls Aloud – I dunno about this one. Lemme get back to you. Does being extremely fit count toward soulfulness? They are my Achilles’ heel. 

“In conclusion, anyone having a hard time finding Soul in Pop music these days, take a listen to Kayne’s new album, 808s and Heartbreak.  Despite the blatant overuse of Vocoder and uber-80’s beats ala Phil Collins (who is completely soulless) that record is oozing with soul. Oh and this little known fringe act Julian Velard. He’s got it in spades. 

Tomorrow’s meaning of soul comes from our very own Sam Dufton.

 

Anyhow here’s what Jean had to say on soul…

“Essentially, one could argue that the meaning of soul: ‘Requires artists to write (to a certain extent) for their own fulfilment.’ Which I think to a degree is true, however I feel that the meaning of soul, with regards to music, for me is also about, really feeling and believing in the sounds that are made and the message that is communicated through those sounds and/or lyrics to the audience.

“Live performances can also help in communicating the meaning of soul within music; take Bob Marley, Aretha Franklin and James Brown’s live performances for example.

“My favourite artists tend to be my favourite artists due to the fact that I can feel a connection with them; their music and or performance, even if I haven’t experienced what they’re communicating through their music. However it’s often the case that a song or artist is a favourite of mine because their music reminds me of a certain person, place or moment in time.

Tomorrow’s meaning of soul comes from singer Julian Velard.

Here’s what Graeme had to say:“The Meaning of Soul….Well I am no poet and apart from the definition that is the “hit me now” ranting and musician fining King of Soul James Brown, I see soul as a part of the brain that connects with something be it musical or other and causes a feeling of great warmth, satisfaction or utter misery.

“I would imagine it sits somewhere in the brain next to where the feelings of love and loss are generated. But unlike the ‘heart’, the Soul cannot be touched or transplanted. The key to a happy soul is a satisfied one and for me, nine times out of ten that satisfaction comes from music.

“For example, the feeling of writing a song satisfies my soul… Well for a short while anyway. But it can also be that tingling feeling i get when i hear Led Zeppelin’s ‘That’s The Way’.

“I cant explain it but when I first heard that song it made me think of a very blurry memory of being about 18-months-old and in the kitchen of the first house Ilived in. Now I can’t tell you that this memory is real or whether it is even possible to remember that far back, but for some reason this song connects with that part in my brain and creates a warm memory and feeling that I can only describe it as satisfying my soul.

“Sadly I don’t see a lot of soul within the supposed soul acts of today… Songs like ‘Come Home’ by Findlay Brown do more for my soul than anything by Duffy or Estelle. Your soul has to be convinced that what it’s hearing and feeling is real, and to me there are not a lot of acts in the charts that can do that these days….

Tomorrow’s meaning of soul comes from DJ, promoter and manager Jean Graham.

“I know soul has to be true…undefiled, uncorrupted, and unspoiled. I think of purity when I think of soul…an entity unaffected by external forces. Aside from that, I can’t define ’soul’…but for some reason I know I can spot it, even harness it. Perhaps that’s where it’s intricate beauty lies…in the knowing and not the understanding.”

Tomorrow’s meaning of soul comes from Graeme of Dead Pixels fame.