The Second Disc

Aretha Franklin, Knew You Were Waiting: The Best of 1980-1998 (Arista/Legacy)

The Queen of Soul’s comeback years, in a new anthology. Check back soon for a review from Joe as well as a Greater Hits from me stacking this set up to other compilations from this part of Aretha’s discography.

Various Artists, Golden Gate Groove: The Sound of Philadelphia Live in San Francisco 1973 (Philadelphia International/Legacy)

A sublime showcase of some of the best Philly soul in concert.

Various Artists, Giant Single: The Profile Records Rap Anthology (Arista/Legacy)

One of the most underrated hip-hop labels out there – home to Run-D.M.C. and DJ Rob Base and E-Z Rock – anthologized over two great discs.

The Tymes, So Much in Love (Real Gone)

The first-ever CD release for a ’60s classic, with four bonus tracks, no less!

Bonnie Pointer, Bonnie Pointer: Expanded Edition / Isaac Hayes, Don’t Let Go: Expanded Edition (Big Break)

The U.K. soul label’s latest expanded reissues.

Metallica, Beyond Magnetic (Warner Bros.)

A physical release for this EP of outtakes from Metallica’s last album, Death Magnetic.

Various Playlist releases (Legacy)

You know the drill on this one.

No love, no peace, no shoes on my feet…no home, just a shack where I sleep…

In the fall of 1971, Philadelphia International Records launched its long-playing series with Billy Paul’s Going East, and the title opus in which the velvet-voiced crooner spins a slow-burning yarn of slavery.  It was hardly Top 40 fare (Paul would have to wait till producers/songwriters/label entrepreneurs Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff gifted him “Me and Mrs. Jones” the following year) but signaled the dramatic experimentation with which the label would define TSOP, or “The Sound of Philadelphia.”  Socially conscious, even spiritual lyrics would rest comfortably on a jazz-influenced bed of orchestral splendor, as smooth as it was funky.  With the very next PIR album, the label would start a nearly-unbroken string of music that’s as classic today as it was relevant, then: Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes’ self-titled debut (“If You Don’t Know Me By Now”), The O’Jays’ Back Stabbers (“Back Stabbers,” “Love Train”), 360 Degrees of Billy Paul (“Me and Mrs. Jones”).

Each one of those artists and songs can be heard on a remarkable time capsule that’s newly arrived from Legacy Recordings and Philadelphia International.  Golden Gate Groove: The Sound of Philadelphia, Live in San Francisco 1973 (88691906232, 2012) is somewhat paradoxical, capturing a 1973 night in the City by the Bay introducing the brightest stars from the City of Brotherly Love.  But in any setting, boy, can these Mothers (and Fathers, Sisters, and Brothers) play!  It’s the first (but hopefully not the last) volley from Legacy in the 40^th anniversary celebration of Philadelphia International Records.

Recorded on July 27, 1973, the concert was held at CBS Records’ company convention inside the plush environs of the Fairmont Hotel.  Previous performers at the convention included Bruce Springsteen and Engelbert Humperdinck.  Joe Tarsia, the owner of Philly’s hallowed Sigma Sound Studios and the concert’s engineer, recalls in the liner notes that the event was attended by everyone on the CBS roster from Perry Como to Edgar Winter.  (What a sight that must have been!)  And nearly everyone associated with the success of Philadelphia International was up there, on that stage.  Vocalists included Melvin and the Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass, The Three Degrees, Billy Paul, and the O’Jays. The MFSB Orchestra that evening counted among its 35 members two-thirds of the city’s “Mighty Three,” Leon Huff and Thom Bell on piano and organ, respectively. Huff and Bell were joined by a duo of Philly’s finest arrangers, Norman Harris and Bobby Eli (guitars), plus Earl Young (drums), Ronnie Baker (bass), Lenny Pakula (piano/keyboards), Jack Faith (saxophone), Vince Montana (vibes) and other notables. Bobby Martin and Richard Rome, two more arrangers with key contributions to the Philadelphia sound, took turns conducting.

Gamble and Huff considered the evening a crucial one to secure ongoing promotion at CBS Records for their fledgling label despite its already-proven hitmaking ability.  That urgency is evident in the performances.  (Thom Bell was the third partner in Gamble and Huff’s publishing company, and a frequent face at the label despite his outside productions for The Stylistics, The Spinners, Ronnie Dyson, New York City, Johnny Mathis and so many others.)  Hit the jump to meet the evening’s emcee, the one and only Mr. Don Cornelius! Read the rest of this entry »

Now’s as good a time as any to get into the sweet sounds and lush arrangements of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. 2011 marked the 40th anniversary of legendary writer/producers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff’s creation of a label that set the groundwork for some of the best soul and R&B sounds of the decade, and this year’s seeing a lot of excellent catalogue projects honoring that legacy.

We’ve already told you about Legacy’s Golden Gate Groove: The Sound of Philadelphia Live in San Francisco 1973 (keep an eye out for a review from Joe!), and there are more great titles in store in the coming months as well. One of them is a stellar four-disc box set that combines the great arrangements of Philly soul with the ace mixing techniques of Tom Moulton.

Moulton, the father of the modern-day remix, is about as far from a stranger to Philadelphia International as you can get. In 1977, he mixed classic sides by The O’Jays, The Three Degrees, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and MFSB for the double album Philadelphia Classics. Over time, he was commissioned for a variety of other projects for the label, some of which never saw the light of day past a few rarer promo records or obscure compilations.

With the release of Philadelphia International Classics: The Tom Moulton Remixes, Harmless Records – a subsidiary of the U.K.’s Demon Music Group – has compiled all eight cuts from Philadelphia Classics and combined them with not only seven rare or unreleased vintage mixes, but another 15 extended versions commissioned just for this set. The Intruders, The Trammps, Billy Paul, Lou Rawls, Teddy Pendergrass – those are just a few of the artists ripe for rediscovery on this set. In addition to the four separately packaged discs, the box will also feature 16 pages of newly-written liner notes by acclaimed British music journalist Lloyd Bradley and rare photos of Moulton at work in Sigma Sound Studios, birthplace for countless classics of the label.

The box will be out February 27 in the U.K., and it can be yours to pre-order (for a rather stellar price, given the worth of the music) at Amazon after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

England, Russia, China, Africa, Egypt, Israel…all of the above are stops on the O’Jays’ perennial “Love Train.”  We all know that the train started in Philadelphia, home to Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, the song’s writer-producers, and Thom Bell, its co-arranger (with Bobby Martin).  But a new release from Philadelphia International Records and Legacy Recordings reveals another pivotal stop: San Francisco.  For one remarkable night, brotherly love washed over the city by the bay.  Golden Gate Groove: The Sound of Philadelphia 1973 is a 14-track live set due in stores on January 31, revisiting a crucial night for a label basking in the glow of its biggest successes yet.

Recorded on July 27, 1973, the concert was held at CBS Records’ company convention, and featured performances from the T.S.O.P. all-stars including Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass, The Three Degrees, Billy Paul, and the O’Jays.  But the vocalists weren’t the only stars onstage, as the MFSB (that’s “Mother, Father, Sister, Brother,” unless you prefer your acronyms of the blue variety, in which case you can use your imagination…) Orchestra that evening counted among its 35 members two architects of the Philadelphia sound: Leon Huff and Thom Bell on piano and organ, respectively.  Huff and Bell were joined by a couple of Philly’s finest arrangers, Norman Harris and Bobby Eli (guitars), plus Earl Young (drums), Ronnie Baker (bass), Lenny Pakula (piano/keyboards), Jack Faith (saxophone), Vince Montana (vibes) and other notables.  The group was conducted by another great duo, Bobby Martin and Richard Rome.  In addition to supplying the orchestral bed for the vocalists, MFSB commanded the stage for two instrumental showcases: “Freddie’s Dead” and the familiar “T.S.O.P.” theme adopted by Soul Train.

What did this illustrious group have to prove?  Hit the jump to find out! Read the rest of this entry »

For most of its 35-year run, there was no better outlet for soul music on television than Soul Train. Featuring a diverse palette of R&B artists and the commanding presence of creator/producer/host Don Cornelius, Soul Train has become an institution, the longest-running, nationally syndicated show in American history – albeit one that modern audiences would be slow to appreciate, were it not for the efforts of Time-Life Entertainment in releasing several official DVDs of content from the shows back in 2009.

Now, Time-Life follows up those discs with a special compilation, The Best of Soul Train Live, in stores tomorrow. While most of the performances on the program were lip-synched to the original tracks, a few here and there were not. And a dozen such performances will be captured on this DVD. Most of them stem from the show’s first four seasons, although there is a legendary 1979 duet between Aretha Franklin and Smokey Robinson on his “Ooo, Baby Baby” and a medley of hits from Stevie Wonder performed in 1991.

Hit the jump for full track details and an Amazon link, and remember – as always, we wish you love, peace…and soul! Read the rest of this entry »

Funky Town Grooves announced quite a lineup of soul classics to hit shelves this fall, as reported yesterday by The Second Disc, and we’re happy to follow up with news of the latest exciting releases coming from two Cherry Red labels across the pond, Big Break Records and Superbird.

First up, Big Break (BBR) delves further into the Philadelphia International (PIR) catalogue, dormant here in the United States but also being mined concurrently by the U.K.’s Edsel label. September 20 sees the release of Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes’ 1973 LP Black & Blue, the group’s second for the label, with the chart-topping single “The Love I Lost” anchoring a typically-strong set of Gamble and Huff productions including an unusual, jazzy take on John Kander and Fred Ebb’s Broadway classic “Cabaret.” Black & Blue will be bolstered by the inclusion of two rare single edits. October 11 will then bring the group’s PIR debut, I Miss You, which contains among its songs the indelible “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” and the Thom Bell-arranged title track. Three single edits and a live version of “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” round out its four bonus tracks. This album is better-known by its eponymous title of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, but Big Break’s edition restores the original title and artwork. Both titles’ liner notes draw from a new interview with ace Philly arranger Bobby Eli.

Also on October 11, BBR releases the latest in its Three Degrees series, which previously has seen the trio’s PIR debut and a post-PIR effort for Ariola (New Dimensions) both restored to print. International was the group’s second album for Gamble and Huff’s label, and while known on its original U.K. release by the title of its hit single “Take Good Care of Yourself,” it is restored for this edition to its original name. The CD features six bonus tracks making it truly International: five foreign language versions from the rare Japanese version of the album (including a song sung in French but released only in Japan!) and a great Tom Moulton remix of “TSOP.”

Another singer with a Philly connection, Deniece Williams, finds her When Love Comes Calling (CDBBR0017) reissued, following BBR’s expansion last month of Songbird (CDBBR0009). This 1979 album was originally released on Maurice White’s ARC label, with Williams embracing disco head-on under the supervision of producers David Foster and Ray Parker, Jr. Bonus tracks include two rare disco remixes and one single edit. Evelyn “Champagne” King is another name hallowed in dance circles. Her 1977 RCA debut Smooth Talk (CDBBR0015) follows the label’s reissue of 1980’s Get Loose (CDBBR0006) and includes smash hits “Shame” and “I Don’t Know If It’s Right.” Both songs are heard three times on this expanded reissue, including each original album version, 12” disco remix and the single edit. Yet more names familiar to Philly soul fans appear on Smooth Talk: Dexter Wansel, Bunny Sigler and Don Renaldo, while Teddy Pendergrass (of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes!) actually co-wrote one song, “Dancin’, Dancin’, Dancin’.”

Williams and King aren’t the only disco survivors to reappear on Big Break this fall. A Taste of Honey, the hitmakers behind “Boogie Oogie Oogie,” will have their first two LPs expanded on October 25: 1978’s self-titled debut LP (CDBBR0016) now contains three different mixes of “Boogie.” 1979’s second album, accurately named Another Taste (CDBBR0019), didn’t produce another big hit but carries the same exciting sound as the first set, with both produced by Fonce Mizell and Larry Mizell. Another Taste offers alternate versions of “I Love You” and “Do It Good” as bonus material.

Earth Wind & Fire had much success in the disco and funk fields, and the group remains active today and still a perennial on the summer concert circuit. BBR has unearthed the horn-driven group’s 1980 double-LP, Faces (CDBBR0014), for release on September 27. Despite being released in arguably the group’s prime, Faces has long been lost; Big Break rectifies this with an expanded edition. Faces gains three bonus tracks: single mixes of “You” (which went Top 10 R&B) and “And Love Goes On,” and the 12” remix of “Let Me Talk.”

Finally, fellow Cherry Red label Superbird offers a much sought-after album by a true legend of the soul, R&B and disco genres: Van McCoy. While McCoy may today be best-remembered for “The Hustle,” his 1975 dance craze, his CV was actually one of the most impressive in popular music, making him far more than just a one-hit wonder. After penning singles for Gladys Knight and The Pips, Brenda and The Tabulations, Ruby and The Romantics, Jackie Wilson, Barbara Lewis and others, Columbia signed McCoy for a solo LP, hoping to mold the soulful singer/producer/songwriter into a crooner of the Johnny Mathis style. Mathis had recently defected to Mercury, and so Columbia’s Mitch Miller brought McCoy into the studio in 1966 for Night Time is Lonely Time (SBIRD0032CD). On the September 27 release, you’ll hear McCoy’s smooth renditions of standards like “How High the Moon,” “I Get Along Without You Very Well” and Cole Porter’s “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye,” but he also recorded a few of his own compositions. Premier string arranger Glenn Osser, who had worked with Mathis, provided the same duty for McCoy’s long player. Night Time is Lonely Time has long been unavailable; while squarely aimed at the “adult” record market of 1966, it’s nonetheless a missing link worth seeking out for fans of the multi-faceted McCoy’s more soulful endeavors. (His career as a writer/producer has been anthologized by Ace on The Sweetest Feeling: A Van McCoy Songbook 1962-1973 and the label promises another volume in its stellar McCoy series soon.)

All Big Break titles can be pre-ordered directly from the label here, while Superbird’s Van McCoy reissue can be pre-ordered here. Like all Cherry Red titles, however, they can also be ordered from the usual suspects!  Hit the jump for full track listings and discographical information for each title. Read the rest of this entry »

When Sony Music Entertainment reacquired the rights to the full Philadelphia International Records (PIR) catalog in 2007 (after losing control of the post-1976 output in 1984 to EMI), hopes were high that much of that storied hit factory’s catalogue would finally be reissued on CD. Arguably the 1970s’ answer to Berry Gordy’s Motown empire, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff’s label boasted a top-notch roster: Lou Rawls, The O’Jays, Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, Teddy Pendergrass, The Three Degrees and the smokin’ hot house band MFSB, just to name a few. But after a promising start (rarities compilation Conquer the World, the outstanding box set Love Train: The Sound of Philadelphia, which also took in non-PIR artists sharing the Philly sound, and a few album reissues under the Total Soul Classics banner), the releases dried up, and to date, the only other exploitation of the catalogue has come via scattered entries in series like The Essential and Playlist.

Thankfully, Britain’s Edsel Records has picked up the slack. Edsel had previously released a number of PIR titles on CD in the early part of the decade, but they have reactivated their already-impressive reissue program in 2010 with a number of new releases designed for both the deep Philly fan and the novice listener. All seven titles released to date boast liner notes by soul authority Tony Rounce and some are making their first-ever CD debuts. Hit the jump to find out which albums are in the series, along with full discographical info and track listings, Second Disc-style! Read the rest of this entry »