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After well over a year since the release of Satisfaction Guaranteed, United Souls’ series of box sets collecting the Philadelphia International label’s complete studio albums is confirmed to resume with the April 7 release of Love Is the Message: The Sound of Philadelphia Vol. 3.  The third installment of the series promised to eventually encompass 15 volumes contains the following eight studio albums:

• The Ebonys, The Ebonys (Philadelphia International KZ 32419, 1973);
• MFSB, Love Is the Message (Philadelphia International KZ 32707, 1973);
• Bunny Sigler, That’s How Long I’ll Be Loving You (Philadelphia International KZ 32859, 1974);
• Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, To Be True (Philadelphia International KZ 33148, 1975);
• The O’Jays, Survival (Philadelphia International KZ 33150, 1975);
• Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, Potpourri (Philadelphia International KZ 33152, 1974);
• Monk Montgomery, Reality (Philadelphia International KZ 33153, 1974); and
• Billy Paul, Got My Head on Straight (Philadelphia International KZ 33157, 1975).

This group of eight albums reflects the varied and lush sounds coming out of The City of Brotherly Love in 1974-1975, all of which were infused with songs of social significance.  (As United Souls’ series is limited to studio albums, it omits live sets from The O’Jays and Billy Paul as well as the compilation album The Sound of Philadelphia ’73 which hasn’t seen a CD release outside of Japan).  The box features the PIR debuts of New Jersey quartet The Ebonys and singer-songwriter Bunny Sigler; The Ebonys marked the group’s only PIR long-player (highlighted by Thom Bell’s exquisite arrangement of “You’re the Reason Why”) while Sigler’s That’s How Long I’ll Be Loving You (including his own rendition of “Love Train”) was his first of three LPs on the label.

Monk Montgomery’s Reality and Thad Jones and Mel Lewis’ Potpourri showcase PIR’s expansion into jazz and big band sounds.  Both albums were produced by label mainstay Bobby Martin and featured reimaginings of PIR’s modern standards including “Me and Mrs. Jones” on Reality and “For the Love of Money” on Potpourri.

The box set also continues the stories of MFSB, Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, The O’Jays, and Billy Paul with albums from each.  MFSB’s Love Is the Message yielded the crossover No. 1 hit (Pop, R&B, AC) “T.S.O.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia)” as well as the infectious title track, both of which were produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and arranged by Bobby Martin.  (Vince Montana and Jack Faith also contributed charts to the LP.)  Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes’ To Be True, featuring lead vocalist Teddy Pendergrass, continued that group’s winning streak with three more hits including “Bad Luck” (No. 15 Pop, No. 4 R&B, No. 1 Dance).  Though Survival failed to yield a hit single on the Hot 100 at the level of “Love Train,” “Back Stabbers,” or “Put Your Hands Together,” the chart-topping Soul album spun off a No. 1 R&B hit with “Give the People What They Want.”  Billy Paul’s Got My Head on Straight didn’t turn around his waning chart fortunes but featured typically strong vocals on persuasive material from Gamble and Huff and newer PIR recruits such as Dexter Wansel and the team of John Whitehead and Gene McFadden.  It remains one of Billy Paul’s least well-known albums and is ripe for rediscovery.

Though all of these albums have been previously available on CD, a couple of them received under-the-radar reissues in Europe only: Billy Paul’s Got My Head on Straight was issued in France in 1990, and Thad Jones and Mel Lewis’ Potpourri premiered in the format in 1995.  Note that none of the CDs contain any bonus tracks.

Like previous boxes in this series, a 12-inch single is included.  This time, it features MFSB’s “T.S.O.P.” featuring The Three Degrees, backed with The Trammps’ “Stop and Think.”  The latter would appear on an album in 1975 when PIR imprint Golden Fleece released the eponymous The Trammps.

Tony Cummings supplies liner notes for this collection, and all audio has been remastered from the original tapes.  Look for Love Is the Message: The Sound of Philadelphia Vol. 3 from United Souls on April 7.

Various Artists, Love Is the Message: The Sound of Philadelphia Vol. 3 (United Souls/Snapper Music, 2023) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1: The Ebonys, The Ebonys (Philadelphia International KZ 32419, 1973)

1. Hook Up and Get Down
2. It’s Forever
3. Life in the Country
4. Sexy Ways
5. I’m So Glad I’m Me
6. I’ll Try
7. Nation Time
8. I Believe
9. You’re the Reason Why

CD 2: MFSB, Love Is the Message (Philadelphia International KZ 32707, 1973)

1. Zack’s Fanfare
2. Love Is the Message
3. Cheaper to Keep Her
4. My One and Only Love
5. S.O.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia)
6. Zack’s Fanfare
7. Touch Me in the Morning
8. Bitter Sweet

CD 3: Bunny Sigler, That’s How Long I’ll Be Loving You (Philadelphia International KZ 32859, 1974)

1. Things Are Gonna Get Better
2. That’s How Long I’ll Be Loving You
3. I Lied
4. Picture Us
5. Love Train
6. Marianne
7. My Other Love
8. Your Love Is Good
9. What’d I Say
10. Somebody Free

CD 4: Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, To Be True (Philadelphia International KZ 33148, 1975)

1. Where Are All My Friends
2. To Be True
3. Pretty Flower
4. Hope That We Can Be Together Soon
5. Nobody Could Take Your Place
6. Somewhere Down the Line
7. Bad Luck
8. It’s All Because of a Woman

CD 5: The O’Jays, Survival (Philadelphia International KZ 33150, 1975)

1. Give the People What They Want
2. Let Me Make Love to You
3. Survival
4. Where Did We Go Wrong
5. Rich Get Richer
6. How Time Flies
7. What Am I Waiting For
8. Never Break Us Up

CD 6: Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, Potpourri (Philadelphia International KZ 33152, 1974)

1. Blues in a Minute
2. All My Yesterdays
3. Quiet Lady
4. Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing
5. For the Love of Money
6. Yours and Mine
7. Ambiance
8. Living for the City

CD 7: Monk Montgomery, Reality (Philadelphia International KZ 33153, 1974)

1. Reality
2. Me and Mrs. Jones
3. Sippin’ and Tippin’
4. Bump de Bump
5. I Love You Camille
6. Little Os
7. Girl Talk
8. Close Your Face

CD 8: Billy Paul, Got My Head on Straight (Philadelphia International KZ 33157, 1975)

1. July, July, July, July
2. Billy’s Back Home
3. I’ve Got So Much to Live For
4. Black Wonders of the World
5. Enlightenment
6. When It’s Your Time to Go
7. Be Truthful to Me
8. Everything Must Change
9. My Head’s on Straight