Throughout 2024, SoulMusic Records has teamed with The Second Disc to celebrate the sound of Philadelphia with a number of comprehensive box sets: The Salsoul Orchestra's It's Good for the Soul: The Vince Montana Years (1975-1978); Double Exposure's My Love Is Free: The Salsoul Recordings (1976-1979); First Choice's Love Having You Around: The Gold Mind Recordings (1977-1980); Loleatta Holloway's We're Getting Stronger: The Gold Mind/Salsoul Recordings (1976-1982); and Spinners' Keep on Keepin' On: The Atlantic Years (Phase Two: 1979-1984).

Tomorrow, October 25, SMR and TSD will unveil a new 6-CD box set dedicated to the sweet 'n funky soul stylings of Philly quintet Blue Magic.  Stop to Start: The Atco and WMOT Recordings brings together expanded editions of the group's five albums for the labels plus all of their released live performances at the Latin Casino with Margie Joseph and Major Harris:

• Blue Magic (1974) plus seven bonus tracks;
• The Magic of the Blue (1974) plus three bonus tracks;
• Thirteen Blue Magic Lane (1975) plus five bonus tracks;
• Mystic Dragons (1976) plus two bonus tracks;
• Blue Magic / Margie Joseph / Major Harris, Live! (Highlights) (1976); and
• Message from the Magic (1978) plus one bonus track.

The set features a total of 74 tracks including 18 bonus tracks: non-LP singles, edits, and remixes by Tom Moulton and Mike Maurro.

Ted Wizard Mills, Vernon Sawyer, Wendell Sawyer, Keith Beaton, and Richard Pratt were put together by WMOT Records when the label teamed Mills (then singing with a group called The Toppiks) with the quartet known as Shades of Love.  With Mills anchoring the vocal blend - his rich falsetto recalling that of his heroes Russell Thompkins, Jr. of The Stylistics and William Hart of The Delfonics - the group scored a string of R&B hits including "Spell," "Look Me Up," and "Stop to Start" before crossing over to the pop chart with the timeless "Sideshow."  The lush, dreamy ballad was the quintessence of the Philly soul sound and inspired the follow-up "Three Ring Circus," another crossover hit.  Blue Magic continued to keep audiences swooning with further hits including "Chasing Rainbows," "Grateful," and the Margie Joseph duet "What's Come Over Me."  While radio favored Blue Magic's silky ballads, they were also more than capable of bringing the house down with uptempo dancers such as "Look Me Up," "Welcome to the Club," and "Magic of the Blue."

Much of Blue Magic's repertoire was produced by the great Norman Harris, with Bobby Eli and Ron "Have Mercy" Kersey also in the producer's chair.  Harris, Eli, and Kersey were joined as arrangers by Vince Montana, Ronnie Baker, Jack Faith, and Richie Rome for the Philly years; members of the famed MFSB played on all of Blue Magic's albums between 1974 and 1976.  The group's final album in the box set, Message from the Magic, featured an altered line-up and was helmed by Earth, Wind & Fire collaborator Skip Scarborough, with Dave Crawford conducting.

Stop to Start: The Atco and WMOT Recordings has been freshly remastered by Nick Robbins.  The 32-page full-color booklet designed by Roger Williams includes new liner notes by TSD's own Joe Marchese drawing on extensive new interviews with WMOT Records co-founder Alan Rubens and acclaimed songwriter Vinnie Barrett ("Sideshow," "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely," "Three Ring Circus") as well as archival quotes from Bobby Eli, Ted Wizard Mills, Vernon Sawyer, and the members of Blue Magic. The booklet also features rare and previously unpublished photos of the group.

Step right up: Stop to Start arrives tomorrow from Cherry Red's SoulMusic Records and The Second Disc.  You'll find pre-order links and the full track listing below.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Blue Magic, Stop to Start: The Atco and WMOT Recordings (SoulMusic/Second Disc QSMCR5223BX, 2024) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red)

CD 1: Blue Magic (Atco LP 7038, 1974)

1. SIDESHOW (4:09)
2. LOOK ME UP (5:51)
3. WHAT'S COME OVER ME (4:11)
4. JUST DON'T WANT TO BE LONELY (7:10)
5. STOP TO START (3:17)
6. WELCOME TO THE CLUB (5:08)
7. SPELL (3:15)
8. ANSWER TO MY PRAYER (3:20)
9. TEAR IT DOWN (5:30)
10. GUESS WHO (3:35) (Atco single 45-6910, 1974)
11. LOOK ME UP (EDIT) (2:47) (Atco single 45-6930, 1973)
12. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN (3:19) (Atco single 45-6949, 1973)
13. JUST DON'T WANT TO BE LONELY (EDIT) (Atco single 45-6961, 1974)
14. WELCOME TO THE CLUB (EDIT) (3:11) (UK Atlantic single K 10528, 1974)
15. LOOK ME UP (TOM MOULTON REMIX) (from Rhino CD 8122-76428-2, 2006)
16. SIDESHOW (MIKE MAURRO EXTENDED MAGIC REMIX) (7:46) (released digitally by Warner Music Group/X5, 2018)

CD 2: Magic of the Blue (Atco LP 36-103, 1974)

1. THREE RING CIRCUS (5:16)
2. STRINGIN' ME ALONG (3:30)
3. YOU WON'T HAVE TO TELL ME GOODBYE (4:25)
4. NEVER GET OVER YOU (4:43)
5. TALKING TO MYSELF (4:22)
6. LET ME BE THE ONE (5:09)
7. MAYBE JUST MAYBE (WE CAN FALL IN LOVE AGAIN) (4:17)
8. LOVE HAS FOUND ITS WAY TO ME (5:00)
9. WHEN YA COMING HOME (3:33)
10. LOOKING FOR A FRIEND (4:16)
11. THREE RING CIRCUS (EDIT) (4:45) (Atco single 45-7004, 1974)
12. LOVE HAS FOUND ITS WAY TO ME (EDIT) (3:26) (Atco single 45-7014, 1975)
13. LOOK ME UP (TOM MOULTON EXTENDED REMIX) (10:23) (from Harmless CD HURTCD122, 2013)

CD 3: Thirteen Blue Magic Lane (Atco LP 36-120, 1975)

1. THE LONELIEST HOUSE ON THE BLOCK (5:07)
2. CHASING RAINBOWS (4:16)
3. BORN ON HALLOWEEN (3:15)
4. HAUNTED (BY YOUR LOVE) (3:03)
5. I LIKE YOU (3:15)
6. MAGIC OF THE BLUE (2:55)
7. WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK (5:44)
8. STOP AND GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF (5:38)
9. MARGIE JOSEPH & BLUE MAGIC: WHAT'S COME OVER ME (4:24)
10. MARGIE JOSEPH & BLUE MAGIC: YOU & ME (GOT A GOOD THING GOING) (3:03) (Atco/WMOT single 45-7030, 1975)
11. GRATEFUL (4:20) (Atco/WMOT single 45-7046, 1976)
12. MAGIC OF THE BLUE (VOCAL VERSION) (5:33) (Atlantic/WMOT 12-inch single DSKO 61, 1975)
13. STOP AND GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF (EDIT) (3:38) (Atco/WMOT single 45-7052, 1976)
14. GRATEFUL (EDIT) (3:50) (Atco/WMOT promo single 45-7046, 1976)

CD 4: Mystic Dragons (Atco LP 36-140, 1976)

1. FREAK-N-STEIN (7:59)
2. TO GET LOVE (YOU MUST GIVE LOVE) (5:20)
3. SEE THE BEDROOM (3:31)
4. MOTHER FUNK (5:57)
5. SUMMER SNOW (5:00)
6. ROCK N ROLL REVIVAL (4:30)
7. TEACH ME (IT'S SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE)
8. MAKING LOVE TO A MEMORY (3:05)
9. SPARK OF LOVE (3:24)
10. FREAK-N-STEIN (EDIT) (3:16) (Atco/WMOT single 45-7052, 1976)
11. SUMMER SNOW (EDIT) (3:48) (WMOT single 45-4003, 1976)

CD 5: Blue Magic, Major Harris, and Margie Joseph, Live! (Highlights) (WMOT LP 2-5000, 1976)

1. BLUE MAGIC, MAJOR HARRIS, MARGIE JOSEPH: I LOVE MUSIC (2:28)
2. MEDLEY (7:07)
   • SPELL (b) YOU'RE MY FIRST, MY LAST, MY EVERYTHING (c) WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK
3. MEDLEY (6:50)
   • TRY TO REMEMBER (b) STOP TO START
4. CHASING RAINBOWS (4:46)
5. SIDESHOW (5:36)
6. HAUNTED (BY YOUR LOVE) (2:43)
7. BLUE MAGIC & MARGIE JOSEPH: WHAT'S COME OVER ME (5:48)
8. BAD LUCK (5:15)
9. BLUE MAGIC & MARGIE JOSEPH: I'M GONNA MAKE YOU LOVE ME (5:28)
10. BLUE MAGIC & MARGIE JOSEPH: FUNNY GUY, FUNNY GIRL, FUNNY LOVE (2:54)

CD 6: Message from the Magic (Atco LP 38-104, 1978)

1. CAN'T GET YOU OFF MY MIND (4:26)
2. IF YOU WANT ME TO (3:54)
3. LADY IN MY WORLD OF LOVE (3:39)
4. FOUR LEAF CLOVER (4:03)
5. PURPLE PASSION (4:51)
6. STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU (3:40)
7. MESSAGE (3:34)
8. SWEET WOMAN (4:36)
9. I WAITED (4:01)
10. I WAITED (EDIT) (3:24) (Atco single 45-7090, 1978)