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Ace Records is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary with special releases as well as concerts and a pop-up shop in London.  Over the course of those decades, the label has established a number of long-running series including their Songwriters and Producers lines.  A recent release in the Songwriters series celebrates two of the all-time greats in both categories: Philadelphia's Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff.  Love Train: The Gamble and Huff Songbook brings together 24 songs from the Philadelphia International Records duo who also formed two thirds of Mighty Three Publishing along with the late Thom Bell.  Though some of PIR's brightest lights are represented here (The O'Jays, Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, Lou Rawls), the collection draws heavily on the songs written by G&H that left Philly to resonate in Detroit, Memphis, London, Jamaica, and beyond.

The set opens with 1968's "Love in Them There Hills" from Los Angeles group The Vibrations, an early production client of Gamble and Huff.  The track, co-written by G&H with guitarist Roland Chambers and arranged by Philly veteran Richard Rome, showcases the funky roots of a sound that would grow in splendor and dimension.  (Crucially, mighty Earl Young was behind the drum kit laying down the driving beat.)  Rome was a key part of the Philly Sound in those early days, also arranging Peaches and Herb's moderate hit "United" in 1968.  The set subsequently showcases Gamble and Huff's pre-Philadelphia International productions for Freddie Scott ("(You) Got What I Need"), The Intruders ("Cowboys to Girls," on which the lush Philadelphia soul sound crystallizes even more), Jerry Butler (the desperate, urgent "Lost," heard here in a slightly extended version without a fade), Wilson Pickett ("Ain't No Doubt About It"), and Joe Simon (the supremely dark and moody "Drowning in the Sea of Love," with a Thom Bell arrangement).  Bell's chart for Archie Bell and The Drells' "Can't Stop Dancing" is spare by his standards, with a basic rhythm section and brass, yet the track positively cooks.

"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" was Gamble and Huff's first composition to receive multiple covers.  Dee Dee Warwick introduced it in 1966, and Diana Ross and The Supremes and The Temptations took their duet version to the top five in both the U.S. and U.K. in 1968.  In between, New Jersey-born Madeline Bell took her first stab at the song in the U.K., and that's the version heard here - with Bell's gutsy vocal set to an Arthur Greenslade arrangement.  "A Brand New Me" also yielded multiple versions, and compiler Tony Rounce has chosen Mary Wells' spare, almost ghostly reading from 1969 that's far-removed from both the Philly Sound and Wells' earlier Motown records.

While Wells had already left the Motown roster by the time she recorded "A Brand New Me," plenty of Motown artists made Gamble and Huff's songs their own.  One early example of the Detroit/Philly cross-pollination is Gladys Knight and the Pips' 1968 recording of "Together," arranged by Paul Riser and produced by Norman Whitfield.  The post-Diana Ross Supremes' cover of The O'Jays'' "Love Train," led by Jean Terrell, is among the treasures here.  Rounce has opted to include Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes' original version of the pulsating "Don't Leave Me This Way" here, and it beat out Thelma Houston's cover at Motown in the U.K, while Houston's version reached No. 1 Pop, R&B, and Dance stateside; the Blue Notes' original was never released as a single in the United States.  (The Blue Notes' recording was also one of the final releases to feature Mk. I of Philadelphia International's house band MFSB before many of its members decamped to Salsoul Records to form The Salsoul Orchestra.  Mk. II can be heard on the effervescent and still irresistible "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" from Lou Rawls.)  Jean Carn (or Carne) had joined PIR in 1977 and later moved to Motown.  While on Berry Gordy's label, she revisited the Blue Notes' silken "If You Don't Know Me by Now" with none other than The Temptations as her background singers.  Norman Connors helmed this hidden gem.

One of Gamble and Huff's most enduring copyrights, "Only the Strong Survive," was introduced in 1969 by its co-writer Jerry Butler.   The story goes that Elvis Presley heard it on the radio in between sessions for his From Elvis in Memphis LP, and instructed the band at Chips Moman's American Studios to whip up an arrangement.  It became a highlight of that acclaimed record, and is reprised here as a potent reminder of Elvis' penchant for deep soul.

Barbara Mason had the Philly credentials to do justice to "Me and Mr. Jones" in her trademark steamy style, while teen singer Margo Thunder reinterpreted The Soul Survivors' "Expressway to Your Heart" supported by producers Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter and arranger Michael Omartian.  The 1974 Capitol/Haven track might be the deepest cut on this collection.

The melodic and funky works of Gamble and Huff were occasionally reinvented by reggae artists.  "Now That We've Found Love," a beautiful midtempo ballad introduced by The O'Jays in 1973, was covered by Jamaican group Third World in 1976; their shimmering rendition quickly eclipsed the original in popularity.  The next year, George Faith took on "I've Got the Groove," a little-known O'Jays track from 1970, with producer Lee "Scratch" Perry.  Gamble and Huff's songs were also surveyed in country-rock-soul style (Dobie Gray and Bonnie Bramlett's take on the Jerry Butler oldie "Never Gonna Give You Up") and pure blues (Bobby Rush's "Hey, Western Union Man," its blues makeover crafted by Rush with Leon Huff himself).

Love Train: The Gamble and Huff Songbook includes a 28-page booklet with Tony Rounce's track-by-track annotations.  Nick Robbins has remastered the audio in the collection.  The music of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff continues to resonate today.  Though this set by necessity can only graze the surface of their historic collaboration, it's an enjoyable primer on some of the finest soul songs of all time.  Love Train is available now at the links below.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Various Artists, Love Train: The Gamble and Huff Songbook (Ace/Kent CDTOP534, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Love in Them There Hills - The Vibrations (Okeh 47311, 1968) (*)
2. United - Peaches and Herb (Date 2-1603, 1968)
3. I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Madeline Bell (from Philips LP SBL 7818, 1967)
4. (You) Got What I Need - Freddie Scott (Shout S-233, 1968)
5. A Brand New Me - Mary Wells (rec. 1969, issued on Sequel CD NEXCD 257, 1996)
6. Only the Strong Survive - Elvis Presley (RCA Victor LP LSP-4155, 1969)
7. Cowboys to Girls - The Intruders (Gamble G-214, 1968)
8. Lost - Jerry Butler (previously unreleased, unedited version of Mercury single 72764, 1968)
9. Together - Gladys Knight and The Pips (Soul LP SS 711, 1968)
10. I Can't Stop Dancing - Archie Bell and The Drells (Atlantic LP SD 8204, 1968) (*)
11. Let's Get Together Soon - Dusty Springfield (Atlantic LP SD 8249, 1970)
12. Ain't No Doubt About It - Wilson Pickett (Atlantic 45-2781, 1971)
13. Drowning in the Sea of Love - Joe Simon (Spring SPR 120, 1971)
14. Love Train - The Supremes (Tamla Motown LP STML 11237, 1973)
15. Me and Mr. Jones (Part I) - Barbara Mason (Buddah LP BDS 5140, 1973)
16. Expressway to Your Heart - Margo Thunder (Haven 7008, 1974)
17. I Love Music (Part I) - The O'Jays (Philadelphia International ZS8 3577, 1975)
18. I've Got the Groove - George Faith (Island WIP 6424, 1977) (*)
19. Don't Leave Me This Way - Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes (Philadelphia International LP PZ 33808, 1975)
20. Never Gonna Give You Up - Bonnie Bramlett and Dobie Gray (Capricorn LP CP 0169. 1976)
21. You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine - Lou Rawls (Philadelphia International LP ZS8 3592, 1976)
22. If You Don't Know Me by Now - Jean Carn (Motown LP 601DML, 1982)
23. Now That We've Found Love - Third World (Island IS 8663, 1976)
24. Hey, Western Union Man - Bobby Rush (Philadelphia International ZS8 3695, 1979)

Stereo except (*) mono​