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…
Jump to the Beat: Edsel Reissues “Disco Ladies” and “Disco Boogie” Collections
Late in 2023, Demon Music Group revived its Disco Discharge series on the Edsel label. Two recent 2CD volumes, Disco Ladies and Disco Boogie, continue presenting the series in a deluxe, oversized seven-inch format. These titles, chockablock with disco deep cuts and hits alike, were originally issued on the Harmless label in 2009 and 2010, respectively, and have been tweaked (likely due to licensing restrictions) for this go-round. Disco Ladies offers a cross-section of the many women with varied styles who ruled the dancefloor. As original compiler/annotator Alan Jones notes in his…
I’m Doin’ Fine Now: “Groove Machine: The Earl Young Drum Sessions” Spotlights Philly Legend
Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Thom Bell might have been The Mighty Three, but dozens of musicians joined them in shaping The Sound of Philadelphia. That triumvirate’s lush, lithe productions were brought to life by the loose aggregation of players known as MFSB, or the house band at Sigma Sound Studios. These are the same musicians who went on to form The Salsoul Orchestra under the baton of Vincent Montana, Jr., including Norman Harris, Ronnie Baker, Bobby Eli, Ron Kersey, Lenny Pakula, Roland Chambers, Charles Collins, T.J. Tindall, Larry Washington, Zack Zachery,…
Release Round-Up: Week of April 7
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today. Various Artists, Love Is the Message: The Sound of Philadelphia Volume 3 (Snapper/United Souls) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 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 resumes with 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…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Give the People What They Want: Third Philadelphia International Box Set Arrives in April
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…
Vinyl Me, Please Releases Lavish “Story of Philadelphia International Records” Anthology
The legacy of Philadelphia International Records is as mighty as the famous three men most associated with the label: co-founders and songwriter-producers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff and songwriter-producer-conductor-arranger Thom Bell. The three men didn’t do it alone, though; the PIR story involves the dozens of talented artists, musicians, songwriters, producers, and arrangers who passed through the doors of engineer Joe Tarsia’s Sigma Sound Studios on North 12th Street in Philadelphia, creating magic on a daily basis. That tale – one of symphonic soul and social conscience – is brought to vivid…
Release Round-Up: Week of November 19
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts (Columbia/Legacy) 2CD/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts features newly remixed and restored audio and video footage from Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band’s sets at Madison Square Garden in New York City in late September 1979. The star-studded “No Nukes” concerts were put on by MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy), a coalition of artists and activists (including Jackson Browne,…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
The Weekend Stream: September 25, 2021
While The Second Disc prides itself on connecting people to reissues and box sets they can keep on their shelves, it’s no secret that listening audiences are also digital – catalogue music lovers, too – and our passion is connecting people to music from the past that they might adore. So we’ve introduced a new feature: The Weekend Stream, which focuses on hidden gems that recently made it to digital channels that might make your playlists a little brighter! A Tribe Called Quest, Check the Rhime (Remixes) / Hot Sex / Jazz…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Here to Make Music: Vinyl Me, Please Announces Philadelphia International Records Anthology
Sony Music’s celebration of Philadelphia International Records’ 50th anniversary has so far encompassed a new, vinyl-only series of hits collections as well as the first two releases in the ongoing complete albums series of CD box sets from the U.K.’s Snapper/United Souls label. Now, a major component of the golden anniversary celebration for the house that Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff built has been announced by the Vinyl Me, Please record club. VMP Anthology: The Story of Philadelphia International Records is the latest in VMP’s deluxe series of box sets celebrating artists…
Put Your Hands Together: Second Volume of Complete Philadelphia International Albums Arrives in November
Back in late January, we shared news of Philadelphia International Records’ 50th anniversary plans. The centerpiece of the campaign announced by Sony Music’s Legacy Recordings was a series of fifteen CD box sets via the U.K.-based United Souls/Snapper Music presenting every PIR album in chronological order. The first of those box sets hit stores in late May, and now the second volume has been announced for November 19 release. The slipcased, 8-CD/1-12″ single hardcover book-style set entitled Satisfaction Guaranteed: The Sound of Philadelphia International Records Vol. 2 will feature the following eight…
Release Round-Up: Week of July 16
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Tina Turner, Foreign Affair [Various Formats] (Parlophone/Rhino) 4CD/1DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store (white variant) Rhino and Parlophone revisit Tina Turner’s 1989 album featuring “The Best” in a variety of formats including a 4CD/DVD Super Deluxe Edition and 2CD and 2LP Deluxe Editions. The Super Deluxe Edition of Foreign Affair features the remastered original album on CD 1. Disc 2 has a selection of period remixes and B-sides plus a previously unreleased demo of “The Best.” The third and fourth CDs premiere…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
The Second Disc Guide to Record Store Day Drop 1 TOMORROW!
Once again, Record Store Day here in the U.S. looks a little – make that a lot – different this year. The usual offerings have been split among two dates in 2021 with Drop 1 taking place tomorrow, June 12, at your local independent record retailer. Drop 2 then takes place on July 17. Every retailer is handling the Drop a bit differently thanks to the necessary accommodations for social distancing, smaller crowds, and better safety precautions. So please check in with your favorite store to find out more information. Below, you’ll…
Release Round-Up: Week of May 28
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Various Artists, Get on Board the Soul Train: The Sound of Philadelphia Vol. 1 (Snapper/United Souls) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Burning Shed) Get On Board the Soul Train: The Sound of Philadelphia International Records Vol. 1 is the first in a series of box sets from the U.K.-based United Souls label, an imprint of Snapper Music, which will ultimately collect the entire Philadelphia International albums discography on CD. The slipcased, 8-CD/1-12″ single hardcover book-style set will feature the following eight albums, originally released between 1971 and 1973: Billy…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
If You Don’t Know Me By Now: Legacy Plans Philadelphia International “Best of” Series
The Philadelphia International Records 50th anniversary campaign kicks off this Friday, May 25, with the release of Get on Board the Soul Train: The Sound of Philadelphia International Records Vol. 1 from the U.K. Snapper Music label’s United Souls imprint. The 8-CD hardcover book-style box presents the first eight albums released on PIR, and the series will eventually encompass every one of PIR’s LPs on CD. On the domestic front, Legacy Recordings issues its first anniversary release this Friday with The Best of Philadelphia International Records, a 12-track overview of some of…
The Weekend Stream: May 15, 2021
While The Second Disc prides itself on connecting people to reissues and box sets they can keep on their shelves, it’s no secret that listening audiences are also digital – catalogue music lovers, too – and our passion is connecting people to music from the past that they might adore. So we’ve introduced a new Saturday feature: The Weekend Stream, which focuses on hidden gems that recently made it to digital channels that might make your playlists a little brighter! Various Artists, Philadelphia International Records: The Tom Moulton Remixes (Philadelphia International Records/Legacy)…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
People All Over the World, Join Hands: United Souls Announces First Philadelphia International Records Albums Box Set, “Get On Board the Love Train”
Back in late January, we shared news of Philadelphia International Records’ 50th anniversary plans. The centerpiece of the campaign announced by Sony Music’s Legacy Recordings was a series of CD box sets presenting every PIR album in chronological order. Now, the first of those box sets is available for pre-order with a release date of May 28. Get On Board the Soul Train: The Sound of Philadelphia International Records Vol. 1 is a product of the U.K.-based United Souls, an imprint of Snapper Music. The slipcased, 8-CD/1-12″ single hardcover book-style set will…
Wake Up Everybody: Vocalion Releases Quad SACDs from Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, O’Jays, Earth Wind and Fire, Helen Reddy
The U.K.’s Dutton Vocalion label has announced its first batch of hybrid SACD releases for 2020, all of which feature original quadraphonic and stereo mixes. (The stereo mixes are playable on all CD players.) This round follows an eclectic array of titles released in 2019 including albums by Paul Revere and The Raiders, The Guess Who, Argent, Blood Sweat & Tears, Carlos Santana, and numerous others. (Visit the Dutton Vocalion website for information on all of these titles and more!) The following group of releases is available now from the U.K. label,…
Wake Up Everybody: Cherry Red, SoulMusic Collect Classic Philadelphia International Albums from Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes
If you don’t know Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes by now, Cherry Red and SoulMusic Records have just the right collection for you. Be for Real: The PIR Recordings (1972-1975) brings together the four albums recorded by the group for Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International Records on two CDs, plus a six-song bonus disc. Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes came to Gamble and Huff’s newly-formed label in 1972 after having bounced from label to label including Landa, Arctic, and UNI. Melvin had known Gamble and Huff since childhood,…
Release Round-Up: Week of August 23
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Here’s what arriving today, August 23. Elvis Presley, American Sound 1969 (RCA/Legacy) (Amazon U.S.) The Elvis 1969 celebration continues! In January of that year, Presley and his band began sessions with producer Chips Moman at American Sound Studios in Memphis, which resulted in his acclaimed From Elvis In Memphis album and its lead single “In the Ghetto.” He also laid down such iconic songs as “Suspicious Minds,” “Kentucky Rain,” “Rubberneckin’,” and “Don’t Cry Daddy” at the famed studio. American Sound 1969 (available digitally today, with a…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
That’s What Friends Are For: Clive Davis Soundtrack Features Barry, Whitney, Dionne, Aretha, More
This past April, New York’s Radio City Music Hall hosted a prestigious premiere. The film was Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives, and the screening was accompanied by an all-star concert featuring Barry Manilow, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, and others celebrating the life of the music legend. Beginning on October 3, Apple Music will exclusively stream the Chris Perkel-directed documentary, and today, September 27, Legacy Recordings has digitally released an exclusive 34-track deluxe soundtrack on Apple Music boasting four previously unreleased performances. (A standard 20-track digital soundtrack will be…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Bad Luck No More: Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes’ “To Be True” Receives CD Reissue
Blame it on “Bad Luck.” Inexplicably, a proper, wide-release CD reissue has long eluded To Be True, the third of four LPs released by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes on Philadelphia International Records. Happily, Cherry Red’s Big Break imprint has come to the rescue with a remastered and expanded edition of the 1975 chart-topping album that introduced the hit “Bad Luck.” To Be True followed I Miss You and Black and Blue, both of which have already been reissued in expanded CD editions by BBR. Indeed, Harold Melvin and the Blue…
