Category Archives: Philadelphia Soul
PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL RECORDS-THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY BOX SET.
PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL RECORDS-THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY BOX SET. One of the most eagerly awaited and much anticipated box sets finally hits the shops on 21st May 2012. In case anyone doesn’t realize what I’m talking about, this is the Philadelphia International Records-The 40th Anniversary Box Set, a mammoth ten disc box set, released by Harmless Records …
JUMPIN.’
JUMPIN.’ Since 1995, Harmless Records have been releasing an eclectic selection of compilations. This has ranged from their highly successful funk, soul and jazz compilations Pulp Fusion to compilations, to compilations of breakbeats and Latin music. However, over the past few years, Harmless Records have also released a number of quality disco compilations, including their …
BILLY PAUL-WAR OF THE GODS.
BILLY PAUL-WAR OF THE GODS. A year after the release of Billy Paul’s most commercially successful album 360 Degrees of Billy Paul in 1972, an album that featured the Grammy Award winning number one single Me and Mrs Jones, Billy released his follow-up album War of the Gods. By this time, Philadelphia International Records had …
BRYAN LOREN-BRYAN LOREN.
BRYAN LOREN-BRYAN LOREN. Bryan Loren, whose eponymous debut album Bryan Loren was rereleased on 26 March 2012 on BBR Records, is much more than a singer, he’s also a talented multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer and songwriter. Some people would call Bryan a prodigy, learning and mastering various instruments, and then writing songs while still in his …
THE DEFINITIVE SALSOUL MIXES.
THE DEFINITIVE SALSOUL MIXES. For some time, I’ve been meaning to write about one of my favorite, and without doubt, one of the greatest labels of the disco era, Salsoul Records. They were one of the most influential and innovative disco labels, releasing over three-hundred tracks between 1974 and 1985. Along with Casablanca, SAM, Prelude, …
LOOSE ENDS-SO WHERE ARE YOU?
LOOSE ENDS-SO WHERE ARE YOU? Having released their debut album A Little Spice in 1984, which had reached number forty-six in the UK, Loose Ends were ready to record their second album, which would become So Where Are You?, which was rereleased by Soul.Music.com in December 2011. Little did they realize then, that 1985 would …
THE O’JAYS-WE’LL NEVER FORGET YOU-THE IMPERIAL YEARS 1963-66.
THE O’JAYS-WE’LL NEVER FORGET YOU-THE IMPERIAL YEARS 1963-66. Although I’ve reviewed a number of The O’Jays albums from their Philadelphia International days, including Back Stabbers, Family Reunion and Ship Ahoy, there was much more to their music than music than the Philadelphia International years. Granted, it was by far, the most successful period of The …
LOOSE ENDS-A LITTLE SPICE.
LOOSE ENDS-A LITTLE SPICE. After Carl McIntosh, Jane Eugene and Steve Nichol founded Loose Ends in 1981, the group went on to record five albums between 1984 and 1990. During this time, they also released nearly twenty singles, two of which Hanging On A String(Contemplating) in 1985 and Slow Down in 1986 reached number one …
DEXTER WANSEL-CAPTURED.
DEXTER WANSEL-CAPTURED. After releasing a quartet of albums on Philadelphia International Records, where Dexter Wansel was a pivotal figure in the label’s success, Dexter left Philadelphia International, signing for 10 Records, where he’d release Captured in 1986. This was Dexter’s first album since Time Is Slipping Away in 1979 and only his fifth solo album …
DISCO CONNECTION VOLUME 2-AUTHENTIC CLASSIC DISCO 1974-1981.
DISCO CONNECTION VOLUME 2-AUTHENTIC CLASSIC DISCO 1974-1981. A few years ago, Warners released a number of soul, funk and disco compilations that gave a tantalizing glimpse of the hidden delights within their back-catalogue. Two of the best compilations were the Disco Collection series, a short lived and much lived compilation series. Although both compilations were …
JOHN MORALES THE M AND M MIXES VOLUME 2.
JOHN MORALES THE M AND M MIXES VOLUME 2. One compilation I was really excited about last year, was John Morales The M and M Mixes Volume 2, released in March 2011 by BBE Music. Here was double album featuring eighteen previously unreleased mixes from John Morales that had never been released before. Previously, the …
SEARCH-SEARCH I.
SEARCH-SEARCH I. Recently, I’ve reviewed two albums which were originally released on Philly World Records. These were Terri Wells’ Dreamin’ and Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes’ Talk It Up (Tell Everybody), remastered and rereleased by BBR Records. Founded by Peter Pellullo, a businessman who’d owned the Alpha Recording Studios since 1977, Philly World Records …
WALTER GIBBONS-JUNGLE MUSIC.
WALTER GIBBONS-JUNGLE MUSIC. If you were to ask most lovers of all things disco, who the most important, influential and innovative DJs of the seventies were, Walter Gibbons’ name wouldn’t be far from most people’s lips. Walter’s role in the history of DJ-ing can’t be underestimated. He was one of the most technically brilliant DJs, …
HAROLD MELVIN AND THE BLUE NOTES-TALK IT UP (TELL EVERYBODY).
HAROLD MELVIN AND THE BLUE NOTES-TALK IT UP (TELL EVERYBODY). After Teddy Pendergrass left Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, both Teddy and Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes fortunes varied. While Teddy went on to become a global superstar, resulting in his first four albums being certified platinum and another three gold, Harold Melvin …
DANNY KRIVIT-EDITS BY MR K-VOLUME 2: MUSIC OF THE EARTH.
DANNY KRIVIT-EDITS BY MR K-VOLUME 2: MUSIC OF THE EARTH. Nowadays, it seems it’s not enough for a DJ to have impeccable music taste and be technically brilliant, but they’ve also get to be an “artist,” capable of remixing and reediting tracks. These are now tools that every DJ should have in their arsenal. This …
THE BREAKS-ORIGINAL B BOY STREET FUNK AND BLOCK PARTY CLASSICS.
THE BREAKS-ORIGINAL B BOY STREET FUNK AND BLOCK PARTY CLASSICS. Recently, I reviewed one of the compilations Harmless Records released to commemorate their fifteenth anniversary, Mellow Mellow. However, that wasn’t the only compilation Harmless released to celebrate fifteen years of releasing quality music. Three other compilations were released, Jumpin’ was a collection of true disco …
TERRI WELLS-JUST LIKE DREAMIN.’
TERRI WELLS-JUST LIKE DREAMIN.’ Anyone who loves the Philly Sound will know the voice of Terri Wells, whose 1984 album Just Like Dreamin’ will be released on February 27 by BBR Records. From an early age, Terri Wells’ life revolved around music, starting with singing in churches in her hometown of Philadelphia, before forging a …
DISCO DISCHARGE-DIGGIN’ DEEPER.
DISCO DISCHARGE-DIGGIN’ DEEPER. Growing up, I was just the right age to hear the best music of the disco era. Since then, I’ve always loved disco music. Even when disco was meant to “suck,” I still loved the music, and over the last thirty odd years, have amassed quite a collection of classic disco. So, …
THE BIG APPLE BITES BACK-NEW YORK HOUSE AND REMIX CULTURE.
THE BIG APPLE BITES BACK-NEW YORK HOUSE AND REMIX CULTURE. Over the last few months, I’ve been reviewing just a few of the Backbeats series of compilations released by Harmless since 2009. This is a comprehensive overview of various genres of music that numbers everything from Deep Soul, Eighties Garage and Northern Soul to Philly …
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