the incomparable philadelphia international label - S/D

S: Early Hall and Oates albums.
Backstabbers by the O'jays.
Some of the later disco stuff Including Mcfadden and Whitehead and the Detroit spinners.

D: Nothing specific although much of their output after 1976 is just a little bit too slick for my liking.

The Stylistics did some wonderful early stuff which is spread liberally over the first 3 albums but by the time they moved to Philadelphia they had turned pretty cheesy and were way past their best.

If I wanted to make a Philly compilation I'd probably make my own and it would be a pretty good album but I'd be tempted to add quite a few tracks from the, to my mind at least, far superior Salsoul label.

Like Antony said above, Philly International was prone to being a little too smooth after 1975, mainly because the backing musicians on the early hits (MFSB) quit working with them because of financial issues. Gamble & Huff also started having a personal rivalry that messed up their songwriting.

But nearly all their stuff is worth checking out except for the Jacksons' Goin' Places LP and This One's For You, the album they put out in the immediate aftermath of Teddy Pendergrass' accident.

Not on Philly International but Philadelphia soul that isn't essential: the Spinners after 1975.

The Jones Girls should be included here for the wonderful 'Nights over Egypt' and 'This feeling's killing me'

Jean Carn had some moments on Philadelphia but her first 3 albums on Ovation and the Buddah stuff that came after it are the real gems.

Taking Sides: Spaceball By Larry Young's Fuel -vs- Life On Mars By Dexter Wansel

Philly Soul

The Spinners and Hall & Oates may have recorded IN Philly, but they didn't record FOR Philadelphia Int'l. Not to be anal about it, but in case some novice reading this buys a Philly Int'l comp and wonders why those artists aren't on the album (or why the Stylistics tracks aren't from their early 70's prime), that is why.

"D: Nothing specific although much of their output after 1976 is just a little bit too slick for my liking."

That's kinda the way I feel about soul music in general, and Philly Int'l is no different, but there were some exceptions that slipped between the cracks. Leon Huff's "I'm Not Jivin', I'm Jammin'" (from his HERE TO MAKE MUSIC album, ca. 1980) is a nice jazz-blues stepper's instrumental with Huff himself wailing on the piano. And for a REAL anomaly, dig up Bobby Rush's 1979 album, RUSH HOUR. Rush is a long-standing institution on the chitlin'-circuit, and this was the least likely label that anybody'd expect to see him on, but here the jook joint crashes head-on with the discotheque, and the result is one of 1979's best albums.

As far as stuff from Philly Int'l's good years (1971-75), that Yellow Sunshine album from '73 is a good bet, if you're into funk with hard-rock overtones.

Also out there:
- Johnny Williams (another soul-blues singer that Philly Int'l picked up; his hit was "Slow Motion," but I have another single he did called "It's So Wonderful" that's worth hearing...never had an album for some reason)
- Bunny Sigler (esp. KEEP SMILIN')
- MFSB (more jazzy than the Salsoul Orchestra, even though it was essentially the same musicians in both groups!)
- Trammps'"Where Do We Go From Here" (the album this came from doesn't move me, but this song here is definitely a lost classic)
- Gideon Smith's "Arkansaw Wife" (now this is funny, a hard-rock record on Philadelphia International! and it was their first release, too! i know this probably isn't what most fans of this label are looking for, but if you like crunching 1971 hard rock with a catchy hook, look out for this single...woulda sounded great next to the Jaggerz, Crabby Appleton or Wadsworth Mansion)

http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2003-08-07/cover.shtml

The Pendergrass albums I especially love: "Life is a Song Worth Singing," "TP."

My fave O'Jays song lately has been "Rich Get Richer," from "Survival." Would've been a much cooler single choice than "Give the People What They Want," with much more incisive politics.

Teddy Pendergrass, S/D?

Also, I don't know Billy Paul's albums, but the "Me and Mrs. Jones" comp is really sweet. Sounds to me like he listened to a lot of Betty Carter.

And the Intruders best-of from the mid-'90s is worth a spin, especially the long version of "I'll Always Love My Mama."

I have roughly half the Billy Paul Gamble/PIR albums in some form. No lost masterpieces, but they all have something. Ebony Woman has a side's worth of great ballads with sparse arrangements, but the timely upbeat covers aren't so hot. When Love Is New, from a few years later, is pretty overlooked. That has "Let the Dollar Circulate."

Also search parts of Eddie Kendricks' two Harris Machine albums, He's a Friend and Goin' Up in Smoke, though they were obviously both for Tamla and not PIR.

If I can get to it, I'll put together a post-"classic era" list of faves.

http://theseconddisc.com/2012/03/21/put-your-hands-together-massive-10-cd-philadelphia-international-box-due-in-march/

ordered the boxset last night on a whim having drunk too much vino.

woke up this morning and remembered, and rather than regretting my action, got excited.

cant bloody wait for this to arrive.

have been spinning the tom moulton remixes so much recently. i need more.

ok, still digesting this 10 cd set, and it could be said that the tom moulton remixes take the best tracks here and make them even better, but, damn, this is a boxset of pure joy.

for less than 50 quid this is beyond a bargain ..

Has anyone read the book about this: A House on Fire: The Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul, John A. Jackon? I looked at the library copy once, all I remember is was there some colorful way of saying Billy Paul had some intonation problems. Who knew?

The quote from Thom Bell is Billy Paul "would sing so flat it sounded like you could land a 747 on it."

ouch.
think i need to read that ..
(but for ... mrs jones alone billy gets a free pass forever .. )

I think somebody said more or less the same thing about Percy Sledge and "When A Man Loves A Woman" so I take it with a grain of salt.

Picked up the 10CD box mentioned upthread for £20 + postage as part of Demon's recent sale. It's pretty much all I've listened to this weekend and I'm only on CD4. Brilliant stuff. Has anyone else seen 'Am I Black Enough For You?', the Billy Paul film?