A Shot of Soul
The Ebonys - The O'Jays - Harold Melvin
Part One of Two
First Appeared at The Music Box, August 2003, Volume 10, #8
Written by John Metzger
In the 1960s, soul music evolved out of the R&B movement of the previous decade, exploding like a fireworks display with each sparkle representing a different sonic twist. There was the pop sensation of Motown, the gritty sound of Memphis, and the contemplative style fostered in Chicago by Curtis Mayfield. By the end of the decade, nearly every city seemed to have its own, unique variation. In Philadelphia, a smoother, silkier strain was developed by producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff along with arranger Thom Bell (although Bobby Martin and MFSB founder Norman Harris later became the arrangers of choice). Together, the trio of Gamble, Huff, and Bell put The Delfonics on the map with the release of its 1968 classic La La Means I Love You. By the mid-’70s, the Philly Soul style was well-established, though it also began to wear a little thin as social commentary took a back seat to sexual desire, and disco crept into the public consciousness. Here is a look at several recently reissued albums in Legacy Recordings’ "Philly Soul Classics" as well as its "Rhythm & Soul" series — each of which has been digitally re-mastered and augmented with bonus material.
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Wake Up Everybody
(Epic/Philadelphia International/Legacy)
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes actually got its start in 1954, but it was the
ensemble’s association with Gamble and Huff as well as the 1970 addition of
singer Teddy Pendergrass that pushed the group over the top, allowing it to
score its first number-one R&B hit (and only Top Five pop hit) with If You
Don’t Know Me by Now. Pendergrass didn’t stay with the Harold Melvin & The
Blue Notes for very long. He departed four albums later to begin a solo career,
shortly after the release of the somewhat disappointing Wake Up Everybody.
For certain, the group never recovered from his exodus, nor would the seven
songs on its Wake Up Everybody have amounted to much were it not for
Pendergrass’ emotive vocals. It’s he who saves songs like Don’t Leave Me This
Way — which later became a disco hit for Thelma Houston — and the slinky
groove of Keep on Lovin’ You from becoming standard Philly Soul/R&B fare,
though even he couldn’t help the group rise above the drab You Know How to
Make Me Feel So Good. The finest song on Wake Up Everybody, however,
is the title track, a powerful plea for social responsibility and community
healing that transcends genres to become something far greater. While there’s
little doubt that the album was an unsuccessful combination of two Marvin
Gaye-classics (What’s Going On and Let’s Get It On), Harold Melvin
& The Blue Notes truly lived up to its lofty aspirations on Wake Up Everybody’s
title track. Only one bonus selection was added to the reissue: Don’t Leave
Me This Way was remixed and given extended treatment as a single in 1975,
and in hinting at its revival in the disco era, this rendition is largely
inferior to the shorter album version. 
Wake Up Everybody is available from Barnes & Noble.
To order, Click Here!
The Ebonys
The Ebonys
(Epic/Philadelphia International/Legacy)
The Ebonys didn’t have nearly as many chart successes as its peers, leading
it to release only two albums before disbanding in 1976. The better of these was
the group’s self-titled debut, the only collection it recorded for Gamble and
Huff’s Philadelphia International. Released in 1973, the album was largely a
hit-and-miss affair, though its highs rivaled those of the premier Philly Soul
outfits. It’s Forever easily could have become mired in its overwrought
orchestrations and saccharine lyrics, but instead the ensemble lifted the song
out of the muck with an impassioned vocal performance that was pure magic.
Likewise, Life in the Country explored some intriguing grooves courtesy
of backing band MFSB — the same group behind The O’Jays’ Ship Ahoy and
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes’ Wake Up Everybody. Elsewhere, I’m So
Glad I’m Me was a masterful piece of Motown-influenced pop, while both
Hook Up and Get Down and Sexy Ways carried a grittier feel than most
Gamble and Huff projects. Dotted with horn-splashes, the loose arrangements of
these songs suited The Ebonys just fine. The remainder of the album was routine
fare, barely saved by the group’s shimmering vocals. Four bonus tracks have been
tacked on to the recent reissue: the perky Do You Like the Way I Love,
the minor hit Determination (which never appeared on an album by The Ebonys), the terrifically funky Do It, and a forgettable edited version
of It’s Forever.
The Ebonys is available from Barnes & Noble.
To order, Click Here!
The O'Jays
Ship Ahoy
(Epic/Philadelphia International/Legacy)
The influence of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On also reverberated
through The O’Jays’ terrific 1973 release Ship Ahoy. Like Back
Stabbers, the group’s previous outing, Ship Ahoy mixed lyrics on
social and political issues with those of love. At its core was the epic,
nine-minute title track, which merged the sound of a turbulent ocean with those
of whips cracking through the air while the group told its audience the ominous
tale of African slaves being brought to America. The voices of The O’Jays
touchingly ached with sorrow and pain, while strings and guitars churned
tempestuously about them. Indeed, this may be the finest song the production
team of Gamble and Huff ever unleashed on the public. Elsewhere, The O’Jays
delivered a sermon on wealth and greed during the funk-fueled For the Love of
Money — a song that has since become an oft-misused parody of itself in bad
Hollywood films — as well as an impassioned plea on behalf of the environment on
the soaring This Air I Breathe. Songs like You Got Your Hooks in Me
and Now that We Found Love sounded a little out of place in the middle of
all this seriousness, but Put Your Hands Together — which kicked off the
album and is also resurrected from a concert recording and included as a bonus
track — is uplifting, joyous, and downright heavenly.
Ship Ahoy is available from Barnes & Noble.
To order, Click Here!
Of Further Interest...
A Shot of Soul Part Two: The Manhattans, Isley Brothers, Isley-Jasper-Isley
Al Green - The Definitive Greatest Hits
James Hunter - People Gonna Talk
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2003 The Music Box