Sony/Legacy's 2008 four-disc
Love Train: The Ultimate Sound of Philadelphia isn't
the first box set assembled on Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff's legendary
Philadelphia International Records -- most notably it follows the
triple-disc Philly Sound: Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and the Story of
Brotherly Love (1966-1976) by just over a decade -- but it is surely the
best, covering more ground and painting a fuller picture of the Philly
soul sound than any other similar compilation. This is largely due to
how Love Train doesn't focus solely on singles released on Philadelphia
International: it encompasses sides released on early, pre-PIR imprints
like Crimson, Philly Groove, and Gamble but, more importantly, it weaves
in outside productions by Gamble & Huff and their crucial partner
Thom Bell. Adding all these non-PIR singles greatly expands Love Train,
as does the decision to have this set run all the way into 1983, thereby
emphasizing how Gamble & Huff's symphonic soul opened the doors for
both disco and quiet storm. Part of the set's appeal is that it does
offer some education, illustrating how the psychedelicized soul of
1967's "Expressway (To Your Heart)" led to the cool, soft grooves of
1980's "Love T.K.O.," a document of how rich and adventurous '70s soul
was thanks to Gamble & Huff and Bell, and all their artists and
associates, but this set never drags like a history lesson. It keeps
moving from peak to peak, spending the first disc on early triumphs from
the Delfonics ("La-La -- Means I Love You," "Didn't I (Blow Your
Mind)"), Joe Simon ("Drowning in the Sea of Love"), the O'Jays ("Back
Stabbers"), the Spinners ("I'll Be Around"), Billy Paul ("Me and Mrs.
Jones") and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes ("If You Don't Know Me by
Now"), the songs that established the Philly Sound, then giving way to
the glory days documented on the second disc, which opens with the
O'Jays' "Love Train" and closes with "T.S.O.P. (The Sound of
Philadelphia)," the singles that helped cement the Philly sound on a
broader scale. The third disc finds Gamble & Huff and Bell expanding
their lush signature, ushering in disco with singles like Harold Melvin
& the Blue Notes' "Don't Leave Me This Way," then the fourth disc
charts the aftermath through the Spinners' "The Rubberband Man," Lou
Rawls' "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mind," and Deniece Williams'
"It's Gonna Take a Miracle." Although there are assorted lesser-known
singles scattered throughout the box, this is by design hits-heavy,
which is how it should be, as this showcases a body of work -- and as
this superb set proves, Gamble & Huff's body of work ranks among the
strongest popular music of the 20th century.
