Legacy also spared no expense when it came to Love Train s packaging, throwing in a beauty of a booklet that contains in-depth information on each track, a label timeline, and nine absorbing essays from critics, musicians, and scholars (including Gamble Huff themselves).
Gamble Huff were a hitmaking production duo in their own right, and a healthy chunk of this box is devoted to the songs they produced for artists such as Wilson Pickett, the Manhattans, the Stylistics, and, of course, the Spinners.
One of the fringe benefits of all the label merging and consolidation thats taken place over the last decade or so is that its put a lot of classic recordings under the same corporate roofs and thanks to the mega-merger that brought Sony and BMG together a few years ago, Love Train doesnt stop with songs that were originally issued via Philadelphia International. Offering up 71 tracks from the Philadelphia International vaults, compiled with the input and assistance of label founders Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, Love Train is the crown jewel in Legacys ongoing campaign to restore PIRs long-lost market luster, and if you know anyone who gets misty-eyed when they hear a classic late 70s Philly soul song, now you know what youre getting them for Christmas. Really, how many copies of The Essential Damn Yankees have been purchased Who greenlighted a double-disc REO Speedwagon compilation Did they have a straight face when they signed the memo Even in the midst of all these unnecessary reissues and box sets, however, theres still plenty of room for the occasional repackaging thats not only well worth your time and money, but actually plugs a gap in the marketplace and Legacy, God bless em, has filled just such a void with the four-disc Love Train: The Sound of Philadelphia.
With the temperature dropping, its time to find someone to keep you warm. The third disc finds Gamble Huff and Bell expanding their lush signature, ushering in disco with singles like Harold Melvin the Blue Notes Dont Leave Me This Way, then the fourth disc charts the aftermath through the Spinners The Rubberband Man, Lou Rawls Youll Never Find Another Love Like Mind, and Deniece Williams Its Gonna Take a Miracle.Īlthough 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.