Love Is the Message: The Best of MFSB CD

Love Is the Message: The Best of MFSB buy CD music The Spinners were rivaled only by the O'Jays as the greatest Philly soul group, and for that matter the greatest vocal group of the '70s. For listeners who don't want to dig as deeply as the excellent double-CD anthology One of a Kind Love Affair, Rhino's The Very Best of the Spinners is a stellar single-disc career summary that offers a concentrated dose of the group's sweet soul magic. It also serves as a primer on the best work of Thom Bell, Philly soul's "other" great producer besides the legendary Gamble & Huff team. Incredibly, every one of the 16 tracks here -- culled from 1970-1980 -- reached the R&B Top Ten, and half went all the way to number one on either the pop or R&B lists. As this collection demonstrates, the Spinners' massive popularity was well-deserved. Built around the magnetic leads of Philippe Wynne, their records were tastefully, elegantly romantic, full of adult heartache and longings as complex as the group's shifting harmonies. The compilers also license the pre-Wynne Motown hit "It's a Shame," co-written by Stevie Wonder, and include two disco-tinged medleys that returned the Spinners to the Top Ten for the last time at the close of the '70s. But the Wynne material is really the backbone of their output, and Thom Bell's gorgeous production frames his voice with just the right amount of sweetness. There's more to discover on One of a Kind Love Affair, but The Very Best of the Spinners is so solid from top to bottom that it's hard to argue with; one or the other is a necessary purchase for anyone even remotely interested in '70s soul. ~ Steve Huey Additional personnel includes: Dionne Warwick (vocals). Includes liner notes by Kevin Phinney. Digitally remastered by Bill Inglot & Dan Hersch (Digiprep). The Spinners include: Phillipe Wynne, John Edwards (vocals); Henry Fambrough, Billy Henderson, Pervis Jackson, Bobbie Smith (background vocals).

Love Is the Message: The Best of MFSB CD music Recorded between 1972 & 1975. Includes liner notes by Kevin Phinney. Digitally remastered by Bill Inglott & Dan Hersch (DigiPrep). Usually, it's not a good sign if a band is generally known for augmenting artists instead of their own records, but Tower of Power was really a very good horn section, and they did make records that held their own. Of course, "What Is Hip?" was the biggest single they ever had, but they also had several other smaller hits that captured their sleek, stylized soul-funk quite well, such as "Soul Vaccination." Pretty much all of those songs are captured on Rhino's 2001 anthology The Very Best of Tower of Power: The Warner Years, which spans 16 tracks and contains almost all the highlights of their '70s records. Yes, the 1999 double-disc set What Is Hip? is more comprehensive, but that's really for serious listeners. For listeners that want a lean dose of the TOP's prime, this is the best collection on the market. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Compilation producers: Emilio Castillo, Stephen "Doc" Kupka, Gary Peterson. Personnel: Willie Fulton, Bruce Conte (vocals, guitar); Lenny Pickett (vocals, flute, alto flute, piccolo, clarinet, contrabass clarinet, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, bass saxophone, lyricon); Skip Mesquite (vocals, flute, tenor saxophone); Stephen Kupka (vocals, oboe, English horn, baritone saxophone); Emilio Castillo (vocals, tenor saxophone); Mic Gillette (vocals, trumpet, piccolo trumpet, flugelhorn, French horn, trombone, bass trombone, baritone horn); Chester Thompson (vocals, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Clavinet, organ); David Bartlett (vocals, drums); Brent Byars (vocals, congas, bongos); Hubert Tubbs, Rick Stevens, Lenny Williams (vocals); Bud Shank (flute, alto flute, piccolo, alto saxophone); David Duke , Richard Perissi, Vincent DeRosa, Tommy Shepard (French horn); Kell Houston, Frank Rosolino (trombone); Jay Spell (piano); David Garibaldi (drums); Carter Collins (congas); Pepper Watkins, Frank Biner, Ron Beck, Bootche Anderson, Alice Thompson, Roger Rifkind, Marilyn Scott (background vocals). Audio Remasterers: Dan Hersch; Bill Inglot. Liner Note Authors: Emilio Castillo; Kevin Phinney; Stephen Kupka. Recording information: Kaye (05/??/1972-09/15/1975); Record Plant, Sausalito, CA (05/??/1972-09/15/1975); Smith Studios, Seattle, WA (05/??/1972-09/15/1975); TMI Sound Studios, Memphis, TN (05/??/1972-09/15/1975); Wally Heider Recording Studios, San Francisco, CA (05/??/1972-09/15/1975). Photographer: Bruce Steinberg. Tower Of Power: Emilio Castillo (vocals, tenor saxophone); Lenny Williams, Rick Stevens, Hubert Tubbs (vocals); Bruce Conte, Willie Fulton (guitar); Lenny Pickett (flute, alto flute, soprano, alto, tenor & bass saxophones, clarinet, contrabass clarinet, lyricon); Skip Mesquite (flute, tenor saxophone); Stephen "Doc" Kupka (oboe, English horn, baritone saxophone); Mic Gillette (trumpet, piccolo trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, bass trombone, French horn, baritone horn); Greg Adams (trumpet, flugelhorn, French horn, bells); Chester Thompson (piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Clavinet, organ, Arp synthesizer); Francis Rocco Prestia (bass); David Garibaldi, David Bartlett (drums); Brent Byars (congas, bongos). Producers: Ron Capone, Emilio Castillo, Tower Of Power.

Love Is the Message: The Best of MFSB songs Recorded between 1974 & 1980. Includes liner notes by A. Scott Galloway. Indisputably the finest Scottish funk act of the 1970s (or any decade), the Average White Band is well represented by this excellent 18-track collection, which focuses heavily on the group's mid-'70s heyday. Highlights include the immediately recognizable groove-laden hit "Pick Up the Pieces," along with other top-notch, dance-floor-packing tunes such as "Got the Love" and "Cut the Cake." Onnie Mcintyre (guitar, background vocals); Malcolm "Molly" Duncan (flute, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Roger Ball (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, keyboards, synthesizers); Robbie McIntosh, Steve Ferrone (drums, percussion). All tracks have been digitally remastered. Live Recording Producers include: Arif Mardin, Jerry Greenberg, Average White Band, Gene Paul, David Foster. Compilation producers: David McLees, Bill Inglot. Average White Band: Alan Gorrie, Hamish Stuart (vocals, guitar, bass); Additional personnel: Ben E. King (vocals).

Love Is the Message: The Best of MFSB album for sale Recorded between 1964 & 1988. Includes liner notes by Stu Hackel. Not to be confused with the Four Tops compilation simply entitled Anthology (which only covers their Motown recordings), 50th Anniversary Anthology is a double-CD set spanning their first Motown hit in 1964 to the late '80s. Does it include all of the popular numbers that most fans want from a greatest-hits collection? Definitely. Is it as good as Anthology, or slimmer compilations that focus exclusively on their Motown hits from the 1960s and early '70s? No, because there's way too much dispensable post-mid-'70s stuff on disc two. Still, for those who want an anthology that includes non-Motown hits (particularly their early-'70s Dunhill singles) and are reluctant to splash out for the four-CD Fourever box set, this is the best available alternative. And unquestionably, the first two-thirds or so of this collection is excellent, including all the big Motown hits; plenty of good, less celebrated lower-charting Motown singles, like "I'll Turn to Stone" (the B-side of "7-Rooms of Gloom"); and their early Dunhill hits, in which they capably imitated Philly soul stars the O'Jays and the Spinners. But the group floundered as the '70s waned, and by the time of the ribald 1976 disco hit "Catfish," they were on the verge of not only losing their personality, but of embarrassing themselves. The proceedings don't stop there, unfortunately, tacking on a bunch of other small post-1976 hits ("When She Was My Girl" was the only big one), culminating in Levi Stubbs' gruesome contribution to the Little Shop of Horrors, "Mean Green Mother From Outer Space." It was a long way from "Baby I Need Your Loving," though luckily it's the classic stuff that dominates the program. ~ Richie Unterberger Producers include: Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, William Stevenson, Ivy Jo Hunter, R. Dean Taylor. Compilation producer: Harry Weinger. The Four Tops: Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Lawrence Payton, Levi Stubbs (vocals). Additional personnel: The Supremes, The Funk Brothers.

Love Is the Message: The Best of MFSB CD music CURTIS is the first solo album by R&B/soul legend Curtis Mayfield. After leaving the Impressions, Mayfield began to write lyrics that were more politically charged. With the 1970 release of CURTIS, he became one of the most important socially conscious artists of his generation. The album's opener, "(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below We're All Going to Go" uses racial epithets openly, as Mayfield asserts the shiftlessness of America. Set to a funky groove, with smart horn arrangements and wah-wah guitar, this song is a brazen attack on social mores, racism, the Vietnam War, religious impropriety, and Nixon-era politics. "We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue" is another track that poignantly examines the race and class struggles of urban America. This song is made up of more than just a static groove; its tempos shift midway through and powerful brass figures, timpani punctuations, and harp glissandos soon dominate the mix. Also featuring the powerful "Move On Up," CURTIS is a classic soul record, and its relevance is amplified by its quest for racial harmony and its bold anti-establishment stance. (Note: The 2000 reissue of CURTIS features nine bonus tracks.) All tracks have been digitally remastered. Includes 6 Demos Previously Unreleased In U.S. Recorded at RCA Studios, Chicago, Illinois. Includes liner notes by David Nathan. Personnel: Curtis Mayfield (vocals); Don Simmons (drums). Audio Remasterer: Dan Hersch. Liner Note Authors: David Nathan; Michael Wesley Johnson. Recording information: RCA Studios, Chicago, IL. Photographer: Bob Cato. Unknown Contributor Roles: Clifford Davis; Elliott Golub; Rudolph Stauber; Sol Bobrob; Gary Slabo; Pat Ferreri; Ron Kolber; Lenny Druss; John Howell ; Richard Single; Harold Klatz; John Ross; Lorin Binford; Robert Sims; Phil Upchurch; Robert Lewis . Arrangers: Gary Slabo; Riley Hampton.

Love Is the Message: The Best of MFSB buy CD music The instrumental outfit that outright defined the sound of Philly soul, MFSB were the Philly equivalent of Detroit's Funk Brothers, developing musical palaces out of the rough architecture delivered to them by producers (and for measly wages, no less). While this collection isn't exactly the most definitive one available, it does include some of their most well known hits, including the disco classic "Love Is the Message" and "T.S.O.P," which was originally designed to be the theme music for the legendary Soul Train television program. Their version of Sly Stone's classic "Family Affair" and Curtis Mayfield's "Freddie's Dead" are fan favorites, and the album is rounded out with a few of the group's later career hits. If Sony had only had the foresight to add a few tunes from MFSB's outstanding 1980 release Mysteries of the World, All in the Family could have been regarded as a solid, thorough examination of the band's career. ~ Rob Theakston