Customer Reviews

The Three Degrees

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The album which made The Three Degrees an international star is put on CD for the second time. In '95, it was reissued in Japan.
For US soul music fans, it may be hard to believe, but they were the most popular Philly international label act internationally. This album was the begining of their Golden era with Sheila, Valerie and the sole original member Fayette.

Starting their music career in '63, they finally had a national hit "Maybe"(soulful remake of the Chantels' hit) in '70 on Roulette label. After a few other minor hits, they moved to Philly International and released this album produced by Gamble & Huff.

*Dirty Ol Man
In US, this gem written by Gamble & Huff surprisingly did not do much, but its remix by Tommy Moulton became a club hit. On the other hand, In Europe, especially Netherlands and Belgium, and in Japan it was a big hit. I think musically this is like a female version of O'Jays' "Back Stabbers", both of them feature very strong two lead vocals, Sheila & Valerie for this one. It is also infamous for being banned by BBC probably because its lyric seems to suggest that a middle aged married guy is seducing an under aged girl. It remaines as their fans favorite along with "When Will I see You Again."

*Can't You See What You're Doing to Me
This song features a very beautiful harmony and such a fluid melody, which sound very feminine along with MFSB's gorgeous strings. And I really believe that became the key to their international success. As there was almost no female act on Philly International before them, there is no doubt what Gamble & Huff tried to do with this album was to creat a feminine Philadelphia Sound, which unexpectedly had more appeal to average pop music fans in Europe & Japan.

*Woman Needs A Good Man
As the previous song, this features their tight harmony, but it has a much darker tone and a dramatic development. Towards the end, you hear a very soulful lead by Val.

*When Will I See You Again
This is the song, which was penned by Gamble & Huff, that gave them an international break through. In the early summer of '74, they won a Golden prize with this at Tokyo Music Festival, and soon after, it became a huge hit there. Then it spread like a wild fire all over the world. It made #2 in US in December of '74. The lyric echoes Shirelles' "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", but the everything is much more sophisticated and sexy with a smooth lead vocal by Sheila.

*I Didn't know
On this follow up single to "WWISYA" in US, Val and Sheila shared the lead vocals. And they made an appearance on TV hit show "Sanford & Son" with singing this.

*I Like Being A Woman
It is a cute song but also it was a bit controversial one because of its lyric, which says "I don't wanna be your equal, I just wanna be a part of you", obviously it was against its time's woman's liberation movement. But again, that shows the focus of Gamble & Huff for this production was the feminine Philly Soul.

*If and When
This is the most soulful and dramatic song on this album, with Sheila and Val's shared lead vocals. The revolutionary invention of Gamble & Huff was how to mix soulful vocals of Black singers with the symphonic orchestration sounds with beautiful strings. And Gamble & Huff used all the methods and theories they invented for their previous works with O'jays, Bluenotes, Intruders and Billy Paul for this song. Pay all your attentions to the details, especially how vocals move in the space created with the big orchestration. Piladelphia Sound was not the easy listening version of the Soul music, but it was the very sophisticated fusion of very different music styles and elements.

*Year of The Decision
Val's lead sounds great on this uplifting message song penned by Gamble & Huff. Their second single from this album and cracked into UK Top 20 before "WWISYA"

Bonus Tracks:
*TSOP
MFSB's US #1 hit featuring Three Degrees' vocals. It became the famous theme song of the hit TV show "Soul Train"

*Love is The Message
MFSB's single version features Three Degrees' vocals, which was a hit in Japan. Much longer, extended version is still played in New York's dance clubs.

*Dirty Ol Man (Tom Moulton Disco Remix)
Unfortunately it was not successful on the US pop or soul chart, which was almost absurd, but the legendary Tom Moulton created the great remix version which became one of dance club people's favorite philly hits.

Lastly I really have to mention on this album cover as well. What the Three Degrees did was to reach the music audience in Europe, Japan and other parts of the world, who usually had not listened to American Black music.
And their great looks, as you see on this cover, was the big help to accomplish that. In many parts of this world, Three Degrees changed the stereo type images about the Black women because these ladies did not look like anything people had seen before. In US, they are remembered as so-called one hit wonder. However, they truly deserved to be recognized as the Soul music ambassador to the world with this album.

This cd is an awesome example of how disco was not a truly terrible music period and that when fused with other styles it could produce pure magic. Many will look at the set list here ands see two things - the hit single WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN and the huge TSOP by MFSB which featured The Three Degrees. But what we really have here is the debut US album by the queens of Philly soul who managed to merge heavenly soul and r@b with disco to produce harmonies and tracks that were mesmerizing. The opening DIRTY OL MAN is stupendous and was a huge dance hit. Other gems here are CAN'T YOU SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO ME, A WOMAN NEEDS A GOOD MAN and the totally overlooked masterpiece IF AND WHEN that should have been another huge hit. Their harmonies blend perfectly on every track but here they manage to even add a touch of rock to their style. Of course due to the time period we do have one very dated track and it is the silly I LIKE BEING A WOMAN. But it is such fun to hear it and see how it fit in during that time in music's history.

This cd is digitally remastered for superb sound quality and has great bonus tracks and liner notes. There are certain albums that show a time period in all it's glory. Here we have a uniquely talented female group with exsquisite harmonies. They represented Philly soul at its finest and this cd is a must for any music historian or fan of the genre. When music is good it is good and these ladies are great and this set provides a superb listening experience.

The Three Degrees were one of the most sexiest and talented female groups of all time. I'm so glad that somebody took the liberty of finally releasing this classic album on disc. Another Leon Huff and Kenny Gamble excellent recording.

I have been a fan of this group since the early 70s and it is so nice to see this wonderful album come to life again on CD. Having the Tom Moulton 12" mix included is reason enough to purchase this, but it is complete with the TSOP hit, as well. I am amazed that this group did not have huge success in the US other than the one big hit. "Can't you see what you're doing to me" is such a standout and could easily have been a Top 40 if promoted. Same for "Year of Decision". Superb CD...highly recommended. Others to check out: 3d (Three D)and New Dimensions

This CD "The Three Degrees" Expanded Edition is excellent. I enjoyed all the songs on this particular. I love the music of The Three Degrees - they remind me of the good-old fashioned disco/funky music of the 70's and 80's and the CD that I purchased was fabulously fantastic. I have been playing the songs on this CD very frequently. I did also purchased "The Three Degrees - New Dimensions" and it was also absolutely adorable - the songs on this particular CD were similarly fantastic - I have been enjoying both CD's enormously. Thank you very much. Rhejji Jay

glad to see this release, the sound quality is good, by modern-mastering standards, and the bonus cuts are spectacular...the back insert photo is repeated on the inside of the front insert, as a foldout, the ladies are wearing see-through sequinned outfits, braless, and they look delicious

There's nothing quite like classic soul re-released on CD. After Philadelphia International Records had established itself with early hits from the O'Jays, Billy Paul, and Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, the debut release of the Three Degrees in 1973 was the label's first release by a female group. I was unaware that the timeless classic "When Will I See You Again" was the third single release from the record. The Three Degrees may have been the most underrated act on the label. The ladies had a wonderful sound and vocal blend together, which they demonstrate through all of the songs written for them on this record.

There is a lot of great music on this record besides their classic single "When Will I See You Again". "Dirty Ol' Man", the first single released, was perfect for the discos, and it was a great decision to add an extended mix of this song to this reissue. I also really liked "I Didn't Know". Those were my favorite uptempo songs on the recording.

I don't think the ladies ever really got their "props" on the ballad numbers that they did. "A Woman Needs A Good Man" and "If And When" are both examples of great songs, great orchestral arrangements and beautiful, well blended singing. I found "If And When" to have a very creative arrangement.

Adding both "TSOP" and "Love Is The Message" to this reissue was also a great decision by the reissue's producers.

This CD is definitely the best example of the softer, feminine side of the Philly Sound, and it should be a must for any Philly Soul fan!

The Three Degrees first album with the Philly sound is wonderful. Thanks to MFSB performing all instrumentation, this album, with bonus tracks, is a must. Highly recommended for Philly fans, Three Degrees fans and beyond.

I love the soul music of the 60's and 70's in general, from Doo-Wop, Motown to the "disco" oriented Philly Soul. Singers from these two decades use a different vocal technique and style, not the screamy "diva" sound of Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Maria Carey, or the so-called "Adult Contempoary" style commonly associated with Diane Baker, Michael Bolton, Luther Vandross, where the last syllable of the last word of every phrase is frequently prolonged, elaborated, and ornamented deliberately.

Although many of the songs in this CD have been included in various compilation CDs, it is good to hear them "Unedited" and in their complete form here. Comparing the remastering of this CD to other Three Degrees CDs, I do not hear any significant improvements. Yes, everything is much louder and upfront, including the vocal tracks and the background instrumentations, but one can also tell that the original studio tapes had not been used for the production of this CD.

As an added bonus, the CD contains the tracks "TSOP (THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA)", "Love is the Message (Single Version", and "Dirty l' Man (A Tom moulton Mix)". If you're unfamiliar with the Three Degrees, this disc is worth getting because it has almost all the greatest tracks of this fabulous vocal group.

Unfortunately, the Three Degrees didn't stay in the spotlight for very long; their very best material is on this (their first) album, and the CD version includes expanded cuts and extras. I had been waiting years to replace my LP of this album, so was glad when this became available (finally).