Customer Reviews

Total Soul Classics: Here to Create Music

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Leon Huff, along with Kenny Gamble, redefined soul music in the '7o's. This CD showcases his own vision and has a slightly jazzier, quieter feel than some of his productions for others. If you are a fan of Philly Soul this is a necessary complement to his production work with Gamble. Get it.

this ALbum Grooves from Start to finish it's one of those hidden Gem Albums that you gotta hear.I'm glad that it became available again i heard it a long time ago.it still has feeling&Groove to it.

For many years a rather scratchy vinyl version of this album had been sitting in my dad's music collection and I wasn't able to listen to it too long before it began skipping to the point of no longer being listenable. But as time progressed and I began to fully understand the impact Leon Huff and Kenny Gamble had on music with Phillidelphia International in the 70's and early 80's my interested in this album increased. Over time it was made available on CD twice and not remaining in print long enough to be able to get it. Now that's it's again been made available a couple years ago and has remained steadily in print I am now happy to have it seeing as it was so long saught after. Now as for the impressions of it this album doesn't resemble anything I've ever heard by the O'Jays,Bluenotes,Teddy Pendergrass,Patti LaBelle,MFSB or any of the music that defined the Philly Sound. Released in 1980 this album explores a very much more jazzy and musicianly individual approch to music from Huff along with guest participants such as Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder and cameos by some of the PIR records roster. The album begins with the powerful,smoldering funk of "Your Body Won't Move,If You Can't Feel The Groove" that is both slick and rough all at the same time in the tradition of the best of funk. Songs such as "No Greater Love" and "This One's For Us" not only shine a brighter light on the traditional Philly orchestral sound but add into it other cinematic soul elements from Barry White's work with the Love Unlimited Orchestra and the like,bringing out further richness to the climactic string arrangements. Leon also looks back into his past a bit with the jukejoint/nightclub style 50's R&B shuffles of "I Ain't Jivin',I'm Jammin'" and "Low Down,Hard Time Blues"-both of which explore the blusier edges to his playing and style. "Tight Money","Tasty" and the (obvious) Brazillian inspired rhythm of "Latin Spirit" all showcase strong,elegant funk grooves with some very appealing and well controlled uses of rhythm. Same goes for BOTH bonus tracks "Money's Tight" and "Sassy". Much more singular and direct in it's exhibition of it's influences than the way most other PIR related releases tended to blend and polish the same sounds on this album together this gives on the idea of why the Philly sound in general had so much musically appeal and good qualities;as with many good things it comes from many different areas strung together in different places to become something distinctive and here everything is spelled out more individually but also with a unifying presense as well. An excellent edition to ones collection of Philly Soul.

I have this as a vinyl record and have been waiting for a long time to find it on CD. Absolutely loving it. This is one of the best albums I have ever had.

Fusion Musicians which means that these artist played in both genres; jazz and popular music. Not necessarily R&B but fusion putting together a link. I grew up listening to this particular album then, but CD now, I learned about this artist through my parents.

FINALLY this outstanding production in available on CD. I first heard a cut from the album in the early 80's. When I bought it I found that every song was a winner. Yet very few people have ever heard of it. Leon Huff's music just gets inside you and makes you get up and dance. This is a sleeper and should be part of everyone's collection; it's timeless.

Why? For the classics "I Ain't Jivin', I'm Jamming" and "Low Down, Hard Time Blues". TSOP and down-home Huff will make you pat your feet to the beat and then some...but you don't have to take my word for it. Find out for yourself!