? Like the Motown Sound of the mid-60s, the Philly
Sound of the 70s did not suddenly appear overnight
with the establishment of Philadelphia International
Records and the rise to international stardom of acts
such as the O'Jays, the Three Degrees and Harold
Melvin & the Blue Notes.
Our new Kent release "Nothing But A Houseparty"
focuses its attention on the years 1967-1971 and
provides a first-class overview of how recording in
Philadelphia moved on from the lightweight Cameo-
Parkway sound of the early 60s to become
considerably more inventive and sophisticated.
Most of the musicians heard on these tracks became
part of MFSB, the musical backbone of nearly every
black American recording that came out of Philly
between 1971 and 1976. Many of the songwriters and
producers also went on to far greater fame in the 70s,
after honing their craft with these and many other
classics.
Some artists featured here had fallen by the wayside by
the turn of the 1970s, while others had moved their
recording base elsewhere - but all played a significant
role in developing Philadelphia's standing as one of
one of soul music's most significant cities of the 20th
century.
With the kind of copiously annotated and illustrated
booklet and top-notch mastering you would expect
from Kent, this is a release no serious soul fan should
overlook.
