It took Detroit's Motown and Memphis's Stax to pave the way for the Philadelphia International Records of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. By the time the prolific and visionary writing and production team (usually working with the often overlooked producer/arranger/writer Thom Bell) hit their stride in the early and mid '70s, the struggles of the civil-rights era and its attendant brand of still-nascent soul had largely given way to a new, proud black identity reflected in Philly Int'l's crisp pre-disco urban rhythms, lush orchestration, and self-assured, gospel-informed vocals.
Backed by house band MFSB, who scored their own #1 in '74 with "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)," the O'Jays, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes (with Teddy Pendergrass), the Intruders, Billy Paul, the Three Degrees, Archie Bell and the Drells, Bunny Sigler, Patti LaBelle, McFadden and Whitehead, a resurrected Lou Rawls, and even the Jacksons left behind a body of work ("Backstabbers," "Me and Mrs. Jones," the breathtaking ballad "If You Don't Know Me By Now," "You'll Never Find Another Love like Mine") that defined its time then and retains its allure now.
Love Train supplants a previous PI box released in '97, adding a disc's worth of material, though nothing essential. It does, however, expand on the Gamble-Huff productions released on other labels, both PI-affiliated (Stylistics) and not (Spinners, Manhattans, Jerry Butler).
