Philly Soul/R&B Reissues from Dutton Vocalion?

[Q-Eight]

The only ones D-V haven't tackled yet are those two and the O'Jays Live in London album, which was culled from the same December 1973 PIR tour of the UK and continental Europe that produced Billy Paul's Live in Europe album.

There aren't any beyond that, and I don't think there are any unreleased quad mixes either as far as I can discern. A couple of years ago I spoked to Arthur Stoppe, who did the quad mixes of four of the PIR quads (and assisted on all their quad mixing dating back to The Spinners self-titled LP) and questioned him about the subject, because Lou Rawls Unmistakably Lou is on the unreleased quad mixes list. He said that that title was definitely not mixed for quad at Sigma Sound, and in a more general sense he said it was unlikely that labels would go to the expense of mixing things for quad there and then shelving them because of the expense involved. Both the engineers and room itself were billed on an hourly basis, and Sigma was a busy, in-demand studio - when their quad equipped room ("Studio B") wasn't being used for quad mixing, it was being used for stereo mixing, so they couldn't give away quad freebies since they'd be losing money for hours they could be devoting to paid stereo work.

I know I'm grasping at straws, but my last remaining hope for The O'Jays "Backstabbers" was that it was an early or "big" enough title that it went to New York to be mixed by Larry Keyes. He was after all credited with mixing the first PIR title, "360 Degrees of Billy Paul". I'm hoping others may have been mixed as well. Hoping something in the "Pop" genre is in the pipe for August, too. Needing a good Quad fix asap!

 

[humprof]

Later today, NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross is marking the 50th Anniversary of PIR with a rebroadcast of Gross's 2008 interview with Gamble & Huff:

'Fresh Air' Celebrates 50 Years Of Philadelphia International Records

In 1971, producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff co-founded Philadelphia International Records, the label that recorded the O'Jays, Patti LaBelle and other soul artists. Originally broadcast in 2008.

www.npr.org

 

[humprof]

Later today, NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross is marking the 50th Anniversary of PIR with a rebroadcast of Gross's 2008 interview with Gamble & Huff:

'Fresh Air' Celebrates 50 Years Of Philadelphia International Records

In 1971, producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff co-founded Philadelphia International Records, the label that recorded the O'Jays, Patti LaBelle and other soul artists. Originally broadcast in 2008.

www.npr.org

And now, a rebroadcast of her 2006 interview with Thom Bell:

Celebrating 50 Years Of Philly Sound With Songwriter/Producer Thom Bell

Born in Jamaica, Bell moved to Philadelphia as a kid and went on to become one of the prime originators the Philly sound, with hits like "Back Stabbers" by The O'Jays. Originally broadcast in 2006.

www.npr.org

 

[quadtrade]

The problem is- sales of this stuff is small pickens. We just read how many Doobie quadio titles were printed. A few thousand. When we did the DTS titles we printed 5000. A few of those saw a reprint to the larger format but not much was printed of that setup. So DV knows what it going to sell by past experience. There is the issue. Tough act to make it all fall in place and make some dough. Brad screwed it all up by wanting 25 dollars a pop in 1997. DV has the right approach, there is so many other factors. I used to wander into record stores and walk out with 5 lps. Harder sell online. Also i do not have a connection to much new music. For many reasons. Also older, i do not want all the crap around. Have enough stuff, getting rid of stuff. I am not alone, it is what ya go thru as ya age. It makes this a tough go. So many titles will be only heard thru quad 1970 releases, and that is a shame. I would love to hear more of the Philly stuff. The kids today are not big fans. Even the ones who loved this era of music.

 

[gvl_guy]

On a related note, I've been getting tons of ads (mainly on Facebook) for Philly International Records. They are doing new compilation albums and CDs for their 50th anniversary. None, of course, in surround.

Home | Philadelphia International Records

Philadelphia International Records is the groundbreaking label that launched the Philly Soul sound known as "The Sound of Philadelphia."

www.soundofphiladelphia.com

 

[humprof]

New feature from NPR Music/WXPN:

How Philadelphia Artists Are Celebrating The City's Black Music Legacy

Philly has historically been home to generations of forward-thinking, boundlessly creative Black artists. This year, the Black Music City program celebrated that legacy with a series of projects.

www.npr.org