Various

Nothing But A House Party: The Birth Of The Philly Sound

Philadelphia soul’s building blocks spanning 1967 to ’71.

This superb selection traces the origins of the ’70s Philadelphia International trademark sound – those string obbligatos, rich vocal harmonies, penetrating horns – in the early recordings of The Delfonics, Jerry Butler, Lou Jackson et al. The first named’s You’ve Been Untrue, built around singer/songwriter William ‘Poogie’ Hart’s mellifluous falsetto and Thom Bell’s luxuriant arrangement, came out on Cameo Parkway in 1967 and paved the way for the group’s future classics, including Didn’t I Blow Your Mind This Time. Butler is a vocalist more closely associated with Chicago, yet captures the essence of Philly on Never Give You Up, a stop-you-in-yourtracks ballad recorded in 1968 with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff in Sigma Sound for Mercury. Lou Jackson, meanwhile, taps into the Let’s-Clean-UpThe-Ghetto side with 1971’s gutsy testifier Peace To You Brother on Spring. Lois Wilson