Conquer the World: The Lost Soul of Philadelphia International Records (Vinyl - 2007) [Limited Edition]

The songwriting and production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff prefigured and provided the template for disco and contemporary urban R&B in the early '70s with their strings, horns, and sugary groove approach to making records, and although by the end of the decade the formula began to wear thin and feel tired, uninspired, and stale, the fact remains that the duo's Philadelphia International Records imprint was to the 1970s what Berry Gordy's Motown Records was to the 1960s -- a hitmaking machine. Revelatory and at times tougher and harder-sounding than the usual Gamble & Huff productions, these lost tracks show that beneath all those sweet, sugary strings was some gutbucket soul and reminds listeners that just because it's good doesn't mean you'll get to hear it.

TRACK LISTING

Condition: Brand new factory sealed.

Disc: 1

1. Hard Workin' Man - Pat & The Blenders
2. Conquer the World Together - Bunny Sigler/Dee Dee Sharp
3. Grasshopper - Johnny Williams/Soul Devalents
4. It's So Wonderful - Carolyn Crawford/Johnny Williams
5. Makin' up Time (Parts 1 & 2) - Frankie & The Spindles
6. Them For Five Fingers of Death - Bunny Sigler

Disc: 2

1. Good and Plenty - Love Committee/Carolyn Crawford
2. Darling Come Back Home - Soul Devalents/Love Committee
3. Yellow Sunshine - Yellow Sunshine
4. Ghetto Woman (Parts 1&2) - Ruth McFadden
5. Everybody Needs Good Lovin' (Parts 1 & 2) - Bunny Sigler
6. Days Go By - Bobby Bennett