The rise of black cultural power in the early '70s coincided with the decline of the hit-making machinery behind Motown and Stax. The time was ripe, however, for regionally distinct soul music to make one more surge toward worldwide popularity. Enter Philadelphia International.
Producers/arrangers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff honed their skills for a number of years before becoming label owners. Love Train documents their contributions to fresh African-American pop music that often crossed over to broader, multiethnic audiences.
The new approach involved synthesizing and amplifying the strengths of preceding regional sounds. The streamlined lushness of Motown was transformed into even more luxuriant strings and piano lines. The multi-culti communality of Stax influenced Philadelphia International's penchant for songs that used black pride and upwardly mobile aspirations as the base for their vibes. Having a collection of emotive, gospel-bred voices express those sentiments in consistently hooky songs sealed the deal.
Somewhere between a Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes session and their own solo albums, the label's house band, MFSB (Mother Father Sister Brother), made a gigantic contribution to the development of American disco, too. That's somewhat ironic, considering that disco was accused of being soulless just a few years later.
Philadelphianatives such as Billy Paul, Teddy Pendergrass and Dee Dee Sharp number among those making significant marks at the label. If Love Train evokes any nostalgia, it might be for a time of greater sonic and psychic warmth emanating from mainstream R&B stations.
