The Sound of Philadelphia "Philadelphia Roots Volume 2: Funk, Soul and The Roots of Disco 1965-73" – A great collection of soul music from Philly from the mid 60's to the early 70's. Wow! For those not familiar with the Philadelphia sound it has a lot of heavy funky bass and beats mixed in with strings and horns and throws in some disco flavor at times (but only a little taste of it). The singing is always soulful usually with many layers of female or male vocals. Gamble & Huff productions are featured prominently (check extensive liner notes if you don't know these names and want more history). Plenty of funky romps and laid back soul music. It's all good so pick something out and play it. Damn!
My Picks: 2, 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 19
Katie P. 12/20/04

1)Slower dragging midtempo. Quiet bells and wah-wah guitar along with female vocal layers. Full band comes in with horns. Laid back groove.
2)Solid funky midtempo walk. Heavy funky bass line with bright strings and horn hits. Nice soulful male vocals. Damn!
3)Faster midtempo with more of a rock-funk feel. Great handclaps. Rockish guitars with funky beats and nice horns. Male vocals. This is hot! Oooo, solid break in the last minute!
4)Laid back midtempo with heavy funky bass and lots of male vocal layers. Nice horns. A funky doo-wop song.
5)Low down with funky bass but a definite flavor of disco in there. Strings really smooth this out. Prominently features sax and a little flute. Instrumental.
6)Solid midtempo soul. Great male vocals and some fine organ! The tambourine really adds something and the horn arrangement is nice too. Not super heavy funk, but with a little pop in there.
7)Uptempo strings and some great female vocal layers. Heavy funk at times with hard vocals and then it smooths out a bit. Nice.
8)Heavy guitar and organ kick it off with a solid midtempo groove. Instrumental.
9)Laid back midtempo groover. Light and funky. Drums keep a solid beat while horns organ and guitar pop in on top. Instrumental.
10)A little rock-funk with a slight taste of disco. Faster midtempo with funky guitars and plenty of male vocal layers. Sometimes it's heavier and then it lightens up.
11)Heavy horn hits start off the uptempo funky instrumental. Hot!
12) Laid back and light midtempo. Solid grooving bass line with smooth vocal layers. Nice male leads.
13)Strings and menacing horns. Falls into a solid midtempo soul song. Great soulful male vocals.
14)Handclaps and hootin' and hollerin'. Sax and piano added in with drums. Fun party music and then the occasional yelling between a man and a sassy woman. Solid!
15)Starts with a funky version of the Dragnet theme and goes into a funky disco number. Lots of strings and female vocals. Kind of a goofy song.
16)Solid horns and funky piano. Nice midtempo with male leads and female backup vocals.
17)Light funky disco with a heavy bass line and light jangly guitar. Some nice organ too. Instrumental.
18)Uptempo horns with a solid string section. Bright and crisp with tambourine throughout. Instrumental.
19)Solid midtempo groove. Light guitar with some nice horns. Funny lyrics with nice female vocals. Kind of a bouncy soul song.
20)Instrumental version of track #7. Fast midtempo to uptempo. Mostly organ, guitar, and bells. No strings in this.