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| | Love Is the Message: The Best of MFSB | | | Music Artist : | | MFSB | | Music Style : | | Disco | | Record Label : | | Sbme Special Mkts. | | Release Date : | | 2008-02-01 | | Store Price : | | $6.99 | | Artistopia's Price: $6.99 | | Usually ships in 24 hours | | |
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CD Tracks/Songs
Disc 11. Interlude, Pt. 1
2. Love Is the Message
3. Poinciana
4. Freddie's Dead
5. My One and Only Love
6. Sexy
7. Something for Nothing
8. Zack's Fanfare (I Hear Music)
9. Back Stabbers
10. Bitter Sweet
11. T.S.O.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia)
12. Cheaper to Keep Her
13. My Mood
14. T. L. C. (Tender Lovin' Care)
15. Philadelphia Freedom
16. Smile Happy
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Other Artist Albums
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Customer Reviews of This Album/CD |
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 KEY PLAYERS WHO HELPED DEFINE AMERICAN POP MUSIC!
Submitted on: 2009-08-01 |
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This is a collection of 16 tracks from a group of artists who helped define pop music and - along the way - created some of the sounds we today call "classics".
The orchestra was in fact a group of around 30 musicians based on the famous Sigma Sound Studio in Philadelphia. The group was formed by the Philadelphia International Records and these are the musicians we hear in many top bands from the golden age of soul: THE O'JAYS, THE DELFONICS, THE SPINNERS, THREE DEGREES and many others. They mark a time when Soul had this huge orchestral background that used to boost a song's effect and demand an energetic performance from the singer.
...And that became known as The Philadelphia Sound.
The result became so successful that it (later) gave birth to Disco. The sound was rich in atmosphere, lush but always very precise. Strong on brass and strings, MFSB imprinted an immediate identity on each song. Many members later joined other orchestras like SALSOUL ORCHESTRA (on Salsoul Records) and by then the whole musical spirit was the standard everywhere. The orchestra itself became a top act as they released several albums.
This CD gives you a glance of their incredible output. It contains several major recordings like the well know LOVE IS THE MESSAGE, THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA (that was the theme of SOUL TRAIN, a great soul TV show that belong in the time capsule - laughs!), SEXY, FREDDIE'S DEAD, BACK STABBERS (a song immortalized by THE O'JAYS), POINCIANA and my own personal favorite: SOMETHING FOR NOTHING.
SOMETHING FOR NOTHING is an amazing song. One of those works that you hear and think "this really captured something, a moment in time, a trend, a style... something irreplaceable that's gone".
And that feeling (for me) is all around this album: the feeling that there was something in Pop Music that was truly unique, something that was huuuge, something magical that was everywhere... and it's gone. I was a young child during the Disco era so I only caught the last tip of it until the 80's came along and bulldozed all that. So (sadly) I will never be able to say "I heard it as it came".
This is a CD to treasure...
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The most comprehensive MFSB compilation issued to date.
Submitted on: 2009-02-11 |
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| MFSB was Philadelphia International Records' house band and this compilation is their most comprehensive to date. The MFSB musicians backed up such legends as The O'Jays, Teddy Pendergrass, Lou Rawls, Jean Carn, The Jones Girls and most of the label's other great acts of the 1970s and they were to 1970s R&B what The Funk Brothers (Motown) and Booker T. and The MGs (Stax) were to 1960s R&B--the greatest and most influential house band, that is! MFSB specialized in truly searing-hot Disco jams that were also very lush and sophisticated prior to anyone's defining Disco as a genre yet this music sounds crisp, fresh and powerful to this day (thanks to the band's having many SKILLED and versatile musicians). It would be very nice to see most of the band's classic albums reissued on CD but until then this compilation serves up the cream of the crop with excellent sound quality. Enjoy! |
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Nostalgia
Submitted on: 2009-01-12 |
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This CD is awesome. The music takes me back to a time when life was simpler and the music stirred the soul. My soul is regenerated each time the CD is played.
Asteria |
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Love is the message: The Best of MFSB
Submitted on: 2008-08-28 |
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| It was great going back to the good old days thinking about my childhood and dreaming about the days when my only goal was to be happy. |
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PHILADELPHIA SOUL IN MFSB MINOR
Submitted on: 2007-11-03 |
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If you're a dedicated fan of PIR, chances are you're going to purchase this CD. This anthology shows why MFSB was the best soul orchestra band of that decade and their music stills resonates with the same emotional impact even to this day.
When I think of MFSB, I think of big band swing jazz meet Mozart. Their music is sophisicated yet soulful and funky at once. You hear that trademark sound through two of their most famous tracks "TSOP" and "Love is the Message". The latter sounds superior as a Tom Moulton mix which can be found on either "Philadelphia Classics" or Tom Moulton's own double disc anthology. Tracks like "Sexy" and "TLC" uses the same blueprint but it sounds just as exhilarating. The CD stands out when it detours into slightly different styles. "Something for Nothing" is a obvious Thom Bell vehicle in which he drives home with what sounds like a almost marching band like beat and a piano and string loop that's bound to stick in your mind for days. "Interlude 1" and "Zack's Fanfare" are two short but sweet pieces of filler that will blend in well at a 1930's after hours spot(now I have a certian urge to listen to Duke Ellington. hehe). Their cover of "Freddie's Dead" follows in the slighty same retro jazz vein but only it sound more updated and bit more cerebral with dynamic solos.
Most of the other tracks sound just as good and melodic. The only subpar track on here is their cover of Philadelphia Freedom because it doesn't sound all that different from the original. You'll be better off sticking to Elton John's version.
Other than that, MFSB's anthology is a necessity for anyone-rather you're a fan of PIR , or a Dj and Producer lookin for some hot breaks and beats to sample and spin at clubs. While some of these tracks may take a few listens to get into if you're used to the crisp execution of their backing tracks for PIR artists, it sounds every bit as rewarding as anything in their catalog. Since their style was widely imitated during the 70's, it may not sound as ahead of its time now, but it haven't ran out of time either. |
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