Mar 11, 2017

RhoDeo 1710 Grooves

Hello, no re-ups yesterday i was busy upgrading my pc and even if that wasn't that much of an issue, having to dislodge all that entangled wires below my desk/cabinet and causing a short circuit whilst cleaning didn't help-needed to to dis entangle all electrics too, there's more then 20 electricity suckers below there, with limited sight crawling on my knees getting up and down again my back is hurting now, yes i'm not that fit and somewhat overweight. Bad news is its still not in order, on top of all that a new Seagate external hardisk didn't work a mysterious problem that apparently is unheard of as google didn't caugh up a way how i could access a disk where a large part of the file system was gone (became RAW), disk management didn't see it, neither does Diskpart, but Minitool partition recovery could see the disk and their recovery could copy what was on the part which was still in NTFS but it can't format the disk and even Test Disk was unable to do anything....much wasted time then.



Harold Melvin was one of the driving forces behind Philadelphia soul, leading his group the Blue Notes to the top of the charts during their stint on Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International label. Despite Melvin's billing out front, the Blue Notes' focal point was lead singer and onetime drummer Teddy Pendergrass, whose surging baritone graced the Blue Notes' recordings during their glory years of 1972-1975 and gave them a truly distinctive sound. Their output ranged from sweeping, extended proto-disco dance tracks to silky, smoldering ballads, all wrapped up in Gamble and Huff's lushly orchestrated production. When Pendergrass left for a solo career, Melvin & the Blue Notes' commercial fortunes largely reverted to the pre-Pendergrass days (of which there were quite a few), although they did continue to record for a time. They never really disbanded, and by the time Melvin passed away in 1997, he'd been leading the Blue Notes for over four decades.  ..... N'joy

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Harold Melvin was one of the driving forces behind Philadelphia soul, leading his group the Blue Notes to the top of the charts during their stint on Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International label. Despite Melvin's billing out front, the Blue Notes' focal point was lead singer and onetime drummer Teddy Pendergrass, whose surging baritone graced the Blue Notes' recordings during their glory years of 1972-1975 and gave them a truly distinctive sound. Their output ranged from sweeping, extended proto-disco dance tracks to silky, smoldering ballads, all wrapped up in Gamble and Huff's lushly orchestrated production. When Pendergrass left for a solo career, Melvin & the Blue Notes' commercial fortunes largely reverted to the pre-Pendergrass days (of which there were quite a few), although they did continue to record for a time. They never really disbanded, and by the time Melvin passed away in 1997, he'd been leading the Blue Notes for over four decades.

Melvin was born June 25, 1939, in Philadelphia. A self-taught pianist, he began singing doo wop as a teenager with a group called the Charlemagnes, and put together the very first edition of the Blue Notes in 1954. The original lineup was a quintet featuring Melvin as the lead singer (for a time), songwriter, arranger, and choreographer; ironically, he would mostly relinquish those duties by the time the group achieved its greatest success. The other members were co-leader Bernard Williams, Roosevelt Brodie, Jesse Gillis, Jr., and Franklin Peaker. The Blue Notes cut their first single, "If You Love Me," for Josie in 1956, and turned it into a regional hit. They recorded for several other labels over the next few years, Dot chief among them, before scoring their first R&B chart hit in 1960 with "My Hero" (released on Val-Ue). Numerous personnel shifts kept the group in flux despite steady recording activity, and Bernard Williams split off to lead what he dubbed the Original Blue Notes in the mid-'60s. Melvin assembled a new version of the Blue Notes centered around lead singer John Atkins, who returned the group to the R&B charts in 1965 with the Landa single "Get Out (And Let Me Cry)." Further releases on Arctic, Checker, and Uni followed over the rest of the '60s, as well as more personnel changes. During the late '60s, the group toured often with the Cadillacs, whose young drummer Teddy Pendergrass would prove to be Melvin's greatest discovery.

Pendergrass first joined the Blue Notes' backing band, but demonstrated so much vocal talent that after John Atkins left in 1970, Melvin soon elevated him to the post of lead vocalist. This move helped them land a deal with Gamble and Huff's Philadelphia International label in 1972, just as the company was taking its place as soul music's new epicenter; Pendergrass' voice was similar to that of Dells singer Marvin Junior, whom Gamble & Huff had courted heavily. By this time, the Blue Notes consisted of Melvin, Pendergrass, bass vocalist Lawrence Brown, baritone vocalist Bernard Wilson, and tenor vocalist Lloyd Parks. With Gamble & Huff now supplying top-quality material and production, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes would become one of the most popular groups in R&B over the next few years. Their self-titled debut mostly featured songs that had been written in anticipation of landing Marvin Junior. The first single, "I Miss You," was a hit on the R&B charts, but their second was a smash -- the classic ballad "If You Don't Know Me by Now," which featured an anguished, star-making vocal turn from Pendergrass. "If You Don't Know Me by Now" went all the way to number one R&B, and also became their only Top Five hit on the pop side; it was later covered in 1989 for a number one hit by Simply Red.

The Blue Notes scored again in 1973 with the string-laden dance track "The Love I Lost," credited by many observers as one of the first disco records; it was their second R&B chart-topper and Top Ten pop single. The accompanying album, Black & Blue, produced another R&B Top Ten in the follow-up "Satisfaction Guaranteed (Or Take Your Love Back)." In 1974, Lloyd Parks was replaced by Jerry Cummings, who debuted on the R&B chart-topping LP To Be True. "Where Are All My Friends" and "Bad Luck" continued their string of Top Ten R&B hits, and a new addition to the group, female vocalist Sharon Paige, helped bring them back to the top of the R&B charts in 1975 with the duet "Hope That We Can Be Together Soon." Another excellent album followed later that year in Wake Up Everybody, whose title track was another R&B number one; "Tell the World How I Feel About 'Cha Baby" also reached the R&B Top Ten, and the album cut "Don't Leave Me This Way" was later covered for a disco smash by Thelma Houston.

However, tension was building within the group. The heavily spotlighted Pendergrass was hungry for separate billing, but Melvin, still the group's chief organizing force, turned him down. In 1976, Pendergrass left the Blue Notes for a solo career that quickly made him one of R&B's top sex symbols. Sharon Paige helped fill his shoes on lead vocals, as well as new male lead David Ebo, whose sound was fairly similar to Pendergrass'. However, Pendergrass' departure also signaled the end of the Blue Notes' relationship with Philadelphia International -- their next recordings were for ABC, for whom they hit the R&B Top Ten in 1977 with the title track of Reaching for the World. It would prove to be their last major success, however; after one more album for ABC, they moved to MCA subsidiary Source in 1979 for two LPs that failed to reignite their commercial momentum. Cummings and Wilson had both departed in 1977, replaced by Dwight Johnson and William Spratelly, and Paige and Ebo both left in 1980. Still, Melvin soldiered on, helming one last album of new material for Philly World in 1984's hopefully titled Talk It Up (Tell Everybody). It was mildly popular in the U.K., but not enough to re-establish them. Melvin continued to tour with versions of the Blue Notes steadily into the '90s, and Paige eventually returned to the fold as well. Sadly, Melvin suffered a stroke and never fully recovered; he passed away on March 24, 1997, in his beloved hometown of Philadelphia.

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The third album from the melodramatic smooth soul quintet featured an array of R&B classics. While Teddy Pendergrass was featured on this album, he did not lead every song. The three singles -- "Where Are All My Friends," "Bad Luck," "Hope That We Can Be Together Soon" were all Billboard R&B Top Ten chart hits, and "Bad Luck" reached number one, sporting an incessant grooving rhythm where Teddy Pendergrass cuts into the lyric with conviction. "Hope That We Can Be Together Soon" features the velvety smooth vocals of Sharon Paige on an easy-flowing number. While Harold Melvin carries most of the vocal duties, Pendergrass steps in for a one-liner and closes out on the vamp. Whereas most ballads climax towards the end of the song, the most climatic part of this number one song is the string and horn intro. This is one of four consecutive great albums to come from the Philadelphia vocal quintet.



Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes - To Be True    (flac  228mb)

01 Where Are All My Friends 3:22
02 To Be True 4:42
03 Pretty Flower 5:42
04 Hope That We Can Be Together Soon 3:45
05 Nobody Could Take Your Place 4:22
06 Somewhere Down The Line 4:55
07 Bad Luck 6:29
08 It's All Because Of A Woman 5:26

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Philly soul staples Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes were in full swing on 1975's Wake Up Everybody. Sporting their trademark lush, string-laden production from Gamble and Huff (who also wrote about half the album's material), the smooth soul outfit delivers a mix of deep soul balladry and uptempo dance tracks. The title track, with its socially relevant messages, is a standout. There is no shortage of fine vocal performances all around, notably from Melvin and from future solo star Teddy Pendergrass.



Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes - Wake Up Everybody    (flac  329mb)

01 Wake Up Everybody 7:32
02 Keep On Lovin' You 3:41
03 You Know How To Make Me Feel So Good 5:17
04 Don't Leave Me This Way 6:04
05 Tell The World How I Feel About 'Cha Baby 5:53
06 To Be Free To Be Who We Are 5:05
07 I'm Searching For A Love 5:22
Bonus
08 Don't Leave Me This Way (A Tom Moulton Mix) 7:05

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Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' first album without any involvement from Teddy Pendergrass and Philadelphia International Records is better than anticipated. David Ebbo sounds identical to Pendergrass and delivers some spirited leads on the skimpy eight-song LP. Ebbo excels on "Reaching For the World," an uplifting, be-what-you-wanna-be song that sounds like a Gamble & Huff production. He continues the duet trend he started with Sharon Paige with the mellow "After You Love Me Why Do You Leave Me." Some of the songs are weak; "Hostage Pt. 1 & 2," for instance, doesn't live up to its intriguing title. Overall, though, this is a good first effort and proves that the Blue Notes' sound didn't leave with Pendergrass.



Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes - Reaching For The World  (flac 250mb)

01 Reaching For The World 4:20
02 Where There's A Will - There's A Way 3:55
03 After You Love Me, Why Do You Leave Me 4:41
04 Sandman 4:11
05 Hostage Part 1 & 2 6:27
06 He Loves You And I Do Too 3:35
07 Big Singing Star 3:31
08 Stay Together 4:48

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The skeptics had their suspicions allayed quickly when Teddy Pendergrass' debut album as a solo singer cracked the Top 40. Its lead single, "I Don't Love You Anymore," was among his best uptempo tunes, and the follow-up ballad "The Whole Town's Laughing at Me" ended any speculation that he was returning to Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. While many thought the album would launch him to consistent R&B success, almost no one thought he would be R&B's biggest male star in a couple of years.



Teddy Pendergrass - I   (flac  221mb)

01 You Can't Hide From Yourself 4:06
02 Somebody Told Me 5:12
03 Be Sure 5:16
04 And If I Had 4:21
05 I Don't Love You Anymore 3:58
06 The Whole Town's Laughing At Me 4:27
07 Easy, Easy, Got To Take It Easy 4:53
08 The More I Get, The More I Want 4:25

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4 comments:

Cass said...

Swift healing to you (rox has mail) and best of luck with your hardware.

Anonymous said...

Hi Rho

Can you please re-up the Teddy Pendergrass albums?

Thank you

Anonymous said...

Dear Rho, can you re-up the Harold Melvin albums please? Thank you

Anonymous said...

Hello Rho, could you please re-Melvin us? Thanks!