THREE TENORS OF SOUL: PHILLY BRILLIANCE By David Nathan with Gina Marie Rayson At a time when the music marketplace is everchanging, innovative ideas for creative collaborations are sadly few and far between. That’s why Philly-based producer Bobby Eli’s imaginative pairing of three of the most notable voices in soul music is particularly impressive. That said, some things may look great on paper but don’t work in practice: fortunately, Bobby’s vision translated into a fine album of music with some inspired choices of material. Prime cuts include covers of the Isley-Jasper-Isley classic “Caravan Of Love,” the Average White Band’s “Love Of Your Own” (which features members of the original group) and the lesser-known “Where Are All My Friends,” a Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes cut from 1974. Producer Eli (whose discography as a guitarist, songwriter and producer fills several pages) recalls, “The idea was going around in my head for several years when I was working on the “Soulful Tale Of Two Cities” project (which teamed Philly and Motown artists doing songs from each other’s respective catalogs). I casually brought it up but it was ‘lightly’ received. Then, when I got into my association with Shanachie Records, the first two projects I suggested were albums on Deniece Williams and the ‘Three Tenors’ concept. While working with Deniece (on her “Love Niecy Style” set), I started formulating steps to put it together. I had some ideas…I thought of Eddie Holman, for instance…but at the end of the day, since these were three lead singers of sweet soul groups, it made sense to work with Russell, Ted and William…” Eli says that when he approached Thompkins, Mills and Hart initially, “there was some reluctance…but everyone thought it was a good idea. I’ve known all three personally for a long time, ‘Poogie’ Hart since I played on Delfonics’ records in the late ‘60s, Russell from playing on the Stylistics’ recordings and Ted from Blue Magic, since I was more directly involved with the group [as a producer and the songwriter on songs like “Sideshow” and “Three Ring Circus”]. Putting the record together was that much easier because of the collective bond I had with all three.” Bobby says the recording sessions were “the first time all three guys had worked together…they had maybe appeared on shows here and there over the past thirty years…” In a separate interview with Gina Marie Rayson, Ted Mills commented, “Well, actually, this is a special event. What is special about this is that William Hart was the first successful tenor out of Philadelphia. I used to watch his shows and admire him. Russell Thompkins came after him with the Stylistics and I used to watch those guys and admire them. We have passed each other in concert a few times but this is the first time we got to work together other than on stage." The process of choosing what would go on “All The Way From Philadelphia” began with a discussion with each of the singers “to see what they had in mind,” Bobby recalls. “Russell was the first one I talked to but the first track we did was with Ted. Each person brought songs to the table – Ted came with Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Fantasy” and “Where Are All My Friends.” William suggested “That’s What Friends Are For” and Russell wanted to do the Hall & Oates’ song, “I Can’t Go For That.” The first song I wanted to do was “A Love Of Your Own.” I’ve known AWB for years and they were coming to Philly when we were recording. The guys just came in and played their butts off!” Mention of Daryl Hall and John Oates, both Philly natives, is a reminder that the title track was written by the duo. Recalls Bobby, “They gave me the song a long time ago and I said, ‘One of these days, I will find a home for it.’ Hall & Oates had no plans to release it themselves and when I started working on the Three Tenors project, I thought it would be perfect since all three guys are from Philadelphia. At first, they didn’t like it, they thought it was too ‘pop’ and I understood where they were coming from. Then, when I told Daryl and John and their management that we were planning to record it, they said, ‘go for it’ and John did some backing vocals out in Colorado while Daryl added some ad-libs…” The addition of contemporary artist Bilal (who sings with Ted Mills on “Where Are All My Friends”) was “after the fact…the record company wanted one of the ‘neo-soul’ guys to be involved and Bilal did a good job. We all liked the idea of ‘old school’ and ‘new school’ coming together,” Bobby notes. “Doing the whole record was good because it actually put me back in the spirit of the ‘70s. I was transfixed almost like I was in a time machine! It was as if I was at Sigma Sound Studios back in the day… It was a great experience…” Speaking about the album, Ted Mills says, “To us, the goal was to satisfy and to add… By that, I mean satisfy the generations of people who have loved the Stylistics, the Delfonics and Blue Magic and to add another generation that has [maybe] heard of [us] or vaguely know, our music… I believe quality outlives, outlasts, and out endures all other music. It is a blessing that over thirty years from when the Stylistics, the Delfonics and Blue Magic made records, that, in every major city in the country, there is airplay of one of those great love songs [we recorded] every day, wherever you go. You listen to the great artists that are here now and ask. what will they be like ten or twenty years from now? Will people still be playing their music even thirty years from now? The great thing about the music we did was that we inspired. We inspired respect for women and we inspired love. You could wake up on our music, you could rest to our music - it was peaceful, smooth, and melodic.” Producer Eli, currently working on a George Clinton album for 2008, concludes, “The CD has been getting good reviews and a great response but the business is different these days so airplay isn’t easy to get. We’ve been trying to figure out a cost- effective way of all three guys doing some shows together but all have their respective groups so the time has to be right. We hope to work out something because if the guys do some gigs together, people will get to know about the project…” As it is, those of us who do know about “All The Way From Philadelphia” agree that it is a highly satisfying piece of work, bringing together three of the great voices of the Philly sound and for that, in the words of the Blue Magic song revisited on the new CD, we are all ‘grateful’! |
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