Philly Re-Grooved 2010 Tom Moulton Remixes (Review)

[Jay Negron]

tom moultonphilly.jpgAttachment 1822

WOW, That's what I have to say after listening to this for the very first time today!!! I was blessed to get this in my mailbox today and I was flabbergasted as to what I heard!!

I'm here to give you a full report!!
This is not for your everyday 1979 Donna/KC/BeeGees Disco Fan.

This is for the Philly Sound Fans--(like me)
and it does not disappoint one bit!!

Twelve tracks all newly remixed by Tom Moulton.
And I say he is at the top of his game here!!
The Good Parts first;

Let's go thru them 1 by one:

1 - "We're On The Right Track" - Ultra High Frequency - 6:36
from the first 10 seconds I knew I was gonna love this--As many times as I played the original single, I knew the differences right away.
The bongos are right up front and clear this time around; and it starts with the Instrumental verse for the first 2:40--the rest is just like the original but with a W I D E dynamic quality that was absent with the original---the train at the break is lowered (thank goodness),
and it goes to a long instrumental fade out
for the last 41 seconds--DYNOMITE!!
It is credited to Ultra High Frequency featuring Ben Aiken.
(now we know who was the lead singer)

2 - "Armed And Extremely Dangerous" - First Choice - 6:34
I expected the least surprises from this one but I was wrong.
The intro bangs into the song right away (no elongated looping), but takes a little different turn going into the instrumental a bit earlier at 4:13, keeping the momentum up. The strings & horns are clear as can be during this part and the police siren is gone!!! At about 1 minute left the rhythm section is louder, the vocals & strings are lowered and you can hear Baker-Harris & Young Jam out till the end. Fabulous!!!

3 - "I Told You So" - The Delfonics - 5:44
If you love the original track (as I do) you will love the double length of this version---it starts out Instrumental for the first 2:35--Wonderful!!
No extra parts here but the orchestra sounds so much FULLER than before.

4 - "This Is The House" - First Choice - 6:41
This version was released last December digitally on Traxsourse so the true Philly fans should know this one already. Instrumental until 2:30, Rochelle & the girls kick it on their original first Philly Groove single; a great extended version of a too short original song.

5 - "Ruby Lee" - Nat Turner featuring Major Harris - 4:43
I never heard the original of this track, so it would be unfair for me to comment but listening to the instrumental intro & outro it would be a good guess that Moulton hooked that up. Not a 'hit-em-hard' floor stomper like the previous 4, this is Classy Philly Sound, much like "Just Say The Word" by The Trammps or a Thom Bell record. It is growing on me with every listen!!! (really--no hype)

6 - "Let Us Entertain You" - The Philly Groove Orchestra featuring First Choice - 7:00
This is the track that was the first part of the "First Choice Theme/Ain't He Bad" track from the 1976 LP "Let Us Entertain You". Moulton starts this off instrumental for 2 minutes before the girls come in with the "Do-Do...."--Very nice, but to me, not a standout.

7 - "Second Best Is Never Enough" - Finishing Touch - 5:15
Another floor stomper from BITD gets a wonderful extention. Moulton starts off just like the original keeping the vocals in the beginning, but the instruments are spaced out and you hear them jamming!!
At 2:08 the vocals cut off so we can hear the bongo & violin bridge on it's own (yes!!) and then goes into the instrumental for 2 minutes where we hear the band VERY clear---before going into the full on vocal fade out!!!

8 - "Gotta Get Away" - First Choice - 7:44
Moulton had a remixed version of this track out before and I'm glad he switched it around this time. The vocals didn't start off with "Gotta Get Away, gotta get away....." ; it starts off with instrumental for 1:23 then Rochelle singin the lead verse instead. (I always thought songs get burned out quicker when they start off with the chorus that they are gonna repeat 3x or more during the track anyway).
This song goes into ANOTHER instrumental (@4:30) and then goes into the breakdown featuring the bongos, guitar, and keyboard. The vocal chorus comes back for a minute then fades out instrumental.

9 - "Big Stone Wall" - Tapestry - 4:17
Only 4:17 you say? It's still almost double the 2:13 original.
This track Jams!!!! True Philly Classic, not unlike Sons Of Robin Stone's "Got To Get You Back"--It breaks into the instrumental right from jump street and goes there again @2:03. One of my all time Philly Faves--so I'm glad Moulton hooked this one up!!!

10 - "Gonna Keep On Lovin' Him" - First Choice - 4:34
This was the flip side of the original "Armed And Extemely Dangerous" 45 back in 1973. It has a semi-mellow "Hold Back The Night" beat. Not my style, but I guess they had to mellow out sometime on the CD.
(my opinion only)

11 - "Don't Put Me Down" - Finishing Touch - 9:09
One of my favs from this CD---I love what Moulton did with this joint!!!
A lower beat (105 bpm?) but funky like "Everyman" or "Hooked For Life"--Moulton extended the break like forever; from 3:03 to 6:36 is pure Philly Heaven and it breakdowns again @7:35 till the end---WOW!!!

12 - "Whatcha Gonna Do" - Heaven 'N' Hell - 9:49
This track was originally on the 1979 'Noctura' Soundtrack (originall mixed by Wayne Scott) and is the only one here Produced by Reid Whitelaw & Norman Bergman.
(Moment Of Truth's "Helplessly" & Ralph Carter's "When You're Young & In Love") It was recorded in Philly, and has that hypnotic sound with some deep soulful vocals. Nice remix by Moulton and a welcome inclusion on this CD.

Liner/Sleeve Notes: Introduction by Ian Dewhirst; A Bio/Interview of Tom Moulton by Steve Handbury; A Philly Groove Bio; and tracklist with all credits, musicians, publishing, etc.

Notably absent is credit for who mastered this Comp???
Maybe Tom Moulton?

Now this CD sounds wonderful to me, but it IS loud !!
I didn't put it thru the PC yet to see the levels but it sounds great!
I will get back to you on that!!

Now this CD, like I said up top, is not for everybody, but if you are a Philly Sound fan it is a MUST HAVE!!
Dimitri's Get Down With The Philly Sound CD & this one are 1 and 1A in my book--I don't know which one I favor--probably never will !!!

I'm so happy that we are FINALLY after 35 years getting to hear the music in FULL like it should have been back then!!

Thanks Reid Whitelaw & Thanks Tom Moulton.
This release is the best birthday (7/7) present in years!!!

The release date I was told is August 30, 2010;
but I just seen a link at Demon Music Group where they are selling it now for the UK:

http://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/Pro...ProductID=5128

It looks like they licensed it to 'Play.com' for sale in the UK & Europe;

And it looks like they are selling it now, so if you're interested, check it out!!

[Jay Negron]

To go hear a few tracks from this set go here:



http://soundcloud.com/jay-negron/hea...ton-2010-remix


http://soundcloud.com/jay-negron/fin...illy-regrooved

[whitesockedfunk]

I saw this CD on the Play.com site about a month ago so I excitedly ordered my copy. However, it still hasn't shipped yet so I don't know what the deal is. I hope I don't have to wait until the end of August to get it!

[guy1]

i think its released 26th july.

[rhessel]

tom moultonphilly.jpgAttachment 1822

WOW, That's what I have to say after listening to this for the very first time today!!! I was blessed to get this in my mailbox today and I was flabbergasted as to what I heard!!

I'm here to give you a full report!!
This is not for your everyday 1979 Donna/KC/BeeGees Disco Fan.

This is for the Philly Sound Fans--(like me)
and it does not disappoint one bit!!

...edited...

Hello Jay:

How did you get your copy?

I just ordered mine from amazon.co.uk (which is muuuuuuuch more cheaper than amazon.com) and says it will be released by August, 30th.

Cheers,

Hessel

PS: Of course I could not resist this release. I consider "The Sound of Philadelphia" the best that has emerged in the 70s. BTW take a look at my Forum Avatar.

[Jay Negron]

Nice avitar Hessel!!!!!
I dig Philly Sound too!!! (look at my avitar too)
I got my CD from Executive Producer Reid Whitelaw to play on my Disco935 Show (7/24 @8pm)

[kdavid13]

Thank you for the info...I haven't stopped playing Dim's Get Down With The Philly Sound since I bought it last week.

Mr.Moulton rules !

[whitesockedfunk]

Received my copy today from Play.com, love the cd, but yes it is loud! (a bit strange considering Tom Moulton's recent Schlockmania interview in which he says he doesn't like "hot" mastered cd's).

"This Is The House" is one of my favorite tracks on the cd by the way, love the instrumental intro, more Motown than Philly, but great nevertheless!

[DonaldCleveland]

Received my copy today from Play.com, love the cd, but yes it is loud! (a bit strange considering Tom Moulton's recent Schlockmania interview in which he says he doesn't like "hot" mastered cd's).

"This Is The House" is one of my favorite tracks on the cd by the way, love the instrumental intro, more Motown than Philly, but great nevertheless!

Not strange! As Tom has pointed out himself (and we have pointed out on the board), Tom is not always the mastering engineer and he was NOT on this project. The remixer or the mixer is not the same as the mastering engineer. They CAN be, but more often they are NOT!

[whitesockedfunk]

Donald, I know Tom didn't master the cd, but I would have thought he a least had a say in -or gave some advice as to- how the finished product was going to sound.

[Jay Negron]

I love the CD, even though it's on the LOUD side.
My fav up to this point is "Ruby Lee"---soooo pretty!!

[Videoskooter]

Sorry in case somebody has already posted these (maybe Donald somewhere) but these are 2 recent interview vids with Tom Moulton. Thx to Ian Dewhirst from the Mastercuts label!

[Jay Negron]

And the interview I did (4 hours with 23 songs) is here:


http://www.disco935.net/13.html

[Jay Negron]

Sorry in case somebody has already posted these (maybe Donald somewhere) but these are 2 recent interview vids with Tom Moulton. Thx to Ian Dewhirst from the Mastercuts label!

Reid Whitelaw took over a bit here didn't he??---LOL

[whitesockedfunk]

Here's Schlockmania's review. Glad to see the loud remastering issue is mentioned!

http://www.schlockmania.com/philly-re-grooved/

[Skywalker]

I play this wonderfull album for two days now, and I have to agree, it is loud....
It sounds over modulated, like a cassette tape with to much sound on it, I think it's a shame they did this to this CD....
At first I was thinking that something was wrong with my speakers or amphlifier...??

[Bernie]

Hi everyone,

Could you guys please post any and all reviews and comments on Philly Re-Grooved on its dedicated page here at DiscoMusic.com as these forum threads eventually drop down after a while whereas the dedicated page will always come up on searches and will help others in deciding whether to get the CD or not. The permanent Philly Re-Grooved full page is at:
http://www.discomusic.com/cds-more/14700_0_3_0_C/

Thanks!