Society Hill Orchestra Featuring Herb Smith - Soul City Walking: A Tribute To Archie Bell & The - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

While touring in support of last year's debut Conor Oberst, Conor and the Mystic Valley Band began writing new songs. The result is the first album credited to this group. Oberst's songwriting and delivery remain an engaging presence, but the addition of songs by Taylor Hollingsworth, Nik Freitas, and Jason Boesel make for a multi-textured and colorful collaboration. The Mystic Valley band also includes Macey Taylor and Nathaniel Walcott.

When it comes to Philly Soul music, it is no secret that Butch Ingram is one of the most prolific producers on the scene, with a career of producing and promoting the music for well over 5 decades. Who better then to pay tribute to his colleague and long-time friend - the quintessential composer, arranger, conductor, producer and multi-instrumentalist Thom Bell? Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Thomas Randolph Bell moved to Philadelphia as a child where he was classically trained as a musician. As a teenager he sang with future luminaries Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Daryl Hall (of Hall & Oates fame). His first professional foray into the world of soul music started with Cameo Records where he worked as a session player and arranger. At the tender age of 24 in 1967, he was introduced to a local group called The Delfonics, and subsequently produced two singles for them on Cameo's subsidiary tag, Moonglow. Bell brought an entirely new vibe to the process - a sweet, soulful and hypnotic sensibility that set him apart from other producers of the day. Soon his unique production talents yielded several big hits for The Delfonics including InchLa-La (Means I Love You)Inch and InchDidn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time),Inch which yielded him his first Grammy Award in 1970. Soon Bell joined the production company operated by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, where he worked as an arranger for such acts as Jerry Butler, Archie Bell & The Drells, and The O'Jays. He arranged many of the early big hits, including the O'Jay's InchBack Stabbers,Inch on the newly launched Philadelphia International Records tag. In 1971, Bell produced another local group, The Stylistics, on the Avco Records tag. By this time, he had forged a songwriting partnership with Philadelphia-born songwriter, Linda Creed. With Creed, along with Russell Thompkins, Jr., the lead singer of the Stylistics, Bell and Creed became o

There has been a long running tradition in soul music regarding the area of Philadelphia and it's surrounding towns. The InchPhilly SoulInch sound has never really gone away - certain vocalists or bands may come and go, but it seems like someone is always there to take their place and carry on the tradition. One of the organizations still carrying the torch has been one that has seemingly never faded away - the best way to describe it is not as an organization, but rather an institution, and that tireless entity is known as Society Hill Records - named after the historic neighborhood in Center City Philadelphia. Today, after all the years of great music that has emanated from the tag, artists old and new carry on the great tradition with music that has never strayed far from the source. On the new compilation, The Society Hill Orchestra Revisit Philly Classics, that promise is glaringly evident. Led by the first family of Philly Soul, the Ingram Family band - that has played on so many Philly soul hits for decades, is once again at the helm of this new project. Together with the Society Hill Orchestra are artists/friends that are faithfully carrying on the tradition such as Benny Barksdale, Donnie Tatum, Mary Harris, Sugarbear, TRU, Baxter and Jimmy Lee, and the music sounds as fresh today as it did over 40 years ago. Producer Butch Ingram has picked some of the biggest hits of Philly soul music over the decades and once again proves the vitality of this genre of music will live on for decades to come.