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RATINGS:
Overall: ***** All Albums Are Good with Many Huge No.1 R&B Hits
Presentation: **** Charles Waring 24-Page Booklet, Card Slipcase
Audio: **** to ***** Quality New 2026 Remasters by Andrew Thompson
Like the O'Jays, Billy Paul, Dexter Wansel and MFSB sets in this fabulous series of Audio and Presentation twofer winners (see my separate reviews for all those sets) – we are now hit with the smooth heartache sound of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes featuring Teddy 'Theodore' Pendergrass pre his solo lurve career.
BGOCD1572 also includes the "To Be True" album that is hard to find on digital in general and the version of their debut called "Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes" in Blighty as opposed to "I Miss You" in America.
Philly fans will know that Big Break Records of the UK have done the "I Miss You", "Black & Blue" and "To Be True" US albums before on tasty 2016 Remasters – each as individual 'Expanded Edition' CDs complete with hard-to-find seven-inch single edits. Edsel did "Wake Up Everybody" in April 2009 with one bonus Tom Moulton remix. This latest 8 May 2026 Melvin motherload from England's Beat Goes On Records (BGO for short) strips away the extras and offers punters just the albums - four US Billboard charters by the Soul superstars who were part of Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International Records label empire.
The Third and Fourth famously made No.1 on the US R&B LP charts in 1975 - while the Debut hit No.4 in 1972 and its follow-up No.5 in 1973 (massive sales back in the Seventies day). This newly remastered card slipcase 2CD compilation is also part of BGO's Four Albums On Two Discs Series as mentioned above (see full list below). To the details - the Loves I Lost and the Satisfaction Guaranteed (yeah baby)…
UK released Friday, 8 May 2026 - "I Miss You/Black & Blue/To Be True/Wake Up Everybody" by HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES on Beat Goes On BGOCD1572 (Barcode 5017261215727) is a Compilation that offers Four Albums Remastered On Two Discs (originally on Philadelphia International Records in the USA and UK (1972 to 1976) that plays out as follows:
CD1 (76:59 minutes, 15 Tracks):
1. I Miss You [8:31 minutes, Full Album Version]
2. Ebony Woman
3. Yesterday I Had The Blues [7:25 minutes, Full Album Version]
4. If You Don't Know Me By Now [Side 2]
5. Be For Real [7:31 minutes, Full Album Version]
6. Let Me Into Your World
7. Let It Be You
Tracks 1 to 7 are the album "I Miss You" released August 1972 in the USA on Philadelphia International KZ 31648 and February 1973 in the UK on CBS Records S 65350 as "Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes" (with the same track list). It was reissued again in June 1974 in the UK as "Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes" on Philadelphia International S PIR 65934. Peaked at No.4 on the US Billboard R&B LP charts – No.53 on the Billboard Pop LP charts. Three of the 45s from the album are edited versions – not available on this BGO 2CD release
8. Cabaret [Side 1]
9. The Love I Lost
10. It All Depends On You
11. Concentrate On Me
12. Satisfaction Guaranteed (Or Take Your Love Back)
13. Is There A Place For Me [Side 2]
14. I'm Weak For You
15. I'm Coming Home Tomorrow
Tracks 8 to 15 are their second studio album "Black & Blue" - released September 1973 in the USA on Philadelphia International KZ 32407 (initially credited as "Black & Blue Featuring: The Love I Lost") and September 1973 in the UK on Philadelphia International S PIR 65859 (reissued June 1974 with the same catalogue number). It peaked at No.5 on the US Billboard R&B LP charts, No.57 on the US Billboard Pop LP charts.
For Albums 1 and 2 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes were:
Vocalists Harold Melvin, Teddy (Theodore) Pendergrass, Bernard Wilson, Lawrence Brown and Lloyd Parks - MFSB was the Backing Band
CD2 (77:39 minutes, 15 Tracks):
1. Where Are All My Friends [Side 1]
2. To Be True
3. Pretty Flower
4. Hope That We Can Be Together Soon
5. Nobody Could Take Your Place [Side 2]
6. Somewhere Down The Line
7. Bad Luck
8. It's All Because Of A Woman
Tracks 1 to 8 are their third studio album "To Be True" – released February 1975 in the USA on Philadelphia International KZ 33148 and March 1975 in the UK on Philadelphia International S PIR 80399 – credited initially as Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes Featuring Theodore Pendergrass. It peaked at No.1 on the US Billboard R&B LP charts and No.26 on the Billboard Pop album charts. Sharon Paige shares Duet Vocals on the No.1 R&B hit "Hope That We Can Be Together Soon" and MFSB were the Backing Band – same line-up as albums 1 & 2.
9. Wake Up Everybody [Side 1]
10. Keep On Lovin' You
11. You Know How To Make Me Feel So Good
12. Don't Leave Me This Way [Side 2]
13. Tell The World How I Feel About 'Cha Baby
14. To Be Free To Be Who You Are
15. I'm Searching For A Love
Tracks 9 to 15 are the album "Wake Up Everybody" - released November 1975 on Philadelphia International Records PZ 33808 in the USA and January 1976 on Philadelphia International Records PIR 69193 in the UK. It was their 4th and final studio LP for the famous soul label and easily their most successful and fondly remembered, reaching the coveted Number 1 spot on the US R 'n' B charts for Christmas 1975 and No.9 on the US Billboard Pop LP charts (the album spawned three singles). Sharon Paige does Duet Vocals on "You Know How To Make Me Feel So Good" and "I'm Searching For A Love". Line-up the same as albums 1 to 3 except that Lloyd Parks is replaced with Jerry Cummings.
The card slipcase looks well tasty and you cannot argue on the value-for-money front (lengthy playing times on both discs), considering that individual CDs of these albums have been deleted for years and regularly pass the £12 to £15 price-barrier per disc. Beat Goes On and resident Soul/Jazz liner-notes author CHARLES WARING (of Mojo and Record Collector) do their usual bang-up job of repro'ing the front and rear sleeve artwork in the chunky 24-page booklet (albeit much of it in black and white). Waring reports on their meteoric rise from a 1970 vocal ensemble to the glory years of 1972 and 1973 when Philadelphia International Records (with Gamble & Huff and MFSB) became Hitsville Central - sidling up alongside Motown and Stax as the new Soul Music kids in town. And of course, the inevitable double-billing of Teddy Pendergrass as their charismatic main Lead Vocalist over Harold - the inevitable acrimony that saw Pendergrass leave and go solo after the "Wake Up Everybody" album went to No.1 R&B in 1975. And then, how the others left too – reducing The Blues Notes at one stage in 1975 and 1976 to only a duo of originals. Sharon Paige and her duet vocals are discussed too, and on to Melvin's ABC Records signing in the late Seventies. A hugely informative read as always.
The real fireworks comes from new 2026 Remasters at Sound Performance Studios in London by ANDREW THOMPSON – this 2CD-retrospective sounds amazing. And though true fans would have killed for those seven-inch single edits that often brought unwieldy seven-and-eight-minute albums versions under shorter version control, as you can see, there is no room on either disc. Worth a mention. To the music and the history of the debut visa-vee this retrospective…
Some history on the first American LP is needed. The title of their US debut and its artwork will seem unusual even to the most ardent of British soul fans. Released in August 1972 in the USA as "I Miss You" with a smiley faces cover - the breakthrough single "If You Don't Know Me By Now" finally charted big in October of that year and was essentially the beginning of success for Gamble and Huff's heavily subsidized Philadelphia International label. The torch ballad's classy soulful feel caught the public's attention and affections immediately - eventually rising to Number 1 on the US R 'n' B charts (it reached No 9 in the UK Pop charts in January 1973 also). On the back of this success - both nationally and internationally - and to present a more sophisticated front - the album's name was changed to simply "Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes". The reissue however (released November 1972 using the same US catalogue number) came in a new sleeve - the far-better and now familiar 'blue' photo artwork where the boys stand in classier suits and stare out at us in a more sombre and soulful way. The 'blue' sleeve artwork (which the British issue only ever used) is featured on the artwork and in the booklet of this BGO retrospective – ignoring entirely the original US artwork that bore the name "I Miss You". Bit of a boo-boo on the annotation front.
CD1: that slight hiss that was on the opener "I Miss You" on other CD reissues is largely now gone - negligible at best - because once into the lengthy ballad, the Audio is gorgeous. And of course, the virtually uncredited presence of TEDDY PENDERGRASS on Lead Vocals lifts the Gamble & Huff songs and lush production values into the stratosphere (six of the 7 songs are penned by them). His monologue on "Be For Real" about social inequality and inner-city divides feels very Marvin Gaye circa "What's Going On" but with that Philly string sound thrown in.
Their debut album (more commonly known as "Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes") produced three 45-singles in the USA and two in the UK. May 1972 opened accounts with "I Miss You" split into a Part 1 on the A and Part 2 on the flipside of Philadelphia International ZS7 3516. Finally hitting the US R&B charts on 1 July 1972 – the Oh-I pleader eventually rose to No.5. But it was their September 1972 seven-inch single that dropped the Philly atom bomb with "If You Don't Know Me By Now". Sporting "Let Me In Your World" on the flipside of Philadelphia International ZS7 3520 – it entered the US Billboard R&B charts on the 14th of October 1972 and would quickly dominate – up to No.1. The UK's Soul-Rock Manchurians Simply Red famously covered it on their 1985 debut album giving this Philly monster a life for another three decades. As iconic as If You Don't is – and perhaps due to overplaying – I prefer 45-number-three - "Yesterday I Had The Blues". Edited down to a more manageable 3:47 minutes as opposed to the magnum opus LP version at 7:25 minutes – it made for a gorgeous pleader. Released March 1973, Philadelphia International ZS7 3525 entered the US R&B chart 7 April 1973 and rose to only No.13. Forgotten too is the you walk around with your head held up high smooch of "Let Me Into Your World" – featuring here with sumptuous audio.
Album number two "Black & Blue" (or "Black & Blue: Featuring The Love I Lost" as it was originally billed) really upped the Blue Notes game and Philly fortunes. Having said that, you have at first to get past the truly awful opener "Cabaret" - as in "Life is a cabaret..." (what were they thinking!) Luckily, thereafter you're straight into the full album version (6:26 minutes) of "The Love I Lost" and it's beautifully clear from its opening keyboards and vibes to the funky bass and strings throughout. Another track I love (and a bit of a forgotten soul nugget) is the 'so' soulful message song "Is There A Place For Me" which starts with the delightful lyrics "I've been married four times...and today I'm without a wife..." The next instalment "The Love I Lost" 45-single was released September 1973 in the USA on Philadelphia International ZS7 3533 and split the long song into a Part 1 and Part 2 A&B-side. It was an infectious rhythm and promptly Part 1 attained a No.1 R&B spot on the Billboard charts for 2 weeks across a huge 14-week run. Its follow-up in March 1974 was no slouch either - "Satisfaction Guaranteed (Or Take Your Love Back)" on Philadelphia International ZS7 3543 rose to No.6 and gave the parent album extra legs in 1974. Personally, I go to Side 2 for "I'm Weak For You" – gotta have those "…I Had To Leave You Alone But I'm So Weak…" lyrics as I drown in champagne beneath my mirror ball.
CD2: Album number three "To Be True" is rated by many as their best. MFSB channel their inner Three Degrees rhythms as "Where Are All My Friends" tells us a sorry tale of pals gone west once the wads dried up, Beverly Hills fly-by-nights fleecing poor Melvin’s stacks of cash leaving him with bills to pay and not a Cadillac to piss in. Things lift with the gentle strings and guitar flicks of the title track "To Be True" – Teddy already finding so many girls are knocking on his door when his lady is away (poor chap). McFadden, Whitehead and Greg Carstarphen provide the sweet love song "Pretty Flower" – our forlorn singer lingering on thoughts of his pretty gal and no lurve luncheonette within sight. Sharon Paige makes the first of two appearances on Duet Vocals for "Hope That We Can Be Together Soon". This gorgeous July 1975 US 45 made mincemeat of its competition – Philadelphia International ZS7 3569 rising to an R&B No.1 (their third). I had forgotten how sexily good this tune was/is. Speaking of pretty, the Gamble & Huff ballad "Somewhere Down The Line" may be the album’s secret gem – better for me than the catchy dancer "Bad Luck" that made No.4 on the US Billboard R&B single charts. The LP closes with a come-on slow anthem - "It's All Because Of A Woman" – another 5:26 minute TSOP high that I am sure deep-core fans reach for more than the famous hits.
Philly's ace songwriting team stepped up again for album number four "Wake Up Everybody" - John Whitehead, Gene McFadden and Victor Carstarphen provided Tracks 1, 2, 5 and 6 - while label founders Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff stumped up writing credits for tracks 3, 4 and 7 and produced the record with their usual lush MFSB arrangements. The lovely Sharon Paige is called back (after the preceding album success story) and provided duet vocals on "You Know How To Make Me Feel So Good" and "I'm Searching For Love". The force of smooch is strong in the fab "You Know How To Make Me Feel So Good" – a sexy groover that has stood a 50-year gap. But it was good old Theodore Teddy Pendergrass who shone with lead vocals on all tracks - especially the huge title track "Wake Up Everybody" (which effectively launched Pendergrass as a solo star – love that Disco groove build up as he begs pushers and dope dealers to quite their spreading of death.
But for me one of the unheard gems on this album is Track 2 on Side 1, "Keep On Lovin' You" - as brilliant a Seventies soul tune as you can get (lyrics above). It's so good to hear it with such top sound quality. Niggles – as with the previous albums - both "Tell The World How I Feel About 'Cha Baby" and "Wake Up Everybody" were released as 7" singles with rare edit versions which AREN'T included as bonus tracks here - and I would have preferred those than the rather tiresome extension of the overly familiar "Don't Leave Me This Way". Other than that - this is a superb Philly album.
To sum up – great albums, quality digital transfers and barring the odd glitch, presentation that does these iconic LPs a proper solid. This May 2026 BGO grouping of four albums onto two 2CDs will be a must-own for all Harold Melvin, Blue Notes, Teddy Pendergrass, Sharon Paige, MFSB and Seventies Philly Sound fans. Five all the way...
Soul/Funk/Disco/Fusion and Philly Soul Titles In The
Beat Goes On (BGO) Records 'Four Albums On Two Discs' Soul & Fusion Series
UK issued 2CD Compilations in a Card Slipcase with Remasters
1. GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS - "Imagination/I Feel A Song/2nd Anniversary/The One And Only…"
Four US Albums originally issued on Buddah Records in 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1978
UK released 27 February 2026 on Beat Goes On BGOCD1567 (Barcode 5017261215673)
2. RAMSEY LEWIS - "Funky Serenity/Ramsey Lewis’ Newly Recorded, All-Time, Non-Stop Golden Hits [aka Golden Hits]/Solar Wind/Sun Goddess"
Four US Albums originally issued 1973 (two) and 1974 (two) on Columbia Records
UK released 18 May 2018 on Beat Goes On BGOCD1335 (Barcode 5017261213358)
3. RAMSEY LEWIS - "Legacy/Ramsey/Live At The Savoy/Chance Encounter"
Four US Albums originally issued 1978, 1979 and two in 1982 on Columbia Records
UK released 30 March 2018 on Beat Goes On BGOCD1330 (Barcode 5017261213303)
4. THE MANHATTANS - "There's No Me Without You/That's How Much I Love You/The Manhattans/It Feels So Good"
Four US Albums originally issued on Columbia Records in 1973, 1974, 1976 and 1977
UK released 21 November 2025, Beat Goes On BGOCD1557 (Barcode 5017261215574)
5. HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES (featuring Teddy Pendergrass) – "Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes Featuring… (aka I Miss You)/Black And Blue/To Be True (Featuring Teddy Pendergrass)/Wake Up Everybody"
Four US Albums originally issued on Philadelphia International Records in 1972, 1973 and 1975 (Two)
UK released Friday, 8 May 2026, Beat Goes On BGOCD1572 (Barcode 5017261215727)
6. MFSB - "MFSB/TSOP The Sound Of Philadelphia (aka Love Is The Message)/Universal Love/Philadelphia Freedom"
Four US Albums originally issued on Philadelphia International Records in 1973 (Two), and 1975 (Two) – Philly Backing Band feat Dexter Wansel
UK released Friday, 22 May 2026, Beat Goes On BGOCD1575 (Barcode 5017261215758)
7. BUDDY MILES EXPRESS/BUDDY MILES
"Expressway To Your Skull/Electric Church/Them Changes/We Got To Live Together"
Four US Albums originally issued 1968, 1969 and Two in 1970 on Mercury Records
UK released 7 January 2022 (delayed from November 2021), Beat Goes On BGOCD1468 (Barcode 5017261214683)
8. THE O'JAYS - "Back Stabbers/Ship Ahoy/Survival/Family Reunion"
Four US Albums originally issued on Philadelphia International Records in 1972, 1973 and 1975
UK released 21 November 2025, Beat Goes On BGOCD1563 (Barcode 5017261215635)
9. BILLY PAUL – "Ebony Woman/Going East/360 Degrees Of Billy Paul/War Of The Gods"
Four US Albums originally issued on Neptune and Philadelphia International Records in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973
UK released 7 November 2025, Beat Goes On BGOCD1561 (Barcode 5017261215611)
10. TEDDY PENDERGRASS - "Teddy Pendergrass/Life Is A Song Worth Singing/Teddy/TP"
Four US Albums originally issued on Philadelphia International Records in 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980 – Former Lead Vocalist in Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
UK released Friday, 22 May 2026, Beat Goes On BGOCD1574 (Barcode 5017261215741)
11. LOU RAWLS - "All Things In Time/Unmistakably Lou/When You Hear Lou, You've Heard It All/Let Me Be Good To You"
Four US Albums originally issued on Philadelphia International Records in 1976, Two in 1977 and One in 1979
UK released 3 October 2025, Beat Goes on BGOCD1560 (Barcode 5017261215604)
12. DEXTER WANSEL - "Life On Mars/What The World Is Coming To/Voyager/Time Is Slipping Away"
Four US Albums originally issued on Philadelphia International Records in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979
UK released 10 March 2023, BGOCD1490 (Barcode 5017261214904)
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