"Top Of The Line" by PRINCE PHILLIP MITCHELL – Second Album from May 1979 on Atlantic Records (November 2007 Rhino "CLASSIC SOUL ALBUM - REMASTERED & EXPANDED" CD Reissue – Bill Inglot Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Lying Here Next To You In My Birthday Suit…"

The cool and seductive "Top Of The Line" is the second Soul album ace songwriter PRINCE PHILLIP MITCHELL made for the mighty Atlantic Records in the late Seventies (1979).

This UK released November 2007 Expanded CD on Rhino remasters the album to a very high quality for the first time and adds on a bonus Previously Unreleased instrumental cut (54:07 minutes total playing time). Here's the break down for Rhino 8122-76434-2 (Barcode 081227643423):

1. Top Of The Line

2. Use Your Body

3. Highlight Of My Life

4. In Between Lovers

5. I'm So Happy

6. If It Ain't Love It'll Go Away

7. Paying The Price

8. Let's Get Wet

Tracks 1 to 8 are the album "Top Of The Line" released in the USA on Atlantic SD 19231 in May 1979

Track 9 is "Take Me Away (Instrumental)" which is a Previously Unreleased album outtake - the lyrics were never completed nor added to the mix...

Rhino's long-time tape engineer BILL INGLOT has remastered the first generation master tapes and the sound is typically great - warm, funky and with plenty of wallop without having to turn it up. Once again the booklet has an essay on the album and artist by noted writer CHARLES WARING that is excellent.

This is smooth loverman Soul where our hero is a bedroom dynamo and his girl is "dynamite" in the candlelight (and anywhere else that's convenient). "Top Of The Line" is a great groove with strings ("number one...second to none...") while "Use Your Body" is over five minutes of "give it all you've got..." and vocally he gets a tad ecstatic every now and then. The swooning continues with the slick "In Between Lovers" but even better is the Teddy Pendergrass funk of "I'm So Happy" - a lovely upbeat dancer with sighing girly vocals. "Paying The Price" sees him duet with The Jones Girls while "Let's Get Wet" is not really a subtle song where one of The Jones Girls literally say "not tonight Phil..." before the song goes into a pulsing Disco rhythm.

"Top Of The Line" is not really as good as its predecessor "Make It Good" from 1978 (which is also in this series) - but both are old-school Soul albums worth revisiting in your boudoir soon...

PS: This release is part of Rhino's "CLASSIC SOUL ALBUM - REMASTERED & EXPANDED" Series. Most titles are first time onto CD and are rare soul albums from the Warner/Atlantic/Cotillion/Elektra vaults:

1. Ace Spectrum - "Inner Spectrum" (see REVIEW)

2. Blue Magic - "Blue Magic" (see REVIEW)

3. Donny Hathaway - "Come Back Charleston Blue O.S.T." (see REVIEW)

4. Leroy Hutson - "Paradise" (see REVIEW)

5. Ronn Matlock - "Love City" (see REVIEW)

6. Gwen McCrae - "Gwen McCrae"

7. Gwen McCrae - "On My Way"

8. Prince Phillip Mitchell - "Make It Good" (1978 US Debut LP on Atlantic) (see REVIEW)

9. Prince Phillip Mitchell - "Top Of The Line" (1979, his 2nd album on Atlantic) (see REVIEW)

10. The Voices Of East Harlem [featuring Donny Hathaway] -"Right On Be Free" (see REVIEW)