Funk my Soul

Philadelphia International Records at it’s best.

A fantastic album, you have been asking me to upload for a long time.

I know how much you enjoyed their rare debut 1975 album “Castles In The Sky” on Buddah Records ( I originally posted in Lost In Tyme blog ) and you can also get it in our back pages here.

One of Philadelphia’s finest groups, the Futures - a cult harmony group - made great music, but Lady Luck refused to work her magic on them. They released two albums for PIR , “Past, Present and The Futures” and “The Greetings of Peace”, both these albums have been sought-after rarities for years, includes club & rare groove classics.

(Finally UK Edsel / Philadelphia International Reissue , released those albums on one CD)

I simply say “get it while you can”!

This is a @320 vinyl rip of the original Philadelphia International Records LP including covers.

Tracks
A1 Party Time Man (5:14)
A2 Ain’t No Time Fa Nothing (5:32)
A3 Deep Inside Of Me (4:58)
A4 Sunshine And You (3:41)
B1 Come To Me (When Your Love Is Down) (4:48)
B2 You Got It (The Love That I Need) (4:57)
B3 (You’re The One) Someone Special (4:17)
B4 I Wanna Know; Is It Over (4:30)

The Futures’ PIR recordings never reached any substantial commercial success, and thus the group were lesser known artists in the Philadelphia International repertoire. There’s a detailed history of the group in the CD leaflet and so there’s no reason to copy it here. However, I’d like to point out that while the Futures performed classic Philly soul on these albums, their style as a soul vocal group was much closer to Temptations than any famous PIR group. This impression is underscored by the fact that the Futures used different lead singers on different tracks, ranging from a high-pitched falsetto (in the Eddie Kendricks - Damon Harris mould) to a bass vocalist, who also coloured the background harmonies with his wonderful Melvin Franklin-type lines

At the time of their PIR years, The Futures comprised of James and Jon King, Harry McGilberry (later to join The Temptations), Kenny Crew and Frank Washington. Their first PIR album opens with the single release Party Time Man which is a classy uptempo dance soul tune with a typical PIR arrangement mixed with the Futures’ enjoyable, colourful vocalising. I really cannot imagine even O’Jays surpassing this interpretation, especially when the group utilises the bass vocalist to good effect. A wonderful party tune.

Even better is, though, the following cut Ain’t No Time Fa Nothing, a true soul anthem and a cult favourite on the UK soul scene. It’s written and produced by Joseph Jefferson and Charles Simmons, being an absolutely brilliant, percussive mid-tempo mover with magical horn and string lines. Still, the splendid vocal parts manage to steal the show, again using the whole vocal spectrum the group has to offer in a truly delicious way. Both the musical instrumentation and the vocal performance are so blissful I have no superlatives strong enough to praise the track!
The good news is that the worthwhile moments do not end with these two single releases. Of the ballads, Deep Inside of Me and Come to Me are tasteful falsetto-led soarers strongly reminding me of the Temptations, while the closing cut I Wanna Know; Is It Over? is a deep, traditional slow ballad tune starting with a monologue, then throwing some Temptations-type harmonies and finally revealing the extremely powerful, throaty lead vocals full of bitter emotions described in the lyrics. Then the falsetto singer comes in the spotlight, and the finale moments feature terrific preaching by the tenor vocalist.

The melodious hand-clapper You Got It (The Love That I Need) is clearly influenced by the mid-60s Temptations classics, while Someone Special and Sunshine and You are effortlessly flowing singalong tunes.

Rating: (10/10) Ismo Tenkanen, Soul Express Editor

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Buy The Futures vinyls here, buy the precious CD with both RIP albums here and….

Listen up “Ain’t No Time Fa Nothing” an excellent dancer with a killer intro and hearty vocals

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The Futures were one of the most criminally underrated soul harmony vocal groups of the 1970s. Despite the greatness of their recordings, they failed to make it big. This 1975 release is deservedly viewed as a classic “Sweet Soul” album today although it went nowhere when originally released. Highly recommended.

B1. I Had A Dream 6.52
B2. Every Man Is God 5.40
B3. Do Unto Others 3.05
B4. Love Will Be Around Forever 3.50
B5. Ninety Days ( In The House Of Love Correction) 3.04

1
The first LP issued by The Futures a fine Philly vocal quintet who’d recorded a number of singles earlier in the 70s, but who finally cracked the LP racks with this 1975 release! The group’s got harmony chops that are plenty strong — with an ability to hit both a sweet soul sound and a deeper righteous groove that was being used by some of the funkier groups at the time. This album’s not the group’s strongest, but it’s got more than enough great moments — thanks to some sweet arrangements by David Van DePitte and Wade Marcus, who give the group a sound that’s sort of a 70s extension of the Motown sound of the end of the 60s. There’s some pretty catchy numbers on the album like “Do Unto Others”, “Ninety Days (In The House Of Love Correction”, and “Super Love” and the album begins with a nice stretched-out groover called “Castles”.

2
It’s a mystery why Buddah would released this album and not promote it; they didn’t issue but one single from the LP. Seven of the eight songs are Reginald Turner, Victor Drayton, John Bellmon, and Jerry Akines compositions, the talented Philadelphia singers and songwriters who penned “Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool You,” a hit for Wilson Pickett and the Spinners. They also recorded themselves under various names including the Formations, the Corner Boys, and Frightened Majority. Barbara Mason penned the other song, a funky jam entitled “Ninety Days (In the House of Love Correction).” There are some good songs including “Super Love,” “(Love Lives on A) Windy Hill,” and “Don’t Close the Book.” “Castles,” in June of 1975, was the only single issued. A good catch if you can find a copy.

bi0
Formed 1968 one of Philadelphia’s finest groups,The Futures made a poor career move when Gamble Records ended up by signing with Buddah Records, thus missing a golden opportunity to join Philadelphia International Records.

Their first Buddah release ‘(That’s) The Way Of A Woman In Love’ b/w ‘Grade A Woman,’ was released in January 1974.The second single ‘No One Could Compare’ b/w ‘You Better Be Careful’ was released shortly afterwards.

Without the major label support that Philadelphia had to offer bands like the O’Jays, and Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes & the Stylistics, the band failed to reap the benefits of their productions.

Buddah released the Futures third single ‘Castles’ June 1975, which continued the string of under achievments. They issued the Futures’ first album ‘Castles In The Sky’, in 1975 which didn’t include the first two singles. Its promotion was almost non existent. Barbara Mason wrote their final Buddah single ‘We Got Love,’ prompting a poorly promoted tour with Philly’s First Lady of Soul.

Finally, they reunited with Gamble & Huff in 1978 at Philadelphia International Records, but the company’s glory days were over.The first release ‘Part Time Party Time Man,’ was their most successful single. Its ‘rare groove’ successor ‘Ain’t No Time For Nothing,’ was succeeded by three more singles including ‘Mr. Bojangles. ‘Philadelphia International released two albums by the Futures, ‘Past, Present & The Futures’, and the obscure ‘The Greetings Of Peace’.

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