Love Is the Message

Arranger: Bobby Martin .
Most prominently featuring "Love Is the Message" and "T.S.O.P.," this 1973 album by MFSB serves as a landmark LP for Philadelphia's early to mid-'70s soul movement. While "T.S.O.P." became a giant hit for the group at the time of its release, forever being associated with the television show Soul Train, "Love Is the Message" would go on to be an enormous underground hit in New York's late-'70s disco scene, championed by influential DJs such as Larry Levan (becoming an anthem at Levan's Paradise Garage). In addition, the album also features the orchestra's take on "Touch Me in the Morning," a song popularized by Diana Ross that was another proto-disco classic. The other tracks here -- "Cheaper to Keep Her," "My One and Only Love," and "Bitter Sweet" -- are also wonderful tracks exemplifying the group's uplifting, massive sound but aren't nearly as timeless as the three aforementioned songs. Sony's Love Is the Message: The Best of MFSB is still the best and most readily available showcase for this group's influential accomplishments as a proto-disco group, while this album is arguably their strongest non-compilation release and one of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's shining moments. ~ Jason Birchmeier