When Love Is New

Last updated
When Love is New
When Love is New.jpg
Studio album by
Billy Paul
Released1975
Recorded1975 at Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genre Soul, Philadelphia soul
Length37:33
Label Philadelphia International
Producer Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff
Billy Paul chronology
Got My Head on Straight
(1975)		When Love is New
(1975)		 Let 'Em In
(1976)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

When Love is New is an album by soul singer Billy Paul. It was produced by Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff; arranged by Bobby Martin, Dexter Wansel, Norman Harris, and Jack Faith; and engineered by Joe Tarsia. Released in December 1975, it reached #139 on the Billboard Pop Album chart and #17 on the Soul chart. It includes the singles "Let's Make a Baby" which hit #83 on the Pop singles chart, #18 on the Soul chart, and #30 in the UK and "People Power" which reached #82 on the Soul chart and #14 on the U.S. Dance chart. The album was reissued on CD in 2010 by the U.K.'s Edsel Records. This was the final album where Paul was backed by MFSB, the house band of Philadelphia International Records (PIR).

Contents

Release and critical reaction

Both the album's front and back cover show Paul laying down in a relaxed, happy pose -- evocative of the LP's title about new love. When Love is New Back Cover.jpg
Both the album's front and back cover show Paul laying down in a relaxed, happy pose -- evocative of the LP's title about new love.

The album was released in November 1975. Its first single, "Let's Make a Baby" performed well, breaking into the Hot 100 Pop charts and Soul top-twenty. It was also a top-40 hit in the U.K. "People Power" was Paul's second single from the album and his first and only Dance hit.

In his 3 January 1976 column for Billboard , Tom Moulton noted: "Without a doubt, the music of Philadelphia is the strongest influence on the disco market these days. A quick glimpse : The O'Jays with their recent No. 1 disco audience response record in "I Love Music" (PIR); the Mighty Clouds of Joy's current No. 1 disco record "MIGHTY HIGH" (ABC); Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the Salsoul Orchestra and Archie Bell & the Drells all with songs on the disco listing; and Billy Paul and Dee Dee Sharp both with records fast gaining acceptance at the club level. Indications are, too, that the city's musical influence is going to continue well through 1976. [2]

Stephen McMillian called the album "fantastic" and recounted Paul's Soul Train appearance on 4 April 1976 to promote it:

He opened with the album’s title tune, an outstanding classic romantic ballad. As he performed, the entire set was dark to set the right proper mood and atmosphere with the exception of a spotlight on Billy, who wore a white suit and black hat. It’s an underrated track and is one of the best love songs ever recorded.

Later during the interview, Don [Cornelius] asked Billy if he was gratified over the success of the When Love Is New album. Billy replied that he was, due to the fact that he had a chance to write some songs for the album, including “Let the Dollar Circulate.” Don asked who wrote the controversial tune on the album “Let’s Make A Baby,” to which Billy answered Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The mere title of that song brought laughter among Billy, Don and the Soul Train Gang due to its suggestive title. He spoke of the concerts he had done recently with MFSB (Mother Father Sister Brother), chiefly his concert in New York’s Carnegie Hall which was very successful.

Billy then performed the uptempo, thumping “People Power,” a great song about solidarity among the human race. Billy closed with the aforementioned “Let’s Make A Baby.” Unlike what most people think of the song’s title, the song is a gentle, beautiful ballad about a married couple coming together to “be fruitful and multiply” and make children and raise them with wisdom and knowledge. Some critics at the time thought the song was promoting fornication and out-of-wedlock children, but that wasn’t the case at all. It was simply a beautiful and tender tune about procreation. [3]

Allmusic's Andrew Hamilton reviewed the title track: "One of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's classiest numbers, it speaks of the joys of love in its embryonic stage -- when it's new. A standard in waiting, it reminds of '50s and '60s MOR songs done by Tony Bennett, Vic Damone, Nat King Cole, and others. Bennett detested most pop/rock songs, dismissing them as junk, but would have enjoyed wrapping his golden vocal chords around this warmer. Billy Paul gives a good account on the 1975 release with a deliberate articulation of the thoughtful, heartfelt lyrics. [4]

Hamilton said of "Malorie": "sounds like a song suited for the big-band singers of the '40s and '50s. The light airy swinger features Paul displaying his jazz pipes -- scatting, jiving, exhorting -- as he raves about some damsel, accompanied by timely female vocals." [5]

On the 2010 Edsel CD reissue, Joe Marchese of The Second Disc said: "While not featuring any hits the magnitude of his majestic 'Me and Mrs. Jones,' the goods are still delivered by writer/producers Gamble and Huff and arrangers including Dexter Wansel." [6]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff; except where indicated

Side 1

  1. "People Power" - (Gene McFadden, John Whitehead, Victor Carstarphen) - 4:18
  2. "America (We Need the Light)" - (Billy Paul, Donald Level, Kenny Gamble) - 5:20
  3. "Let the Dollar Circulate" - (Billy Paul, Donald Level) - 4:58
  4. "Malorie" - (Edward Osborne) - 3:46

Side 2

  1. "When Love is New" - 5:28
  2. "I Want 'Cha Baby" - 6:18
  3. "Let's Make a Baby" - 7:11

Personnel

Charts

Albums

Chart (1976)Peak
position
Billboard Pop Albums [7] 139
Billboard Top Soul Albums [7] 17

Singles

YearSingleChart positions [8]
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 US
Soul 		US
Dance 		UK
1976"Let's Make a Baby"8318—30
"People Power"—8214—

See also

Related Research Articles

MFSB, officially standing for "Mother Father Sister Brother", was a pool of more than 30 studio musicians based at Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom Bell, and backed up such groups as Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the O’Jays, the Stylistics, the Spinners, Wilson Pickett, and Billy Paul.

Gamble and Huff American songwriting and record production team

Kenneth Gamble and Leon A. Huff are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre of the 1970s. In addition to forming their own label, Philadelphia International Records, Gamble and Huff have written and produced 175 gold and platinum records, earning them an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the non-performer category in March 2008.

Philadelphia International Records (PIR) was an American record label that is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by the songwriting and production duo, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, along with their long time collaborator Thom Bell. It was known for showcasing the Philadelphia soul music genre that was founded on the gospel, doo-wop, and soul music of the time. This 'Philly Soul' sound later became a prominent and distinct era within the R&B genre itself. During the 1970s, the label released a string of worldwide hits which emphasized lavish orchestral instrumentation, heavy bass, and driving percussion.

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Paul Williams, known professionally as Billy Paul, was a Grammy Award-winning American soul singer, known for his 1972 No. 1 single "Me and Mrs. Jones", as well as the 1973 album and single War of the Gods, which blends his more conventional pop, soul, and funk styles with electronic and psychedelic influences.

<i>The Jacksons</i> (album) 1976 studio album by the Jacksons

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Vincent Montana Jr., known as Vince Montana, was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist, and percussionist, best known as a member of MFSB and as the founder of the Salsoul Orchestra. He has been called "the Godfather of disco". Montana was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016.

Walter "Bunny" Sigler was an American R&B singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer who did extensive work with the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and was instrumental in creating the "Philly Sound" in the early 1970s.

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Jean Carn, also spelled Jean Carne is an American jazz and pop singer. In mid career, she added a final e to her name. Carn is a vocalist credited with a five octave vocal range. She began her recording career with her then-husband, pianist Doug Carn, for Black Jazz Records. Carn has worked with some of the most prolific soul artists, producers and songwriters over the years, including Dizzy Gillespie, Norman Connors, The Temptations, Glenn Jones, Phyllis Hyman, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff.

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<i>Philadelphia Freedom</i> (album) 1975 album by MFSB

Philadelphia Freedom is the fourth album to be released by Philadelphia International Records house-band MFSB. It is also noted as the debut of PIR producer, artist and musician Dexter Wansel. Of the songs on this album, the bassline of the song "Smile Happy" was used in the song "It's Wasn't Me" by Shaggy.

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Got My Head on Straight is an album by soul singer Billy Paul. It was produced by Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff, arranged by Bobby Martin and Lenny Pakula, and engineered by Joe Tarsia. Released in 1975, it reached #140 on the Billboard Pop Album chart and #20 on the Soul chart. It includes the singles "Be Truthful to Me" #37 R&B; "Billy's Back Home" #52 R&B; and "July, July, July, July" which did not chart.

<i>Ebony Woman</i> 1970 studio album by Billy Paul

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References

  1. ↑ Billy Paul: When Love is New Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  2. ↑ Moulton, Tom (3 January 1976). "Club Dialog". Billboard. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  3. ↑ McMillian, Stephen (16 March 2015). "Soul Train History Book: Billy Paul". soultrain.com. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  4. ↑ Hamilton, Andrew. Billy Paul: When Love is New Review at AllMusic . Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  5. ↑ Hamilton, Andrew. Billy Paul: Malorie Review at AllMusic . Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  6. ↑ Marchese, Joe (9 August 2010). "Wake Up, Everybody: Edsel Reissues Seven from Philadelphia International". theseconddisc.com. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Billy Paul US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "Billy Paul US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
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