Gamble & Huff Get Their Due

While Rock fans bemoan the absence of Alice Cooper, Kiss or Yes from the RRHOF, for years I did the same with Gamle & Huff, the genius architects of the Philly Sound. So, I was thrilled when they finally got the nod in 2008, and say FU to the Hall for skipping over them all these years. Two comps came out the week before their induction: the too short Gamble & Huff's Greatest Hits (TSOP years only) and the more revelatory Conquer The World (Lost Soul Of PIR). The latter is all Gamble & Huff productions and has none of their A-list talent pool, but features below the surface names lie Frankie & The Spindles, Johnny Williams and Bobby Bennett to name a few. In this day and age of forgotten Soul labels like Eccentric exhuming their catalog to fine effect on CD, this is indeed a useful artifact of a once monumental label. The Gamble & Huff hits collection is a solid sampler, but should've used the single-not album- versions and included "Wake Up Everybody" or "Love TKO". Still, these are useful documents that will only enhance my argument that Gamble & Huff shouldn't have had to wait until 2008 for induction.