Here to Create Music

iTunes Review

One half of the legendary Philadelphia International Records production team Gamble and Huff, Leon Huff recorded this solo album in 1980 just as the label and the production team’s fortunes were changing for the worse. Recording without his partner’s assistance and their in-house arrangers, Leon Huff looked to create something new and unusual with his first and only solo album. The opening track, “Your Body Won’t Move, If You Can’t Feel the Groove,” features a number of notable guests from Teddy Pendergrass to Eddie Levert and Walter Williams of the O’Jays and its casual, loose groove has a welcoming, informal vibe coming from a man known for his carefully tailored orchestrations. Much of the album is largely instrumental, featuring fleeting moments of backing vocals, and the organ-driven dancefloor funk of “I Ain’t Jivin’, I’m Jammin’” became a substantial 12-inch hit. The piano drama of “No Greater Love” is effective. This isn’t one of the essential albums of the era, but a definite curio for those immersed in the “Philly Soul” history.