Ain't No Price On Happiness: The Thom Bell Studio Recordings - Clamshell Box

This seven-disc boxed set from the dutiful SoulMusic label was the second major Spinners anthology released in 2023, following Real Gone Musics The Complete Atlantic Singles: The Thom Bell Productions 1972-1979, a meticulous two-disc compilation of the groups A-sides and B-sides from the same period this set covers in full. Contained within Aint No Price on Happiness are expanded editions of all eight studio albums the vocal group made with Philly soul paragon Thom Bell. (The two earlier LPs the Spinners cut for Motown, The Original Spinners and 2nd Time Around, were expanded on CD as the respective Kent compilations Truly Yours and While the City Sleeps.) Before associating with Atlantic and sympathetic songwriter/producer/arranger Bell, the Spinners scored three Top 40 pop hits over the course of a decade while recording for Tri-Phi and Motown. Their self-titled Atlantic debut alone more than doubled the tally with "Ill Be Around," "Could It Be Im Falling in Love," and "One of a Kind (Love Affair)" all peaking within or near the Top Ten (while topping the R&B chart), and it consequently started a streak of five gold albums. The first four -- Spinners, Mighty Love, New and Improved, and Pick of the Litter -- are some of the most gratifying albums of the 70s, soul or otherwise, offering much more than the above-mentioned and additional hits such as "Mighty Love," "Im Coming Home," "Then Came You," and "Games People Play." The drop in quality album-wise was steep, but the Spinners remained a bankable singles act with "The Rubberband Man," "Youre Throwing a Good Love Away," and "If You Wanna Do a Dance (All Night)" among the high-performing A-sides from their fifth through eighth Atlantic LPs. The non-album material collected here begins with four (previously available) songs from a Jimmy Roach-produced demo session recorded between the signing with Atlantic and pairing with Bell, and for the most part otherwise rounds up single versions. Overdue if opportune, Aint No Price on Happiness was issued weeks before the Spinners were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Its far and away the groups most extensive and lavish archival package. Sweetening the deal is a liner essay that provides deep contextualization of each recording with quotes from the likes of Bell and Spinner Henry Fambrough. ~ Andy Kellman