Teddy Pendergrass/Life Is A Song Worth Singing/Teddy/TP

フィリー・ソウルの帝王テディ・ペンダーグラス、名盤4作を収録した決定版!

ハロルド・メルヴィン&ザ・ブルー・ノーツの元リード・シンガー、テディ・ペンダーグラスが1977～80年にフィラデルフィア・インターナショナルへ残した初期ソロ4作を収録。『テディ』『ライフ・イズ・ア・ソング・ワース・シンギング』はR&B1位を獲得し、「クローズ・ザ・ドア」「ターン・オフ・ザ・ライツ」「ラヴ・TKO」など名曲を多数収録。フィリー・ソウルを代表する名シンガーの黄金期をまとめた作品。

In 1999, WestSide released Teddy Pendergrass/Life Is a Song Worth Singing, which contained two complete albums -- Teddy Pendergrass (1977, originally released on Philadelphia International) and Life Is a Song Worth Singing (1978, Philadelphia International) -- by Teddy Pendergrass on one compact disc. The two albums are Pendergrass' first solo ventures and are chock-full of excellent songs amid very little, if any, filler. At this early point in his solo career, Pendergrass was still setting the dancefloors aflame with steppers anthems like "You Can't Hide From Yourself," "I Don't Love You Anymore," "Only You," and "Get Up, Get Down, Get Funky, Get Loose." At the same time, however, Pendergrass had already mastered the quiet storm-style of balladry that would ultimately become his legacy: "Somebody Told Me," "The Whole Town's Laughing at Me," "Cold, Cold World," and "Close the Door" being the standout ballads here. Compiling two excellent, rock-solid albums back to back, Teddy Pendergrass/Life Is a Song Worth Singing is a perfect two-fer and its chronological sequencing also makes it a historically significant one as well. [Diablo reissued the two-fer in 2006.] ~ Jason Birchmeier