Most of the songs on Soul Hits of the 70s: Didn't It Blow Your Mind, Vol. 10 date from early 1973, and by that time, '70s soul had begun to fracture slightly, with the funk getting funkier and the smooth soul becoming even more polished than before. In fact, most soul singles had slick productions, even if the beats were hot. Nevertheless, the slickness hadn't turned into gloss, and the polished productions were certainly part of the appeal of songs like the Brighter Side of Darkness' "Love Jones," the Four Tops' "Ain't No ...
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Most of the songs on Soul Hits of the 70s: Didn't It Blow Your Mind, Vol. 10 date from early 1973, and by that time, '70s soul had begun to fracture slightly, with the funk getting funkier and the smooth soul becoming even more polished than before. In fact, most soul singles had slick productions, even if the beats were hot. Nevertheless, the slickness hadn't turned into gloss, and the polished productions were certainly part of the appeal of songs like the Brighter Side of Darkness' "Love Jones," the Four Tops' "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)," First Choice's "Armed and Extremely Dangerous," the Independents' "Leaving Me," New York City's "I'm Doin' Fine Now" and Sylvia's silly seduction "Pillow Talk." There is funk on Vol. 10, in the form of two classic singles, Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly" and War's "The World is a Ghetto," but smoothness reigns, and the disc makes a convincing argument that it's just as soulful as grit. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
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