(6-CD + 6-7'' set) Founded by WDAS program director/deejay Jimmy Bishop in conjunction with Jamie/Guyden Records in 1964, Arctic Records was one of Philadelphia's most important early soul labels, greatly influencing the subsequent rise of Philly soul.

Barbara Mason's classic Yes, I'm Ready was the label's biggest seller in 1965; she quickly became Arctic's flagship artist. Kenny Gamble gained invaluable experience at Arctic, not just as a songwriter and producer but as a smooth-voiced singer. Arctic hosted the Volcanos and the Ambassadors, two of the City of Brotherly Love's finest male vocal groups, and the sexy, sultry Honey & the Bees. Daryl Hall got his start at Arctic as lead tenor with blue-eyed soulsters the Temptones; Della Humphrey's debut Arctic single hit when she was barely in her teens.

Arctic was an incredibly consistent Philly soul label, from its inaugural issue by the Tiffanys to the stirring Royal Five 45 that closed out Arctic's release schedule. Artists included Kenny Hamber, Kenny Rossi, Winfield Parker, Herb Johnson, Cindy Gibson, Dee Dee Barnes; Billy Floyd, and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.

Surely the soul boxed set of the year, Cooler Than Ice contains both sides of every Arctic single, including many that haven't seen light of day in any format since their original issue nearly 50 years ago. The 120 songs on 6 CDs also include 3 coveted singles by the Rotations and Three Strangers on Arctic's short-lived Frantic subsidiary. Vinyl aficionados will delight in the half dozen actual 45s created from freshly unearthed tapes in the Jamie/Guyden vaults. Comprehensive track-by-track liner notes include newly conducted interviews with Arctic's stars, along with full release information and unique historic photos.

Arctic Records helped define Philadelphia soul. This box is so cool it's ice!

Review

The Arctic Records label helped Philly Soul find its footing. Their complete discography of 121 sides,spread over a six-disc box set, are raw, washed-out, occasionally sloppy - a young Kenny Gamble before he hopped on the love train, a young Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes before you knew them by now - essentially the sound of Philadelphia in the 10 years before TSOP. The 27 tracks from dynamic soulstirrer Barbara Mason are the biggest victory here, tracing a slow evolution from the vulnerable, sugarysad, girl-group era (Girls Have Feeling Too, the No. 5 hit Yes, I'm Ready) to the assured, brassy tip of the funky '70s. We'd be remiss not to point out the inimitable tenor of a young Daryl Hall (yes, that Daryl Hall) levitating over the only four released sides from his circa-1967 white-boy soul crew the Temptones, when dude was doing straight Temptations-jacking sans the big bam booms.

Major shout outs for this home-grown, six-disc megaset of long-lost music from the 1960s and '70s. Founded by former WDAS DJ and program director Jimmy Bishop, Arctic was a training site for many a local musician and producer who'd go on to really big things at Philadelphia International Records.

It's got tracks from the lead singer of a group called Kenny Gamble and the Romeos. And there's some songs featuring a certain tenor sig lead with the pale-skinned though R&B stylized Temptone - Pottstown's very own Daryl Hall.

The distinctive Barbara Mason was Arctic's star; often sonically dressed to the nines with lustrous string players (some plucked from the Philadelphia Orchestra) as she strove for a worthy follow-up to I'm Ready.

You'll be equally taken with the stomping, Motown/Philly explosions of the Volcanos, sugar-pie cute Honey Bees and spiritual-meets-pop pioneering Lane Relations (produced by Bishop's wife, Louise Williams).

Oh, and we were staggered by how much the vocal stylings of Cindy Gibson resembled what ''complete original'' Laura Nyro would put forth a few years later. Kudos to Bill Dahl for the deep-digging liner notes. --Jonathan Takiff, Philadelphia Daily News, December 10, 2012

The Sound of Philadelphia story is usually told through Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International soul label. Another chapter is added on Cooler Than Ice, which gathers every single from 1964 to 1967 on the Arctic label founded by WDAS program director Jimmy Bishop. Arctic's biggest hit was with teenage phenom Barbara Mason's Yes, I'm Ready in 1965. The label was a proving ground for a number of artists, including Daryl Hall (known as Daryl Hohl when he was with the Temptones, who have four chag faux-Motown tunes here). Gamble struts his stuff in style as a singer with his bands the Romeos and Floaters. Essential for Philly Soul completists. --The Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 29, 2012

:: TRACKLIST ::

Disc 1

01. The Tiffanys - Happiest Girl In The World (02:40)

02. The Tiffanys - Love Me (02:41)

03. Barbara Mason - Girls Have Feelings Too (03:03)

04. Barbara Mason - Come To Me (02:24)

05. The Volcanos - Baby (02:32)

06. The Volcanos - Make Your Move (02:11)

07. Cindy Gibson - Step by Step (02:21)

08. Cindy Gibson - Whisper You Love Me, Boy (02:30)

09. Barbara Mason - Yes, I'm Ready (03:18)

10. Barbara Mason - Keep Him (02:30)

Disc 2

01. The Volcanos - Storm Warning (03:01)

02. Kenny Gamble & The Floaters - Down By The Seashore (Vocal) (03:15)

03. Kenny Gamble & The Floaters - Down By The Seashore (Instrumental) (03:05)

04. Barbara Mason - Sad, Sad Girl (03:18)

05. Herb Johnson - Gloomy Day (03:09)

06. Herb Johnson - Carfare Back (02:20)

07. Lane Relations - Everything On Earth (02:41)

08. Lane Relations - Cleaning Up Here (02:27)

09. The Volcanos - Help Wanted (02:32)

10. Barbara Mason - If You Don't (Love Me, Tell Me So) (03:19)

11. Barbara Mason - You Got What It Takes (02:36)

Disc 3

01. Light Lunch & The Freeloader - How Can I Win Your Love (Vocal) (02:55)

02. Light Lunch & The Freeloader - How Can I Win Your Love (Instrumental) (02:08)

03. Kenny Gamble & The Romeos - Ain't It Baby (Vocal) (02:28)

04. Kenny Gamble & The Romeos - Ain't It Baby (Instrumental) (02:28)

05. The Volcanos - (It's Against) The Laws of Love (Vocal) (02:41)

06. The Volcanos - (It's Against) The Laws of Love (Instrumental) (02:41)

07. Barbara Mason - Is It Me? (03:30)

08. Barbara Mason - Don't Ever Want to Lose Your Love (02:29)

09. Mike & Ike - Ya Ya (02:43)

10. Mike & Ike - Sax On The Track (I'd Rather Be Lonely) (02:13)

Disc 4

01. Honey & The Bees - I'm Confessin' (02:27)

02. Honey & The Bees - One Is Forever (02:15)

03. Brockington Choral Ensemble - How I Got Over - Part I (03:38)

04. Brockington Choral Ensemble - How I Got Over - Part II (03:21)

05. Barbara Mason - I Need Love (03:13)

06. Barbara Mason - Bobby is My Baby (03:30)

07. Jack & Jill - Take Me For What I Am (03:11)

08. Jack & Jill - There You Go Again (02:32)

09. Kenny Rossi - Turn On Your Love Light (02:20)

10. Kenny Rossi - Don't Lose This Love (02:30)

Disc 5

01. Kenny Gamble - Don't Stop Loving Me (02:41)

02. Kenny Gamble - The Joke's On You (02:46)

03. Lane Relations - If I Had A Hammer (02:48)

04. Lane Relations - In The Dark (03:02)

05. The Volcanos - A Lady's Man (03:11)

06. Barbara Mason - Poor Girl in Trouble (03:15)

07. Barbara Mason - Hello Baby (02:40)

08. Kenny Gamble - Chains of Love (02:52)

09. Kenny Gamble - (I'll Just) Keep On Smilin' (03:00)

10. The Volcanos - You're Number I (02:34)

Disc 6

01. Lane Relations - The Blood - Part I (02:04)

02. Lane Relations - The Blood - Part II (02:04)

03. Temptones - Girl I Love You (02:24)

04. Temptones - Good-Bye (03:17)

05. Kenny Hamber - Anything You Want (02:34)

06. Kenny Hamber - Ain't Gonna Cry (Over One Girl) (02:58)

07. Mary Deloach - Move This Thing Part I (03:06)

08. Mary Deloach - Move This Thing Part II (03:00)

09. Brockington Choral Ensemble - I Feel The Spirit Moving (03:09)

10. Brockington Choral Ensemble - He's There (03:44)

Disc 7

01. Barbara Mason - You Can Depend On Me (03:13)

02. Barbara Mason - Game Of Love (02:29)

03. Harold Melvin & Blue Notes - Go Away (03:03)

04. Harold Melvin & Blue Notes - What Can A Man Do (03:33)

05. Temptones - Say These Words Of Love (02:56)

06. Temptones - This Could Be The Start (03:01)

07. Barbara Mason - Oh How It Hurts (02:46)

08. Barbara Mason - Ain't Got Nobody (02:18)

09. Dee Dee Barnes - Do What You Wanna Do (02:18)

10. Dee Dee Barnes - I'm Yours and You're Mine (02:35)

Disc 8

01. Kenny Hamber - Looking For A Love (02:55)

02. Kenny Hamber - These Arms Of Mine (03:02)

03. Barbara Mason - I Don't Want to Lose You (03:02)

04. Barbara Mason - Dedicated to the One I Love (02:16)

05. Honey & The Bees - (You Better) Go Now (03:25)

06. Honey & The Bees - Why Do You Hurt the One Who Loves You (02:11)

07. Barbara Mason - (I Can Feel Your Love) Slipping Away (03:20)

08. Barbara Mason - Half a Love (03:06)

09. Teddy & The Finger Poppers - Soul Groove Part 1 (02:37)

10. Teddy & The Finger Poppers - Soul Groove Part 2 (02:34)

Disc 9

01. Della Humphrey - Don't Make the Good Girls Go Bad (02:42)

02. Della Humphrey - Your Love Is All I Need (03:03)

03. Billy Floyd - My Oh My (02:28)

04. Billy Floyd - Made You Change (Your Mind) (02:44)

05. Barbara Mason - I'm No Good For You (03:03)

06. Barbara Mason - Don't Ever Go Away (02:14)

07. The Ambassadors - I Really Love You (03:11)

08. The Ambassadors - I Can't Believe You Love Me (03:03)

09. Barbara Mason - Take It Easy (With My Heart) (03:31)

10. Barbara Mason - You Never Loved Me (At All) (03:33)

Disc 10

01. Honey & The Bees - Love Addict (02:43)

02. Honey & The Bees - I'll Be There (03:49)

03. The Ambassadors - Ain't Got the Love of One Girl (On My Mind) (02:41)

04. The Ambassadors - Music (Makes You Wanna Dance) (03:07)

05. Winfield Parker - Shake That Thing (02:57)

06. Winfield Parker - Brand New Start (02:39)

07. Honey & The Bees - Together Forever (02:57)

08. Honey & The Bees - Dynamite Exploded (02:49)

09. The Ambassadors - I Dig You Baby (03:07)

10. The Ambassadors - Storm Warning (02:46)

Disc 11

01. Barbara Mason - You Better Stop It (02:45)

02. Barbara Mason - Happy Girl (02:41)

03. Della Humphrey - (Girls Have Feelings) Just Like the Boys Do (03:05)

04. Della Humphrey - Over the Tracks (02:19)

06. The Ambassadors - A.W.O.L. - (Away Without Love) (02:20)

07. Jimmy Bishop - (If You Could See Through the Eyes of) A Blackman (01:22)

08. Jimmy Bishop - Mr. Charlie (01:18)

09. Honey & The Bees - Sunday Kind of Love (02:45)

10. Honey & The Bees - Baby, Do That Thing (02:47)

Disc 12

01. Della Humphrey - Will You Love Me Tomorrow (03:33)

02. Della Humphrey - Let's Wait Until Dark (02:39)

03. The Royal Five - Ain't No Big Thing (But It's Growing) (03:19)

04. The Royal Five - Peace of Mind (03:49)

05. The Rotations - (Put A Nickel On) D-9 (Vocal) (03:13)

06. The Rotations - (Put A Nickel On) D-9 (Instrumental) (03:13)

07. The Three Strangers - Find My Baby I (02:42)

08. The Three Strangers - Find My Baby II (02:12)

09. The Rotations - Heartaches (02:48)

10. The Rotations - A Changed Man (03:01)

Disc 13

01. Barbara Mason - He's Got to Love Me (02:22)

2. Barbara Mason - Catch Him Love (02:34)

3. The Tiffanys - No Doubt About It (02:26)

4. The Tiffanys - Lover Boy (02:40)

5. The Combo Kings - I'm At My Best When I'm Down (02:33)

6. The Combo Kings - The Rock (02:19)

7. Kenny Gamble - It Takes Two (03:06)

8. Kenny Gamble - Fat Daddy (02:17)

9. The Ambassadors - Doctor Love (02:48)

10. The Ambassadors - I Only Have Eyes For You (03:54)

11. Winfield Parker - I Love You Just The Same (02:43)

12. Winfield Parker - Fallin' Star (03:06)



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