The Volcanos

Listen/Download – Volcanos – (It’s Against) The Laws of Love MP3

Greetings all.

I thought we’d get things of to a fine start this week with one of my favorite Philly 45s.

Back in the day, when I had just started digging for soul in earnest, I was all over anything I could find from Philadelphia and New Orleans.

One of the early obsessions to come out of my Philly excavations was the mighty Volcanos.

I can say with some certainty that the gateway drug – as it were – was ‘Storm Warning’, the group’s biggest hit and a Northern Soul classic.

Over the course of a few years, the Volcanos, led by Gene Faith (nee Jones) would lay down some of the finest soul 45s to come out of the City of Brotherly Love, first for Arctic, then the storied Harthon imprint, and then finally for Virtue, before Faith went solo, and the rest of the group morphed into the Moods, and then the Trammps.

‘(It’s Against) The Laws of Love’ was the group’s fourth 45 for Arctic, released in 1965. Written by Carl Fisher of the Vibrations, ‘Laws of Love’ followed their regional success with ‘Storm Warning’, but despite its obvious quality, failed to make a dent outside of Philadelphia.

Seemingly crafted from a Northern Soul template (years ahead of the curve) ‘Laws of Love’ features a brisk, four on the floor beat, piano and ringing vibes (Vince Montana!) and pumping baritone sax under a great lead by Faith and solid harmonies by the group.

The song is packed with hooks and the arrangement is a wonder.

This is also one of those records I’m happy to have grabbed way back in the stone age, since it seems to be the rarest of their Arctic 45s, pulling in a couple of hundred bucks (much like their two Harthon discs).

It is the perfect intersection of great to listen to and great to dance to.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

One Response to “The Volcanos – (It’s Against) The Laws of Love”

1. Johnnie K says:

   February 10, 2016 at 4:02 am

   Dear Mr Grogan. I have always loved the Volcano’s It’s Against The Laws Of Love. It is a fantastic record. It appears on the Northern Soul compilation The Odyssey: Blackpool Mecca to Wigan Casino (A Northern Soul Time Capsule) and on Cooler Than Ice: Arctic Records And The Rise Of Philly Soul. The 7″ is worth fortune. It is about time someone did a compilation of their material. Thy were a great band. Also check out Storm Warning – this CD has five of their songs but is far from comprehensive. Cooler Than Ice: Arctic Records And The Rise Of Philly Soul has everything but is very expensive. Thanks for all the great music Larry. From Johnnie K in Auckland New Zealand