This seven-disc boxed set from the dutiful
SoulMusic label was the second major
Spinners anthology released in 2023, following
Real Gone Music's
The Complete Atlantic Singles: The Thom Bell Productions 1972-1979, a meticulous two-disc compilation of the group's A-sides and B-sides from the same period this set covers in full. Contained within
Ain't 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 "I'll Be Around," "Could It Be I'm 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," "I'm 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," "You're 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,
Ain't No Price on Happiness was issued weeks before
the Spinners were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It's far and away the group's 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
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