Veteran soul collectors will have very fond memories of Philly harmony group THE INTRIGUES. Their 1969 Thom Bell/Bobby Martin penned ‘In A Moment’ was a huge US soul hit on Yew and even had a UK release on the old London label, I think.

The Intrigues never found success again and after a spell at GRT/Janus they disbanded. Lead singer Al Brown was determined to stay in the business so he joined with members of another Philly outfit, the Coalitions, to form a “new” version of the Intrigues.

The quintet found plenty of live work and via their booking agent they got to meet hot song writers Mervin and Melvin Seals (the “Lyric” and “Mystro” of ‘Could It Be I’m Falling In Love’ and other Philly classics).

In 1978 the Intrigues, the Seals brothers and producer James “Channey” Turner went into a New Jersey studio to work on an album. Sadly only five tracks were cut and they were never issued… till now. It seems that Intrigues singer Alan Williams recently discovered the tapes and they’ve now been licensed to UK soul reissue specialists Soul Junction Records who now make them available as a 6 track EP, ‘If The Shoe Fits’.

The mini album is named for the uplifting opening cut and dancers will also enjoy ‘AM To The PM’ and the slightly funky ‘Give Her The Love That She Needs’. The big ballads are ‘Let Me Love You Tonight’ and ‘You Are So Dear To Me’. Both are classic Philly style soft soul artefacts and on both, the harmonies are superb… but you probably guessed that.

The INTRIGUES’ ‘IF THE SHOE FITS’ EP will be available via SOUL JUNCTION from September 18th