Gloria Gaynor's fifth album was titled Gloria Gaynor's Park Avenue Sound, but it might as well have been titled Gloria Gaynor's Broad Street Sound because much of this soul-disco LP is heavily influenced by Philadelphia R&B. (Broad Street is a main thoroughfare in Philly). Two of the arrangers on
Park Avenue Sound are
Norman Harris and Ron "Have Mercy" Kersey, both of who were prominent figures on Philly's R&B scene in the 1970s, and
Bobby Eli, another well known R&B musician from Philly, is employed on guitar. With such heavyweights on board,
Park Avenue Sound should have been a gem. But the album isn't as strong as it could have been, although Philly-influenced cuts like "Kidnapped" and "This Love Affair" are decent and likable. One of the less Philly-sounding tunes on
Park Avenue Sound is a remake of the
Marvin Gaye/
Tammi Terrell classic "You're All I Need to Get By," which is arguably the best thing on the album and favors the type of disco-meets-Motown approach that had worked well for
Gaynor in the past. Gloria Gaynor's Park Avenue Sound falls short of excellent and isn't essential, but it has more ups than downs and is worth hearing if you're a die-hard fan. ~ Alex Henderson