Ponderosa Twins Plus One: 2+2+1= Peach Vinyl

Why you'll love it

Numero's reissue comes on peach vinyl in a tip-on jacket. Both "You Send Me" and "Bound" charted on Billboard's Best Selling Soul Singles, and Kanye West sampled "Bound" for his 2013 hit Bound 2.

This edition

Peach vinyl
Tip-on jacket
Stereo mix

About the album

Two sets of twins and one extra friend; the band name did the maths, and so did the album title. Alfred and Alvin Pelham, Keith and Kirk Gardner and Ricky Spicer were youngsters when they cut this record in 1971 for Horoscope Records, and it remains their one album, a little time capsule of early 70s vocal-group soul. It was reissued in Japan in 1990, and Numero now brings it back with the care it deserves.

Bobby Massey of the O'Jays produced alongside songwriter and arranger Michael Burton. Massey's sides, "Bound," "Touchdown" and "I Remember You," carry a lovely, lived-in sweetness, while Burton's "Love You While You Wait" and "Dad, I Love Her" lean into bright puppy-love pop. Their take on Sam Cooke's "You Send Me" became the group's most successful single, and "Hey Girl" and "Like the Big Boys" bring a little extra bounce.

Tyler, the Creator sampled "Bound" too, on A Boy Is a Gun, and the album has drawn new listeners ever since hip hop went looking. The maths still checks out, for the record; we had it looked at.

Also at Kops: more Ponderosa Twins Plus One on vinyl · browse Classic Soul

Tracklist

Side A
1. Love You While You Wait
2. Hey Girl
3. Turn Around You Fool
4. Touchdown
5. That’s What I’ll Do
6. Bound
7. He Didn’t Make The Mountains Too High

Side B
1. You Send Me
2. Take Me Back
3. Like The Big Boys
4. Dad, I Love Her
5. I Remember You
6. Mama’s Little Baby
7. That’s What I’ll Do