MIRACLES: CITY OF ANGELS
In 1975, the Miracles, now with Billy Griffin on lead vocal, exploded back into the Pop mainstream with “Love Machine” - a No. 1 hit across the board, a song that remains an icon of ‘70s dance music. The song was the centerpiece of a concept album - CITY OF ANGELS, a thematic soul/pop masterpiece that told the story of two souls searching for love and fame in Hollywood, Los Angeles, the “City of Angels.” In addition to the smash hit, the album’s “Overture” and “Night Life” became underground disco classics, while “Ain’t Nobody Straight In L.A.” spurred controversy. Throughout CITY OF ANGELS the group showed off its longtime close harmony.


Yet even with “Love Machine” a perennial favorite, CITY OF ANGELS remained MIA on CD in its home country. (A U.K. compilation included all of the album’s tracks with cuts from other albums but did not reproduce the cover art or tell the full story.)


Now, for the first time ever, The Miracles’ CITY OF ANGELS is on a U.S. CD, along with careful reproduction of the eye-catching artwork, an essay by Soulmusic.com 's David Nathan - who provided from his personal archive an interview with Miracles Billy Griffin and Warren “Pete” Moore that he conducted back when the album was originally released - and a previously unreleased bonus track, the “missing” extended 12-inch instrumental version of “Love Machine.”


Consulting on this reissue were Miracles Griffin and Moore, who wrote every track together. The reissue is released about one year after the group finally received its genuine star on Hollywood Boulevard, just off Sycamore Street in the “City Of Angels,” an event that mirrored the album’s cover image. Long live the Miracles, and a classic that burst on the scene 35 years ago.


Tracks:
1. Overture
2. City of Angels
3. Free Press
4. Ain’t Nobody Straight in L.A.
5. Night Life
6. Love Machine
7. My Name is Michael
8. Poor Charlotte
9. Waldo Roderick DeHammersmith
10. Smog
11. Bonus Track: Love Machine (instrumental version)