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The '70s Soul Jam, Vol. 3 is a ten-track collection of songs taken from a big concert in that hotbed of soul, New Haven, CT, featuring a handful of soul groups from the '70s. The groups featured here are the Stylistics, the Dramatics, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the Delfonics, and Major Harris. The groups have a varying degree of original members in the current incarnation: the Delfonics have one, the Dramatics have an impressive three, the Stylistics have two, and not only is Harold Melvin no longer a member of the group that bears his name, none of the other current members were in the band in their heyday. All of which wouldn't really matter much if the music were great. Sadly it is not; the backing band is barely supper-club quality and each band is merely a shadow of their former selves. The Stylistics perform five songs and sound the weakest; their lead singer has a stiff and weak falsetto and their harmonies are atrocious. "You Make Me Feel Brand New" is especially embarrassing. The Delfonics and Dramatics (one song each) suffer from weak lead vocals also. The Blue Notes fare a little better, maybe because they are made up of ringers. The lead vocalist does a passable imitation of Teddy Pendergrass on "Wake Up Everybody" and the rest of the group sounds surprisingly impassioned. Their other song, "Hope That We Can Be Together Soon," is not as successful; the presence of a shrill female singer ruins the song. Major Harris (one song) sounds old and tired -- when he asks for a lady to come and spend the night, one hopes it will be a nurse who answers his plea. At ten songs and 33 minutes, the disc seems a bit skimpy, perhaps mercifully so. If you are a fan of classic '70s soul you should avoid this and the other two volumes of '70s Soul Jam at all costs. Instead you should spend your money on original records by the bands who appear here.