Blues Players

Track Listings

1. Got To Move

2. Bleeding Heart

3. Buzz Me

4. I Held My Baby Last Night

5. My Babys A Good Un

6. How Blue Can You Get

7. My Babys Sweet

8. The World Keeps On Turning

9. The Dream

10. Dont Know Which Way To Go

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Digitally remastered release featuring 10 tracks including 'Got To Move', 'Bleeding Heart' & 'How Blue Can You Get'. Total playing time over 45 minutes. Digipak.

Tracks:

Love Rollercoaster
I Want To Be Free
Fopp
Let's Do It (Interpolated With 'Let's Love')
Skin Tight
Fire
Sweet Sticky Thing
Jive Turkey
Who'd She Coo
Heaven Must Be Like This
O-H-I-O
Happy Holidays Pt.1

Customer Reviews:

Memories.......2007-05-16

I moved to Chicago in the late 70's from Connecticut and I was blessed to work for the Ohio Players Personal Manager. I was 21 yrs old and it was my first job in the music industry. When I hear their music it brings back the exciting life that I lived and it brings back wonderful personal memories for me

True Funkmeisters.......2007-04-10

I was lucky enough to see these guys perform at a FREE outdoor concert in Lower Manhattan around 2002, and let me tell you, they were KICKIN' IT. The horn section was real tight, and the lead singer still has all the funk of his earlier years. It was truly a beautiful event!!!!!!!!

How can you NOT feel the funk of Roller Coaster or Skintight??!!

Ohio Playas.......2006-03-07

These are my homeboys from Ohio and they know how to throw a party! They have several CD's but this one does it for me with the two slow tracks I want to be Free and Heaven must be like this. Sugarfoot made a CD on his own which I like but I can't find. Does anyone know where to get it has songs on it like I'm your Sugar etc...

SERIOUSLY FUNKED UP!.......2005-05-21

This is one funked up album! I bought this cd, mainly for
Fire, and Love Rollercoaster. But Skin Tight, is really
great, and Sweet Sticky Thing is too! Almost every song
on here is good! If you have an ounce of soul in your
system, and you love funk, THIS IS A MUST HAVE!

Pretty Good Compilation.......2005-04-20

If you're an Ohio Players fan like I am, you'll probably enjoy this CD. My favorite song is "Let's Do It (Interpolated with "Let's Love"). Next to Earth, Wind & Fire, these guys are my second favorite band of all time.

Average customer rating:

Love Rollercoaster Scream
More on the Love Rollercoaster urban legend
What A Ride
Oh Honey
The Legend Of Love Rollercoaster

Honey
The Ohio Players
Manufacturer: Island / Mercury
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music

$7.99 and Under | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

R&B | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

All Blowout Music | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

$7.99 and Under | Prices | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Pop | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 R&B | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Fire
Skin Tight
Look out for #1
Right on Time
Too Hot to Handle

ASIN: B000001G07
Release Date: 1991-04-16

Tracks:

Honey
Fopp
Let's Do It (Interpolated With 'Let's Love')
Ain't Givin' Up No Ground
Sweet Sticky Thing
Love Rollercoaster
Alone

Customer Reviews:

Love Rollercoaster Scream.......2006-07-16

Great album to purchase. The scream also has two gun shots before it, not explaining a whole lot. The story I have is the model was returning to the studio to complain to the band manager after getting rashes from the fibreglass she was modeling on. She is met outside by a man that pulls the trigger twice and she screams once bleeding to death.

More on the Love Rollercoaster urban legend .......2006-04-10

First of all, the Playas were the personification of smooth funk in the 70s. Honey and Fire were a fantastic mix of the Ramsey Lewis/Herbie Hancock influences of this great era in music, when the American soul music community flexed its considerable creative muscle in a mash-up of rock, funk, jazz and dance.

I heard a slightly amplified version of the Love Rollercoaster scream back in the day. We bought vinyl back then. The size of the LP cover was a palette for some memorable artwork, but never as unforgettable to a [...] lad as that tri-fold inside cover shot of Playboy model Ester Cordet, just an unbelievably beautiful woman. The story goes that the honey they were using for the photo wasn't working well, so they switched to a polymer substance that took a great picture. Unfortunately, it also adhered the lovely Ms. Cordet to the floor, and she found herself in an unextricable situation. She wound up disfiguring herself horribly by having to rip her skin from the floor (apprarently they had no fingernail polish remover on hand), ending her promising career. When she appeared at the studio door during taping for Love Rollercoaster, she demanded millions in payment. The manager for the Playas took care of the issue by killing her with his bare hands; the scream was left in as the schedule wouldn't allow another retake of the song.

Snopes.com does a nice job of explaining it away as one of the lead singers was simply hiutting a bizarre high note during the song, and Love rollercoaster being the ersatz example of funk that it was, the "scream" was left in. The rumor was started by a DC-area DJ, and record sales exploded. OP members were sworn to secrecy as the rumor, in part, fueled LP sales to the top of the charts. Not as sexy of a story, but as a former soul DJ, believable.

One might argue that this was a perfect storm for the Players-- an inspired LP cover, a reason to buy the damn album since you HAD to break the shrink wrap to get inside (you know!), an ethereally tight, sophisticated groove, and finally The Rumor. You couldn't repeat it if you tried. Good times all around.

What A Ride.......2006-01-24

"Love Rollercoaster" is such a great song, so good the Players would never be able to top no matter how hard they tried but there is so much more on this release. "Sweet Sticky Thing" is almost as good as Rollercoaster and has a little bit of everything, funk, soul, jazz. Throw in the funk-rock of "Fopp", the smooth title track and the amazing heartfelt ballad that closes it all out, "Alone" and you have the Players completing one of the best one ("Fire")-two ("Honey") punches in music. The Players releases after this had some moments but nothing can top this, their crowning achievement.

Oh Honey.......2005-10-05

If you are new to The Ohio Players, you are in for a treat!!! There is no better way to start your collection of Ohio Players albums/cds. "Honey" was/is the ultimate Ohio Players effort. "Love Rollercoaster" got the most play time on the radio, but "Sweet Sticky Thing" blows it out of the water. My opinion is very bias, I'd have to admit, but if you give it a listen you may feel the same way as well. "Sweet Sticky Thing" would play well on smooth jazz radio stations. The title track "Honey" is basic Ohio Players. It setes the tone for the rest of the album just as an opening track should. This missed on a lot of today's music. "Fopp" is the brake from the norm. Sugarfoot, the frontman for the Players gives you why he should never be excluded from any talk of who is the best guitarist. Jimi Hendriks would have been proud. The Players showed that they can do rock with anybody. These are just three of the tracks on this album. The album as a whole is well worth the money. I'm old school, for real. Take my word for it, "Get this album!!!

The Legend Of Love Rollercoaster.......2005-09-17

Here's how it goes.....
One day The Ohio Players were in the studio laying down Love Rollercoaster. In the other room, a photo shoot was taking place and the model was oozing honey all over herself. One shot required her to lay on a fiberglass surface and drip the substance over herself. As she did this, she realized she was stuck to the floor. The folks in the area had to tear her off of the surface, which resulted in the tearing of the skin off of her back and her legs and arms. She became so angry that she barged into the studio where The Ohio Players were laying down Love Rollercoaster and screamed her head off at the manager and threatened to sue the record company for everything they were worth. As the band was recording, the manager pulled out a knife on the model and basically stabbed her to death. The screaming was unknowingly recorded into the song, and was not discovered for a long time. That's what makes this album great for me, the mystery and secrets behind it. See if you can find it, it'll scare you silly.

Average customer rating:

Great R&B Album, One Of The Best
One of the best classic 70's funk albums
One of the best funk albums ever produced in the 1970's
Blazin' Hot!!!
fire fo sho nuff burning here

Fire
The Ohio Players
Manufacturer: Island / Mercury
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music

$7.99 and Under | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

R&B | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

All Blowout Music | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

$7.99 and Under | Prices | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Pop | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 R&B | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Honey
Skin Tight
Look out for #1
Right on Time
Too Hot to Handle

ASIN: B000001G05
Release Date: 1991-04-16

Tracks:

Fire
Together
Runnin' From The Devil
I Want To Be Free
Smoke
It's All Over
What The Hell
Together/Feelings

Customer Reviews:

Great R&B Album, One Of The Best.......2005-02-17

I was blown away when I first heard this album in 1974. Not only is this album unbelievably funky but the ballads are incredible.

One of the best classic 70's funk albums.......2004-07-08

The Ohio Players' album "Fire" is an extroardinary and excellent funky album that tends to be one of my favorite albums of all time. If you like the funk-rock single "Fire", then The Ohio Players album "Fire" is worth listening too.

One of the best funk albums ever produced in the 1970's.......2004-07-07

The Ohio Players' album "Fire" is an excellent funky album, and is one of my favorite album collections at home. If you like the funk-rock single "Fire", the Ohio Players' album "Fire" is worth listening too.

Blazin' Hot!!!.......2004-06-25

These guys sure can FUNK IT UP!'Fire' is not only one of their best albums but contains some seriously dangerous funk
in the classic title song,"Runnin' From The Devil" and the deep
"Smoke".Of course "I Want To Be Free" is one of the SICKEST
slow grooves I've ever heard,notably in it's general absence of
a beat!But those kinds of precious little afterthoughts are a big part about what makes this and the Ohio Players first three
Mercury albums so specially grooving and fun to hear!

fire fo sho nuff burning here.......2002-04-13

the ohio players came tight on this joint here if you like funk rock check out fire, and what the hell only funkadelic can funk harder than this. I want to be free is a all time classic. If you like the OP's add this to your collection.

Average customer rating:

Pleasure
The Ohio Players
Manufacturer: Westbound Records Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Ecstasy
Pain
Skin Tight
Honey
Fire

ASIN: B000MTOL4A
Release Date: 2007-03-13

Tracks:

Pleasure
Laid It
Pride and Vanity
Walt's First Trip
Varee Is Love
Walked Away from You
Paint Me
Funky Worm
Our Love Has Died
Ruffell Foot [*]
What It Is [*]
Rooster Poot [*]
Gone Forever [*]
Dimensions in Time [*]
Introducing the Players [*]
Satan's Boogie [*]

Album Description

When the Ohio Players recorded their second Westbound album, Pleasure, in 1972, they weren't as big as they would be from 1974-1976. But their popularity was growing -- slowly but surely -- and those who were hip to the band recognized it as one of the most cutting-edge acts in the funk field. A lot of bands were providing funk in 1972, but not many of them used jazz progressions as creatively as the Players used them on "Laid It," "Walked Away from You," and Pleasure's title song. Those tracks are gems, and the Players are equally captivating on the sweet soul ballad "Varee Is Love." But the best known tune on the album is the goofy "Funky Worm," which employed the Players' amusing Granny character and was, in 1972, their biggest hit to date. Long after the band's popularity faded, "Funky Worm" would live on in the '80s and '90s thanks to the various hip-hoppers who sampled its irresistible bassline. Like Pain in 1971, Pleasure had a kinky cover that generated some controversy -- the same bald woman who brandished a bullwhip and wore dominatrix attire on the front cover of Pain was chained up on the cover of Pleasure. Some folks found the Players' kinky LP covers intriguing, while others were shocked and offended. And the Players, having struggled in the '60s, were happy to be noticed. But ultimately, it is the quality of the music -- not the bondage-minded cover -- that makes Pleasure a funk classic. - Alex Henderson, All Music Guide

Tracks:

Skin Tight
Streakin' Cheek To Cheek
It's Your Night / Words Of Love
Jive Turkey
Heaven Must Be Like This
Is Anybody Gonna Be Saved?

Customer Reviews:

tTY BESS(THE MUSIC MAN).......2007-01-19

Classic cd! This is when the ohio players got the credit they long for.Skin tight need i say more and who could forget the timeless classic heaven must be like this!.But the song is anybody gonna be saved is another great song. so for the price you are not just getting a great cd but an all time classic enjoy!

The begining of a new direction ! ! !.......2006-05-17

I've held off reviewing SKIN TIGHT all these years beacuse at one time this was an album you could take for granted EVERYBODY having, and not only that, being able to cop a certain infectious bass line off of it to boot. One might even call the famous vamp from SKIN TIGHT the ghettoe version of CHOP STICKS.... you just had to know it... - - yet I'm surprised that there are some people these days who aren't quite down with the Player's, even though they paved the path for everything that came after - - including Prince and today's nu-soul.

First - - the concept - - hard core funk, but with a bit of everything thrown in... especially Jazz and Gospel harmony, and even touches of the pop/rock of the era - - and all this done with a distinct flavor of a new type of '70s soul- - There were also slow jams here and there, but slow not in the sense of sweet and lush (like Barry White and Issac Hayes) but NASTY and HARDCORE (complete with the latest and funkiest analogue synths of the era including plenty of MOOG, CLAVs and ARPS). . . That was the player's unique formula, and today its not something new, its THE RULE, and there is no doubt that when you see all the groups today who got their stuff from Cameo and Prince, you definitely have to be aware that THEY in turn got it from SUGAR and the Players.

SKIN TIGHT (recorded circa 1974) marks the begining of the FUNKY SLOW JAM and the Ohio's unique brand of Jived out Funk with a wicked Jazz edge... The PLAYER'S were also unique because even though they were doing ultra hard core funk along with their label mates P-FUNK on the WESTBOUND label, they were still quite underground when (like P-Funk) they jumped to Polydor - - even for a group who's tunes had a lot of pop and disco crossover appeal (the lyrics were mostly about the three Fs... the first two being fun and funk - - but I forget the third...)

When you listen to this album its great... a real journey - - it can be dance music, just as much as backround, dreaming or whatchamacallit making music, and you can follow the journey from begining to end... a lot is happening and there's a sound and production style hard edged yet smooth that no other group quite had - - For this reason, SKIN TIGHT is one of those albums that belongs in every true funk and soul collector's album - - and yes, bass players need to be studying that famous vamp one and again - - hard to believe almost 32 years later ! ! !

Now as for me and my favorite Polydor era OP albums, although SKIN TIGHT and FIRE set the precedent, actually HONEY and CONTRADICTION are my faves (Honey also being my favorite of their distinctly recognizable album covers !)

You can't forget Sugarfoot!.......2003-03-01

Sugarfoot of the Ohio Players put out a solo album in the 1980's...does anyone out there know where I can purchase it?

The Ohio Players: Tighter than ever!.......2002-12-28

The Ohio Players took a big step up to a new level of funkiness with 'Skin Tight'. Not only did they make a move to a new record label, they also put out what was one of the best albums of 1974.
'Skin Tight' tapped into the jazz elements that were a big part of the Ohio Players' repertoire. This was the smoothest and funkiest album that the Players ever put out. Even though the Junie Morrison influence was missed, Billy Beck did a superb job not only with his keyboard work, but also with his fantastic range of falsetto singing (which he showcased on subsequent OP albums). 'Sugarfoot' Bonner put his indelible stamp on Funk music with his lead vocals on the title track. You can almost picture Larry Blackmon of Cameo and the lead singer of E.U. ("Doin' the Butt") listening intently to this record and taking notes. As far as ballads go, "Heaven Must Be Like This" ranks up there with the best. "Jive Turkey" is a hilarious Funk workout that'll have you singing along. "Streakin' Cheek To Cheek" is even Funkier. "It's Your Night" is a strip-you-down/sex-you-up ballad that's perfect for a candle-lit evening rendevous, and the piano rhapsody at the end of the song is breath-taking. The Players get downright churchified with the gospel-tinged "Is Anybody Gonna Be Saved?". Satch, Merv, and Pee-Wee's horn playing reached perfection on this LP, and Diamond was in rare form too. The underlying star of this album was bassist Marshall Jones. The bass-lines of "Skin Tight" were some of the best in R&B/Funk history. This was the closest that the Ohio Players came to putting out a genuine P-Funk album.

Definitely an appropriate title for this funky classic.......2001-09-03

1974 was an interesting year for R&B music. You had elder statesmen like Marvin Gaye & Stevie Wonder helping to expand the boundaries with their experiments into sex & synthesizers, respectively. Bands like Parliament-Funkadelic & Earth, Wind & Fire were just beginning to get off the ground, while forefathers like Sly & The Family Stone and James Brown were seeing their better days far behind them. In the middle of all that came a band who had been playing the music game for over 15 years, yet it wasn't until then did they finally break through: The Ohio Players.

That's right, the Players had been at it since the late 1950s when funk music didn't even exist (even James Brown was still recording ballads at the time). By the early 1970s, with R&B music starting to take more & more risks, the Players decided to adapt accordingly & it paid off with them finally finding wide success.

Starting with their 1971 album PAIN, the Players immediately won a reputation for their hot cover art, usually being so S&M-inspired, that many music stores refused to carry the album. Albums like PLEASURE, ECSTASY, CLIMAX & ORGASM continued the tradition, but the hits came at a slower rate. Finally, "Funky Worm" became a left-field hit in 1973 & the Players left their original record label Westbound Records for the bigger Mercury Records. Their first album for the new company was 1974's SKIN TIGHT.

By this time, the covers had been cleaned up a bit, but were no less sexy. The music inside was just as hot, but SKIN TIGHT was different in the fact that it relied mostly on smooth grooves than a funky edge. Even the hit title track was a bit more polished than say "Fire" or "Love Rollercoaster" (those hits would came later), but it still had a danceable feel.

The title for the song & album was appropriate: SKIN, in the fact that most Players albums were written & played almost exclusively by the band themselves. Any sound was made by them, pretty much, and there were indeed 8 people credited with writing a song. How's that for democracy? TIGHT, for obvious reasons because the music was tight & groovy without being stuffy, just loose enough to make it sound effortless. Even the album's other major hit "Jive Turkey" was mellower than most of the Players' more famous output, but still just as dancefloor-ready.

Elsewhere, SKIN TIGHT is mostly about slower songs like the oh-so-jazzy "Heaven Must Be Like This" & "It's Your Night/Words Of Love". Because the Players' biggest hits were loud, screaming funk epics, it's often overlooked that they could create some good ballads, too. With the above songs, they create some great bedroom music that oozes sexuality from every pore. If you don't get turned on by this music, then how do you expect Viagra to work any better? The closest things to truly uptempo songs on SKIN TIGHT are the pulsating "Streakin' Cheek To Cheek" (remember that college trend from back in the day?) & the closing social awareness of "Is Anybody Gonna Be Saved?".

Tracks:

The Phat Cat Theme
Those Days
U Don't Know
Silly Games
All I Need
Sundress
Ain't No Sunshine
Every-time
This Is Your Day
Nothing's Changed
Stay High
Can't Wait
Gave U Eerything
Those Days (Da Remix)
African Bee

Album Description

The Secret? It's in the recipe...Start with the prime jazz and old-school preservatives. Blend in a dash of R&B/Hip Hop and garnish it with a touch of poetry and bake it at 500 degrees. The PHAT CAT soul music compliation, MAKE IT PHAT, BABY!, features several up-and-coming stars that have already garnished a fair share of the national spotlight.

Customer Reviews:

I've had this for nearly six years.......2006-09-05

and whenever I play it, I still keep hearing myself say, "make it phat baby; make it phat momma", throughout the CD. It's like I'm in a trance. Hahaha For sure this has a hypnotic, smooth allure to it. If you can relate to Impromp2's first set, it's like a smoother version of that for the most part. Times have changed, so the raps may be dated, but who cares, the groove of the mood makes this a worthwhile purchase. One more thing,"make it phat baby; make it phat momma".

Spoken Soul with Phat VIBES.......2005-03-13

IF you like music that is stimulating to the soul and long for something more than your typical (top 20)r&b vocals or arrangements....and even if you don't...smile...THEN you must TREAT YOURSELF and your musical inteligence to this one.... also visit www.phatcatplayers.com to learn more about the upcoming CD from C.O.C.O Brown the brotha who speaks so fluidly from his soul on this album...

Enjoi and Jah Bless

It was the bomb.......2004-10-15

I loved this CD and I love the band that formed from this project, The Chapter, and their new CD is even hotter!!! www.chapterlive.com

Not bad at all..........2003-03-01

The 1st track will get you groovin' fo'sure...Track 8 is also a favourite. Its got that old-school vibe to it. Overall, not a bad CD at all. Check it out..

Keep Making It Phat Baby!!!.......2003-02-15

This CD is by far the best I've heard in a long time. The soulful music, lyrics, essence, and poetry gets deep down into your soul. Every cut is PHAT. I'm definitely looking forward to their next CD. This is definitely music for grown folks. You gotta get it. Keep it PHAT baby!!

Average customer rating:

SWEET STICKY THANGS!
For Fans, a Great CD - For Newbies, You'll Like a GH Collection Better
Following James Brown and Sly Stone and Before Hip-Hop
FUNK ON FIRE- Say It Slow Hold On
Where's Funky Worm ???

Funk on Fire: The Mercury Anthology
Ohio Players
Manufacturer: Island / Mercury
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Orgasm: The Very Best of the Westbound Years
Essential Sly & Family Stone
Anthology
The Best of Con Funk Shun
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ASIN: B000068FUN
Release Date: 2002-06-18

Tracks:

Skin Tight
Jive Turkey
Heaven Must Be Like This
Fire
Together
I Want To Be Free
It's All Over
Piano Ballad (Just Right)
Fopp
Sweet Sticky Thing
Love Rollercoaster
Honey
There It Is
Happy Holidays, Pts. 1 & 2

Tracks:

Who's She Coo?
Bo-Centennial
Far East Mississippi
Only A Child Can Love
Angel
O-H-I-O
Body Vibes
Alone (live)
Good Luck Charm
Funk-O-Nots
Time Slips Away
Shady Lady
Wonderful
More Than Love

Customer Reviews:

SWEET STICKY THANGS! .......2007-02-17

Funk On fire may not tear the roof off, but it'll burn the house down!
This is where the Ohio Players finally hit their stride and find their definitive sound (the sound they're best remembered by as a group).

These batch of jams are in a way superior to their Westbound recordings for a number of reasons. The production values have improved, the polished production gives their grooves the slinky and sleazed out atmosphere they've been searching for on their Westbound recordings, Diamond Williams hard rock styled drumming makes the grooves sound looser and leaner, and lastly, the collective musicianship of the band was as tight as ever.

No disrespect intended towards their era with Westbound records but, the basement raw production style that underpinned Pain, Pleasure, and Esctasy just wasn't appropriate for their style of loud, sexy, and plush playboy funk. This more polished style of funk sounded like the the kind of music they wanted to make - and this anthology showed that the Players made the most of it with over 28 high powered grooves and ballads.

Unlike Funkadelic when they decided to polish up their jams around the same time, The players music never sounded diluted. It just got better. The absence of Junie Morrison does make a difference, but not by much. Sugarfoot steps up and make these jams hard to resist.

Pick up these sweet sticky thangs and you'll be stuck on em' forever!

By the way, I agree with another reviewer. Where are rest of those beautiful models?

For Fans, a Great CD - For Newbies, You'll Like a GH Collection Better.......2006-06-18

For fans, this double set collects quite a few of their great tracks but it also leaves out quite a few tracks so it's not a very complete anthology.

For newbies or casual fans who want the chart toppers only, the other tracks they included do not include any hidden gems and as mentioned by others, leave out some hidden gems.

So, if you're just looking for the hits, better to get the GH collection, it's a much tighter package ... I'm also going to dock a point for not including the great covers of the original Lp's - of course, it's un-PC but why re-write history ;-)

Following James Brown and Sly Stone and Before Hip-Hop.......2006-02-02

Following the earliest hits of James Brown and Sly and the Family Stone, and preceding hip-hop, the 1970s gave us a number of really great examples of soulful funk music by African-American performers. And among the very best were the highly underrated Ohio Players, who, along with Earth Wind and Fire and Parliament-Funkadelic, were my favorites from the world of funk. I was in high school when this was out; listening now brings me back to an era of platform shoes, loud silk dress shirts, and movies like Rocky, Jaws, Car Wash, and Star Wars and to "Butterfly" a certain clothing store/head shop in my NJ neighborhood, staffed by some young, hip, partying Latinos (who'd have this sort of music, as well as stuff like Santana and Led Zep playing on the store speakers). In other words, it's a musical trip down memory lane.

This compilation, then, containing all the Players' classics, like the romantic jazz piece Sweet Sticky Thing (now these guys knew how to do smooth jazz), the dance hit Love Rollercoaster (a version of which was put to great use, years later, in the Beavis and Butthead movie) and brilliant tracks like Fopp (which like so many great pop tunes appears to be a euphemistic reference to doing the nasty) and Fire (a musical masterpiece), is a joy to listen to. While some of the tracks here are filler, nothing is unlistenable. Whatever weaknesses may be found here are more than offset by the record's many highlights.

One other point; these guys get a few bonus points from me for having some of the coolest Afros of the 70s. They always looked fly!

FUNK ON FIRE- Say It Slow Hold On.......2006-01-24

This is the most complete and thourough Players collection. It covers all the Mercury releases from Skin Tight through Jass-Ay-Lady and even has 3 unreleased cuts that were to be part of Jass-Ay-Lady (it was cut from a double l.p. to single). It highlights the cream of the crop from thier less successful latter day releases (Mr. Mean, Angel, and Jass-Ay-Lady). So along with all the early smash songs you get the smooth and Jazzy "Angel", the funky bass heavy "Body Vibes", and ahead of their time funk workouts "Ohio" and "Funk-O-Nots". Buy it and enjoy the best funk band of all time.

Where's Funky Worm ???.......2005-09-20

This is a great compilation. But I've searched and can't find the ONE song that first turned me on to the Ohio Players.

That's Funky Worm.

If I want that song I'm going to have to shell out for the Pleasure album. It seems to me that any Ohio Players greatest hits compilation ought to have the song that put the playas on the musical map.

Average customer rating:

Ecstasy
The Ohio Players
Manufacturer: Westbound Records Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Pleasure
Pain
Honey
Fire
Ouch!

ASIN: B000MTOL3Q
Release Date: 2007-03-13

Tracks:

Ecstasy
You and Me
Not So Sad and Lonely
(I Wanna Know) Do You Feel It?
Black Cat
Food Stamps Y'all
Spinning
Sleep Talk
Silly Billy
Short Change
Rattlesnake [*]
Hustle Bird [*]
Hollywood Hump [*]
She Locked It [*]
Trans-Maximus [#][*]

Album Description

Throughout the 1970s, the Ohio Players were famous (or infamous) for their erotic album covers. But there are major differences between the covers of Mercury albums like Skin Tight, Fire, Honey, and Contradiction and the covers of such Westbound releases as Pleasure and Pain. At Mercury, the Players' album covers favored softcore erotica à la Playboy or Penthouse, whereas the covers of their Westbound LPs were more bizarre and offered kinky bondage/S&M imagery. Those covers came under attack from different parts of the political spectrum; some of the more radical feminists accused the Players of objectifying women, while Republicans and Christian fundamentalists accused them of promoting moral decline. And the Players were laughing all the way to the bank -- at least from 1974 on. When their third Westbound album, Ecstasy, came out in 1973, they were still a year away from signing with Mercury and becoming really huge. But they did have a small cult following, which found that Ecstasy fell short of the excellence of Pain and Pleasure. Nonetheless, the material is respectable and generally decent. Serious Players fans will find sweaty funk items like "Spinning," "Black Cat," and the title song to be enjoyable even though they aren't among the band's essential recordings. While Ecstasy isn't recommended to casual listeners, it isn't a bad album to have in your collection if you fancy yourself a hardcore Players addict. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide

Tracks:

N-Trance
Undaground Boss
Chekmate
Trust No Bitch - AMG, DJ Quik, Eazy-E, Penthouse Players Clique
U Cain't Check Me
Jealous Knukle Heads
Jus 2 Kep Yo Attenchun
PLF
Blak Iz a Poet
Explanation of a Playa
They Don't Know [*]
Nathen's Changed
P.S. Phuk U 2 - DJ Quik, Penthouse Players Clique
Smooth
Handle Yo Bizness
Pimp Lane
X-It

Customer Reviews:

Rapping Didn't Match Production.......2006-03-27

This could have been a better album had the main rapper's skills went with the quality production Quik came with. Too often Playa Hamm wasn't rapping on beat. Plus I felt that lyrically he and Tweed Caddilac got too focused on using the bitch,hoe and nigga lyrics that too many gangsta/playa rappers do. This made the lyrics feel too repetative in my opinion. I have heard Playa Hamm rap since this album on Quik's Safe & Sound and I think he's a better rapper now than he was back then with this album.

So musically I was feeling it,but lyrically I felt it was too repetative for the reasons I mentioned.

A West Coast CD Collection Must Have.......2004-12-14

This is a CD I remember from high school back in '92. Back when DJ Quik was killing the game. I had to have it just because Quik, 2nd II None, AMG & Hi-C used to shout out the group's name on all of their songs. Bought this without hearing a single track from it and have loved it ever since.

The group consist of Playa Hamm & Tweed Cadillac. Playa Hamm is the player rapper showing you how playas play. Tweed is the pimp of the group. He's not a rapper but he puts it down with a smooth delivery and easy speak to let the suckas and ladies know how the pimp game goes.

Paid the Cost features appearances from DJ Quik, AMG, Eazy-E & others. Stand out tracks are Trust No, Blak Iz A Poet, Explanation Of A Playa & P.L.F. The CD does have some songs that sag and lack but overall it's a great listen.

I highly recommend this CD. 10 plus years later I still keep it in rotation. Mine was stolen recently which is what brings me here to Amazon to buy another. My 4th replacement! That's bcuz it's a must have.

STRAIT WEST COAST FIRE!!.......2004-07-01

IF YOU LIKE THE FOLLOWING ARTISTS MUSIC YOU WILL LIKE THIS. EARLY DJ QUICK,SUGA FREE,2ND TO NONE,KOKANE,ABOVE THE LAW,HI-C.EARLY 90'S FIRE 4 YO AZZ!!!

Average customer rating:

The Players Rock The House!

Pain
The Ohio Players
Manufacturer: Westbound Records Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Pleasure
Ecstasy
Small Talk
Believer
Ouch!

ASIN: B000MTOL40
Release Date: 2007-03-13

Tracks:

Pain [Mono Version]
Never Had a Dream
Players Balling (Players Doin' Their Own Thing)
I Wanna Hear from You
Reds
Singing in the Morning
Climax aka Theme from 69 [*]
What's Going On? [Mono Version][*]
Time and Space [Mono Version][#][*]
Feelin' Alright [Mono Version][*]
If You Were My Woman [Mono Version][#][*]
Ain't That Loving You [Mono Version][*]
Proud Mary [Mono Version][*]

Album Description

Creatively, commercially, and conceptually, Pain was a major step forward for the Ohio Players. This 1971 album was quite a departure from their previous work -- in the late-'60s, the Midwesterners' forte had been raw, hard-edged Southern-style soul along the lines of Sam & Dave, Rufus Thomas, and Wilson Pickett. But with Pain, they became a lot more experimental and unveiled an interesting, distinctive brand of funk that incorporated elements of jazz and blues as well as rock. The jazz influence is especially strong on "Never Had a Dream," "Singing in the Morning," and the hit title song, while "The Reds" is a progressive blues number that draws on jazz as well as psychedelic rock. It was with Pain, the Players' first album for Westbound, that they unveiled their goofy Granny character, which the funksters continued to have fun with on their subsequent Westbound releases but discontinued when they moved to Mercury with 1974's Skin Tight. And it was with Pain that they became famous (some would say infamous) for their erotic LP covers. Employing S&M/bondage imagery, Pain's front cover was considered shocking in 1971. Although the Velvet Underground had written songs about S&M, and the British spy thriller The Avengers frequently hinted at kinky sex -- Diana Rigg's Emma Peel character often dressed like a dominatrix -- S&M and fetishism were very taboo subjects for Middle America in 1971. And not surprisingly, some retailers refused to carry Pain. But the album, although not huge, was a decent seller. With Pain, the Ohio Players' Westbound period was off to an impressive and creative start. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide

This 2007 reissue includes seven additional tracks, in-depth sleeve notes, and a full-color 12-page booklet.

Customer Reviews:

The Players Rock The House!.......2007-06-05

Well 'Pain' is NOT the Ohio Players' first album but it is their debut on Westbound and really is a turning point for them.Now if you already have the next two Westbound albums Pleasure and Ecstasy then you probably already understand what this album sounds like.Musically it showcases the instrumentation of a 60's Stax-type soul ensamble with a heavy funk groove on top,and arrangements that spin out into jazz and even blues along the way.The big reason for this might have a lot to do with the presense of Walter "Junie" Morrison who really mixes it up with the title track-one of the best examples of the primative,piano based soulful funk the Ohio Players specialized in during this time."Players Balling" isn't going to disappoint anyone either and even "Never Had A Dream" shows the bands capacity to throw down a great romantic soul ballad-something all too many funk bands never managed too well sometimes.As far as the bonus cuts go the big treat is "Climax",another unbeatable slice of funk.Four cover songs are presented-all of them done in a far spacier style then the originals but by far the most compelling is "Proud Mary"-a deeper,more gutteral take that sounds NOTHING like either Creedence or Ike & Tina's big hit versions of the song.I highly recommend that Ohio Players,and funk fans in general make this album (namely this particular remaster) one of their very first purchases of the genre because it says so much about the early development of classic funk bands,much the same way as the debuts of War,Mandrill,Tower Of Power and Earth Wind & Fire at about the same time will do when you hear those.Even further the ideal approch would be to purchase all the Ohio Players Westbound reissues in chronological order,starting with this one and just dig right in.

Music Review:

Music Review

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Music Review

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