Ohio Players: "Angel"

Track listing
1."Angel" (7:28)
2."Merry-Go-Round" (4:15)
3."Glad to Know You're Mine" (3:49)
4."Don't Fight My Love" (4:13)
5."Body Vibes" (7:10)
6."Can't You Still Love me?" (4:50)
7."O-H-I-O" (3:07)
8."Faith" (5:30)

Released: 1977


Review
by Craig Lytle



There are three elements that can always be found on the Ohio Players' albums that were released during their heyday: funky tracks, hyped ballads and sexually suggestive album covers.

This LP is no different, featuring three releases in "Body Vibes," "O-H-I-O" and "Merry Go Round." The first and last peaked at 19 and 77 respectively on the Billboard R&B charts. The second of the three is an uptempo cut, in which the song's title is the only lyric; it is repeated in a whispery chant in the verse and the word itself is sung throughout the chorus. This formula proved successful as the single cracked the Top Ten at number nine inside of 18 weeks. It was also the last Top Ten single for the Dayton, Ohio funk aggregate. "Angel," the title track, and "Can You Still Love Me" were not released, but are classic Ohio Players compositions. "Angel" is a mid-tempo number honed with dancing rhythms and piercing horns that Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner shrouds with his trademark baritone, complemented by superb background vocals. Bonner maintains that same vocal appeal on "Can You Still Love Me," leaving room for falsetto-flavored background vocals that are creatively arranged.

Love this song and album. Every track was
good from the smooth Angel & Don't fight my love
to the funk of Merry Go Round & Body Vibes which
was my favorite on the album.

This is one OP album that I don't have.I have the four classic albums that came before it.

SoulAlive said:

Gonna look for it this weekend

I do know & love "angel".. but I'm not familiar with the other tracks on that album.. & I will never understand how the Ohio Players just "disappeared" off the music scene (essentially) after "contradiction"..

the Ohio Players in their prime - NOBODY could touch them.

mltijchr said: