Has anyone heard this compilation? I was to really get into the grooves of the Ohio Players and I was wondering if this collection suits the job.

silverchild said:

if you're just findin out about the players or don't have any of their stuff on vynl or cd this is a good place 2 start,but the mercury era is only half the story....try and locate orgasm:the "westbound"anthology 'cause that's when walter "junie" morrison was in the band and they had more of a raw bluesy sound....

It's a good intro but some really great stuff is left off that compilation. I suggest you get the Honey album. Perfect from beginning to end.

Stymie said:

TAWK!!!!!

silverchild said:

I've got it. It's great, but I'm with Stymie and Funkpill. Honey is a sweet album.

I have that compilation and it never leaves my CD player

Contains all the big hits,plus some rarities,such as their 1975 Christmas single "Happy Holidays",which never appeared on any of their albums.

Nah, don't bother with the anthologies / greatest hits with the Ohio Players - go straight to their classic albums, most of which are readily available on cd. The run of 'Skin Tight', 'Fire' and 'Honey' are all just funka-licious! The uptempo grooves are what they are famous for, but their slow material is just amazing too - right up there with some of those classic Bootsy slowies!

The early stuff on Westbound with Junie Morrison is different but to my ears even funkier. Much more raw and bluesy, with some amazing piano / keyboard work - Pleasure and Pain are the two essential albums from this period!

Ah yeah, the Playas. One of my favorite bands
You absolutely must get Honey and Fire.
Skin Tight is also great and I actually enjoy Tenderness quite a bit. Angel and Contradiction are often overlooked but neither is that bad, to be honest. In fact, Angel is one of my favorite Ohio Players ballads. You might also wanna get Orgasm: The Very Best Of The Westbound Years. I'm not too fond of their very first albums and I suggest you steer clear of Mr.Mean and Ouch

The artwok rox though
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[Edited 10/6/06 4:37am]

100MPH said:

Yea well, Mr Mean has cool artwork but the album itself is not very good.

FuNkeNsteiN said:

Okay , i'll frame the gatefold

funkpill said:

Honey is my favourite too followed by Contradiction, which is very underrated IMO and far superior to Skin Tight. I think its on par with Fire.

Yes this is the collection to get. I was just listening yesterday.
I was listening to angel and body vibes. Body Vibes was one of their
most underrated funk jams. I will admit i know nothing about the
westbound years which i would assume were probably before Sugarfoot.
This is a great collection to get because it represents all of their
mercury hits and good songs that weren't.

phunkdaddy said:

Foots was with them during those years...

funkpill said:

I recently discovered that Joonz Morrison joined them for awhile during the Westbound years .



L 2 R : Sugar , Marshall , PeeWee, Bruce? , Junie , Satch , Merv , Greg?



L 2 R : Marshall , Junie , PeeWee , Bruce? , Sugar , Satch , Greg? , Merv ( laying )

Source : http://wfnk.com/ohioplaye...hotos.html

START with PAIN, PLEASURE, and ECSTACY. All three of these LP's/CD's are the Westbound years. THEN go through the Mercury years. "Spinning" is MY MOST FAVORITE OHIO PLAYERS song (from ECSTACY)!!!! An overlooked gem!!!!! Second is "What The Hell" (from FIRE)!!!!!

funkpill said:

Looks delicious

the double set is worth it.

I'm not familiar with the Westbound years

can anyone recommend a good CD to start with?

SoulAlive said:

Orgasm. It's a Best Of from the Westbound years.

FuNkeNsteiN said:

interesting title

SoulAlive said:

All the Westbound year albums have S&M themed covers and titles

FuNkeNsteiN said:

how does the music sound?

The Westbound years are even funkier than the Mercury years IMHO - Junie Morrisson is in the band, before he flew the nest and went to join Funkadelic - and the keyboard work is therefore fantastic - very jazz influenced.

Pleasure is my fave Westbound album - Pain is also fab!