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elcome to the Digital Meltd0wn Music Blog. The aim of this blog is to introduce the readers to music that is out of print, commercially unavailable, released under a creative commons license, or with approval by the featured artist. The majority of the music posted here would be considered underground. Don't let that fool you into thinking that the music featured here might be any less enjoyable than that of the mainstream artists you hear on the radio, as this couldn't be further from the truth. Please keep in mind that the majority of the artists that appear on this blog, along with their respective record labels, are not wealthy and need your support. If you enjoy the material that you find here, please support the artists/labels by purchasing their material afterwards. If you are an artist/label that would prefer to have your material removed from this blog, simply leave me a comment, and I would be more than happy to promptly remove the offending post. In addition to running this blog, I also work on a few other projects during my spare time. You can find links to those, as well as a few other important links associated with Digital Meltd0wn in the menu bar above.

Sunday, January 03, 2010

Ohio Players - Skin Tight


All right, it a new year. Let’s get back to the ol’ alphabet game. I’m up to letter O & counting down. So representing the round letter, what better than those round on both ends & hi in the middle Ohio Players.

By 1974, the Ohio Players had been together as a band for fifteen years. That was before funk per se even existed. James Brown was still doing ballads. But by 1974 bands like Parliament-Funkadelic were starting to blow the roof off R&B with the sounds of FUNK. The Ohio Players were already there to help.

Starting with their 1971 album Pain, the Players garnered a reputation for their hot cover art, usually being so S&M-inspired, that many music stores refused to carry their albums. 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.

Skin tight it is. On the surface, with only six songs, this new album might not seem like a great deal, but with songs that all clock in at over 5 minutes, there is plenty here to like. & unless you’re brain-dead & rigor mortis has set in, you won’t be able to hold still.

Recorded at Paragon Studios in Chicago. The Ohio Players are: Leroy ‘Sugarfoot’ Bonner - guitar, percussion, lead vocals & backing vocals; Marshall Jones - bass; James ‘Diamond’ Williams - drums, percussion, lead vocals, & backing vocals; Billy Beck - piano, organ, electric piano, clavinet, synthesizer, percussion, lead vocals & backing vocals; Clarence Satchell - saxophones, flute, percussion, lead vocals & backing vocals; Marvin ‘Merv’ Pierce - trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, & backing vocals; & Ralph ‘Pee Wee’ Middlebrooks - trumpet, trombone, & backing vocals.

Year of Release: 1974
Label: Mercury SRM-1-705
Genre: Funk

Tracklist:
Side 1 -
Skin Tight
Streakin' Cheek o Cheek
It's Your Night / Words of Love
Side 2 -
Jive Turkey
Heaven Must Be Like This
Anybody Gonna Be Saved?

Download: Ohio Players - Skin Tight
Download Size: 92.8MB (ripped from funked-up vinyl at 320Kbps)

2 comments:

icastico said...

Most consistently great album covers of any band in the 70's.

flageolette said...

Thanks Zero!

Cheers m8,