Mojo (UK)

Ohio Players

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Pleasure WESTBOUND.

FOLLOWING Pain’s re-release a couple of month’s ago, Ace now have an equally clean, richsoundi­ng pressing of Pleasure, second chapter in the Players’ triptych of early-’70s funk blasts. The

Ohios lived up to their name back then and played. The fluid line-up’s core included Walter ‘Junie’ Morrison on piano/organ, who takes off on Walt’s First Trip, with Leroy ‘Sugarfoot’ Bonner on guitar/vocals, the sharp horn arrangemen­ts of Clarence Satchell and Ralph Middlebroo­ks, and hip-shaking rhythm from Marshall ‘Rock’ Jones (bass) and Gregory Webster (drums), who stay right in the pocket. The album’s title track and its Number 1 R&B single Funky Worm – a silly song but crisply done, it was their US breakthrou­gh – are notable, and of two ballads Our Love Has Died has the stronger foretaste of later Ohios, while Joel Brodsky’s bondagethe­med cover shoots with model Pat Evans still raise an eyebrow. Series climaxes with Ecstasy, promised before Christmas. Geoff Brown

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