Four of my last eight reviews have
been ‘best of’ albums, which is seriously wounding my street cred of not buying
compilation albums. Listening to this
next album has certainly inspired me to get some real LPs by these guys – I’ll
keep my eyes out for sure.
Disc 494 is… Best of the O’Jays
Artist: The
O’Jays
Year of Release: 20075, but with
music from 1969 - 1974
What’s up with the Cover? Three cool dudes hit the streets. I can’t tell what streets, but since these
guys are part of the Philly sound, I’m gonna go with Philadelphia.
How I Came To Know It: I’ve known songs here and there from the O’Jays for
decades, mostly on the radio or soul compilations, but my interest was
seriously piqued by my buddy Tony who brought this album over once for a games
night and left it here for a week. I
gave it a good listen, and then I gave it another good listen. I think I bought it within a week or two
after.
How It Stacks Up: Once again – best of albums don’t get stacked up.
Rating: Best of albums don’t get rated either – it
just doesn’t make sense.
The
O’Jays are soul personified, and I’m hard pressed to think of a seventies soul
act I like as much as them. The guitar
is funky, but not true funk. Then they
mix in sweet harmonies, softer horns, guitar and straight up vocal excellence.
The
blend creates a strong pop sensibility that I am sure went on to inspire much
more insipid acts in the years that followed (first disco, then Michael Jackson
and then modern radio pop). It is hard
to forgive such a legacy, yet I do so freely because in its pure form, this
brand of soul excellence just makes me feel so good.
Generally,
the O’Jays sing about three things – admittedly one of these things is not like
the others:
- Lovin’ your woman
- Lovin’ someone else’s woman
- World peace
This is
a double album, and if you’re wondering if these three topics might get
exhausted over twenty songs the answer is…kind of. It is definitely true that the first CD is a
lot stronger than the second. The album
isn’t chronological, which is how I prefer a greatest hits package, and instead
feels like all the big hits are on album one, with deeper cuts on album
two. This is a shame, because there are
enough great tracks to spread them out, and it would make the lesser songs be more
strongly supported as a result.
But back
to the themes, the first of which is music’s oldest; lovin’ your woman. Soul is music made for passion, and it
wouldn’t surprise me if many people around my age were conceived during a
listen to an O’Jay’s album.
As much
as I love the up tempo seduction of “Time
to Get Down,” my favourite love song on the record is actually about
troubled love, “You Got Your Hooks in Me.” This song has a slow build, almost
confessional our singer says he is ‘caught
like a fish/and baby I just can’t break free,” with some amazing individual
vocals leading up to high major chord harmonies of “I guess you’ve got your hooks in me”. Considering the subject, the song is
strangely triumphant. It reminded me
strongly of “Use Me” by Bill Withers,
except instead of a sexy funk beat, the O’Jays almost sound like they’re
singing a devotional. They feel so good,
feelin’ so bad.
The
second theme is that of lovin’ someone else’s woman. Two songs stand out here. The first is my favourite O’Jay’s song, “Back Stabbers.” Crazy percussion, loungy
horns, and the nastiest song about backstabbers this side of James Brown’s “The Big Payback.” Best line:
“Somebody’s out to get your lady
A few of your buddies, they sure
look shady.”
Not just
one – but a few of your buddies. Where the hell are you at, dude?
The
other standout is “Listen to the Clock on
the Wall” which is the double-double cross about two people each cheating
on their respective spouses. They are obsessed
with the clock on the wall, lest one or both of them get caught in the
act. The song is about deep betrayal but
the slow, romantic tempo would have you believe everything was right with the
world. This is a song about two people
who are – deep down – engaging in the ultimate dishonesty, but the way the
O’Jays sing it, you get caught up in the romance of it all, sordid as it
is. The best line is the double-entendre
of “girl, you better hurry.”
This is
the charm of the O’Jays, tackling hard topics, and bad decisions but packaging
it in sexy vocals, and smooth melodies that let you see just how seductively
the siren of desire will sing her song when she’s in the mood for love.
Strangely,
this stylish optimism makes their more political songs that much more compelling,
particularly when they sing about world peace.
In fact, there most famous song – “Love
Train” – might seem on the surface like a love song, but it is actually an
appeal for world love, not personal love.
That this song is now used to sell crappy light beer is a true travesty.
Less well
known is “When the World’s At Peace,”
which has a kick-ass guitar groove, paired with a horn flourish so precise it almost
keeps the beat better than the rhythm section.
“I can see the day when it’s safe
to walk the streets
When we learn to care for those
lost in poverty
There will be no need for our
daughters and our sons
To walk up and down the street
singin’ ‘we shall overcome’
Do it to me now!”
I added
in the “do it to me now!” because it
shows that even while talking about something important, the O’Jays never
sacrifice the groove. These guys are so
optimistic, that world peace seems like it is just around the corner – and this
song is now over forty years old. The best
line is Love’s not a state of mind – love’s a fact of life!” because the
O’Jays aren’t interested in you finding love for your fellow man – as far as
they’re concerned its already inside of us.
It’s a nice thought.
My only
quibble about this song is that it has an overlong fadeout of them just singing
‘da da da…etc.’ over a lone cowbell. Hey,
I love cowbell but here I think they need more…of something else, or just the
sense to call it.
The
O’Jays are a fine soul act, and if you don’t have any soul in your collection
then this is as good a place to start as any.
They’ll make you feel good about our human foibles, and then they’ll
make you feel even better about our equally human possibilities.
Best tracks: Love Train, Back Stabbers, For the Love of Money,
You Got Your Hooks in Me, Listen to the Clock on the Wall, Time to Get Down.
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