Customer Reviews

Honey

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I won't lie to you - the first time I bought this album, when I was 16, it was because of the cover. Other kids in school listened to the Beatles and The Police and stuff, I wanted Parliament, Earth Wind and Fire and - The Ohio Players.
When I got home and opened the spread I was .. speechless. What a babe!
But then, as the needle hit those grooves and I turned up the volume, I finally got to know about The Ohio Players.
The cover's photographer is Richard Fegley - of Playboy fame. Here he did a nice variation to the Playboy covers: the monthly where's the bunny search turned into a where's the bee?
My all time favorite ballad is Sweet Sticky Thing.
A great melody, or better two melodies, the slow ballad-like start and then the pushy chorus with those terrific horns; the perfect combination of pushing drums, high chant, sexy horns and ... Satch's amazing sax. Jazzy, seducing, it still amazes me when I listen to it for the tenthousandth time.
Love Rollercoaster (say what?) is a close second. The same pushy drums and chant, but more of a midtempo tune. Or Fopp's hard funk. You need to have this, trust me.
A stomping masterpiece with some of the greatest horns in history (and a great sense of humor)
Oh, and the babe's still good (although a bit small on cd...)

Something was in the water back in the 1970s, for it seemed there was a population boost of sorts going on (where are all these teen-pop singers coming from? *smiles*). Most likely, it was the music that was encouraging people of all races to get it on, from Marvin Gaye's LET'S GET IT ON (1973) to just about anything by the late, great Barry White. Although most of their famous music was uptempo & funky, the Ohio Players probably had a hand in cozying up the bedrooms back in the day.

By the time of 1975's HONEY, the Players had streamlined their album covers from HUSTLER-ish to PLAYBOY-ish, while keeping their music still delightfully funky & sexy beyond description. 1974's FIRE contained their first #1 pop hit with the title track, and the music was definitely what its title stated: blazing! While HONEY hints at something a little more, well, smooth, it's still a fantastic album with enough grit to rock the dance floors before putting on the slower stuff when you get back home.

"Love Rollercoaster" was the Player's 2nd #1 pop hit, and is probably their most famous song thanks to cover versions like that from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. While the Peppers' version was a good White-boy version of it, the Players' one is still the funky king, one to get you up & moving no matter how many times it's been played at parties, sporting events or oldies radio. Also, doesn't the line "your love is like a rollercoaster, baby baby/I wanna ride" scream poetry? *wink*

"Fopp" is another chaotic funky delight with the opening drum line indeed sounding reminiscent of the opening to Guns N' Roses' "Paradise City". Maybe Axl Rose needs to pay some restitution to the Players, who knows? "Ain't Givin' Up No Ground" is a short nonsense number that closed out side one of the original album, and is more of a space-filler than anything else. The Players maybe included it on the album to put it over a half-hour length.

As has been proven time & time again, ballads were always the Players' secret weapon, and they remain underrated with all the loud, screaming funk that was their trademark. "Sweet Sticky Thing" was lucky to be released for it is indeed much smoother-edged than what the Players were known for at the time. The fact this jazz-grooved tune (man, that saxophone!) did so well really says something.

The opening title track was a brave way to start out the album, especially after just having a massive #1 hit with "Fire". I can easily imagine this song coming from Earth, Wind & Fire, who were probably the only other group the Players could really compete with in the funk sweepstakes (Parliament/Funkadelic were already the kings, so they were out of the running).

"Let's Do It" is another romantic jam to melt your lover's heart with, and hopefully you won't find yourself singing the closing ballad "Alone" before long. The man singing this song is all-too-obviously heartbroken and, as my good friend Nathan says, it definitely is a forgotten treasure of '70s R&B balladry with Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner's lead vocal just tear-inducing. Even the spare musical back-up on the song heightens its emotional nakedness.

Back in the mid-1970s, an actual band in R&B/soul was not all that uncommon, unlike today where they seem to be an exception. The fact that most of them were self-contained was even more of a wonder, and the Ohio Players definitely had most of the control over their careers. HONEY was produced, written & performed by the Players themselves, so you know the album is exactly how they would have wanted it. Even those ever-present covers were their brainchild, with HONEY's being the undoubtedly the most famous of all (the inner photo is a true "how could they do it?" affair).

While the Players have been sampled like mad by hip-hop artists for years, and are still adored by R&B lovers today, they have been sort of overlooked in the overall pantheon of popular music. Earth, Wind & Fire have been inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as has Parliament/Funkadelic, so why not the Players? Until that day comes, we can be sure that an album as fantastic & funky as HONEY will be one of the things that gets them in there.

This is my favorite Ohio Players LP, mainly because it's 7 terrific songs, great writing, terrific playing and some of the lovliest, quirkiest vocals ever put on wax. The title track opens the album and sports one of the prettiest melodies these gents have ever come up with. This doo-wop flavored ballad sets a calming, soothing mood that permeates almost every track with the exception of the heavy-rock/funk track "Fopp" (ever wonder where Guns 'n' Roses copped the riff for "Paradise City"? here's your answer!) and the number 1 hit "Love Rollercoaster". The centerpiece of the album is the masterpiece "Sweet Sticky Thing" which is not only one of the longest tracks here, but is of special note because the band displays an overt jazz sound from the sax playing that colors the choruses, to the astounding drumming of Jimmy "Diamond" Williams (notice his great footwork and his cymbal rolls and crashes that close the song), this track alone makes the LP worth owning. The closing ballad "Alone" is another stunner. Featuring just Sugarfoot on guitar, a rising and falling synth in the background and Sugarfoot's plaintive voice singing lyrics of loneliness and desperation ('I don't wanna be alone anymore', someone pick me up off the floor'), "Alone" ends this classic album on a melancholy but hopeful note for us hopeless romantics! Surprisingly, "Honey" never sounds dated and in fact, it's influence can be heard in the music of artists from the last 2 decades in music (both soul and rock, case in point: Red Hot Chili Peppers cover of "Rollercoaster..." in 1996.) A winning album that has stood the rest of time.

Having already owned Fire on DTS 5.1 "dvd audio", I had always hoped to find HONEY on 5.1, as most retail stores have been somewhat of a letdown concerning their selection of 5.1 audio releases. I was very pleased to be able to purchase this through Amazon.

This is certainly the classic Ohio Players album if there ever was one: "Sweet Sticky Thing", "Fopp", and "Love Rollercoaster" are undoubtedly the finest 1970's-style R&B ever produced, and to hear it in full 5.1 surround sound is especially thrilling. Highly recommended for fans of The Ohio Players, or for anyone wanting to hear what Rhythm & Blues, Soul music, or funk-rock is all about.

Most (if not all) of the great R&B/Soul bands of the 1970's used some form of conceptualism when making an album - from the music itself to the package that covered it. The Ohio Players had a formula that worked to perfection - Make a album of smoldering funk, smooth ballads, and jazz-influenced jam sessions and package it with a sexy nude model on the cover representing the theme of the album - in this case, HONEY.

This is the classic album that gave us the #1 hit, "Love Rollercoaster" and the ultra-smooth "Sweet Sticky Thing", but this is one of those CD's you can enjoy without skipping a track.
The album opens with the BEAUTIFULLY orchestrated title track then goes into the rock-riffed "Fopp" with its outrageous lyrics ("Fopp me right/Don't you fopp me wrong/We'll be here foppin' all night long!"). "Let's Love" is a smooth romantic jam with an irreststible hook. The 1 1/2 minute "Ain't Givin' Up No Ground" is just a quick peek into an Ohio Players jam session. The album closes with the stripped-down, passionate ballad "Alone". This is Sugarfoot's finest moment on the mic.

Even though nude models graced every Ohio Players album cover, they only made me think of the great music inside the cover.

T.W.

P-Funk meets Barry White ? Well, now we know where Rick James, Cameo and Prince tried to get their stuff from... and they went to the right source. - - Its INCREDIBLE when you listen to these guys in one state and want to dance (their original keyboardist defected and went over to P-Funk after they left Westbound, one of the heaviest funk labels of the '70s), and in another, need the lights turned down low, a member of the opposite sex, those funny smelling candles, and if not someone to turn the hose on you. - - Jazzy Soul is now in. I wouldn't call the Ohio Players CONTEMPORARY JAZZ, but they did lay down the formula those hot and sticky slow Jams, yet with a FUNK sensibility. FOPP, Sweet Sticky Thing, and Love Rollercoaster (Remember the rumor about the bone chilling scream before the George Bensonish guitar solo being from someone murdered across the street amidst the recording session and it getting mixed in ?) are my faves - - Of all the Ohio Player albums, this and CONTRADICTIONS are my favorite... but I have 'em all... Hmmmm... I wonder if Amazon has any Junie stuff (Junie Morrison) - - In the mood for that song "Tight Rope Walker"..

I can remember this classic Ohio Players album bumpin' and thumpin' from
8-tracks and record players all over my neighborhood when I was coming up!
From 1974-76, the Ohio Players were on some really funky-vibey-groovalistic
magical stuff, with a series of 4 slammin' albums back to back!
1974's "Skin Tight", early 1975's "Fire", late 1975's "Honey", and 1976's "Contridiction"!!
These have all since become 70's funk/R&B classics.
To me, they are very underrated as far as getting credit for how influential they were.
I hope that the show called UNSUNG on TVOne will do a special on The Ohio Players,
because they truly are unsung in music history!
Everything on this album was the bomb!--"Honey", "Fopp", "Let's Love",
"Sweet Sticky Thing", "Love Rollercoaster", "I Ain't Givin' Up No Ground"
and "Alone" all make this my favorite album from this very prolific time for them.
They also made a great christmas classic during the 1975 holiday season called
"Happy Holidays" which was slammin' as well!
The personality in Sugarfoot's voice was amazing coupled with the other
vocal talents within the band as well as their ridiculously tight musicianship!
But then, back in those days, you had to really bring it because there were so
many great bands and artists to choose from!--They were making REAL MUSIC back then! (-:
Larry Blackmon said that when he first heard The Ohio Players, it inspired him to
start his own band called the New York City Players, who went on to become CAMEO!!
His trademark "OWW!!"---Is straight from Sugarfoot's vocal antics.
Just buy any album from them between 1974 and 1976 and you can't do wrong!
If you want to go back to discover some of their earlier work when they were
on Westbound Records and labelmates with Funkadelic, there is an awesome compilation
of that material too called "Orgasm". There is also a great compilation of their Mercury
material as well called "Funk On Fire" that's pretty good!
So, If you ain't hip?--Please Get Hip!! (-:

Fire may be their most famous record, but this is the place to start for the Players' brand of dirty sweaty sleazy funk. For one, the funk owns: "Love Rollercoaster" is the essence of cool, piling on the hooks, dance rhythms, loud guitars, and of course that famous scream that may or may not be one of a wide variety of people being murdered. Actually, it's not. That's an urban myth. Sure sounds cool, though. "Fopp" is every bit as good - great booty-shakin' funk - and "Ain't Gonna Give Up No Ground" deserved to be much longer than its minute forty-two. And the ballads are also much better than Fire's. Other than "Let's Love". But the title song? "Sweet Sticky Thing"? The atmospheric closer "Alone"? Hard to get much better than that! This is one great, great album. A funk classic, in my eyes. Maybe not as good as P-Funk records from the same general time period, but still good. Great. Fantastic. Awesome. Etc. Any self-respecting funk fan should have this.

"Love Rollercoaster" is such a great song, so good the Players would never be able to top no matter how hard they tried but there is so much more on this release. "Sweet Sticky Thing" is almost as good as Rollercoaster and has a little bit of everything, funk, soul, jazz. Throw in the funk-rock of "Fopp", the smooth title track and the amazing heartfelt ballad that closes it all out, "Alone" and you have the Players completing one of the best one ("Fire")-two ("Honey") punches in music. The Players releases after this had some moments but nothing can top this, their crowning achievement.

If you are new to The Ohio Players, you are in for a treat!!! There is no better way to start your collection of Ohio Players albums/cds. "Honey" was/is the ultimate Ohio Players effort. "Love Rollercoaster" got the most play time on the radio, but "Sweet Sticky Thing" blows it out of the water. My opinion is very bias, I'd have to admit, but if you give it a listen you may feel the same way as well. "Sweet Sticky Thing" would play well on smooth jazz radio stations. The title track "Honey" is basic Ohio Players. It setes the tone for the rest of the album just as an opening track should. This missed on a lot of today's music. "Fopp" is the brake from the norm. Sugarfoot, the frontman for the Players gives you why he should never be excluded from any talk of who is the best guitarist. Jimi Hendriks would have been proud. The Players showed that they can do rock with anybody. These are just three of the tracks on this album. The album as a whole is well worth the money. I'm old school, for real. Take my word for it, "Get this album!!!