Customer Reviews

Ship Ahoy

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R&B isn't generally thought of music with a message. It's supposed to make you get up and dance, not comment on social issues. Marvin Gaye proved that R&B artists could make great protest records and Gamble & Huff constantly made songs that were socially aware. The team's main mouthpieces were the O'Jays and together on Ship Ahoy they created an album that tackled subjects from the ecology, to greed to slavery. "Put Your Hands Together" is a plea for people to pray for and help those less fortunate. "For The Love Of Money" is a about the lengths people will go to get money. "This Air I Breathe" is about pollution and "You Got Your Hooks In Me" is about obession. The title song is a 10:00 opus about a subject rarely broached in music, slavery. Including the sounds of waves breaking on the ocean, the song takes us aboard a slave ship. Even though the album takes on tough subjects, the Philly Soul Sound makes the album immensly listenable. As always with Gamble & Huff, the album contains alot of stiring strings and you won't find a heavier bass line anywhere than on "Money". The O'Jay's are in fine vocal form and 27 years later, the messages, unfortunately, are still releveant.

The title track of this stunning 1973 album is revolutionary simply because it exists, I mean think, how many other popular recording groups at the height of thier fame, the top of thier game and pretty much holding the public in the palms of thier hands have ever released a song about the passage of slaves from Africa to the America's? None, which is why the song and the album it's taken from are still so powerful 29 years later. As usual, Gamble & Huff's production is top notch and still sounds as fresh and vibrant now as it did the day these tracks were recorded. Listening to "Ship Ahoy", "Don't Call Me Brother", "For The Love Of Money" and the other great songs here makes one long for the days when soul music was topical AND entertaining without slipping into parody and preachiness.

This album has the indignity of being made in an era where the word "classic" seemed to be applied to every album that came out.But as everyone knowns it's time and longjevity that truly makes a classic.Luckilly for everyone 'Ship Ahoy' has aged with the same quality and great taste of a fine French wine.In terms of O'Jay history this album is linked strongly with their first masterpience album Back Stabbers and they do seem like logical extensions;both came during the O'Jays creative and commercial peak and their cultural influece was beyond intense.On EVERY one of the songs Eddie LeVert's operatic gospel shouting will still turn the ears of everyone they touch-especially on the title track.That is a musical and cultural "period" song about the events of an ancient slave ship,sung by LeVert and the O'Jays harmonies with a dry eye-I just know I couldn't have done that-singing what they did on that song would've made me either angry or sad.But in the O'Jays hands their vocals communicate,subjectively.Another aspect of 'Ship Ahoy' as opposed to the previous album is the Philly slickness of even the funkiest songs-on "Put Your Hands Together","People Keep Tellin' Me" and even the environmental please "This Air I Breath" the peppiness of the music with it's happy Philly orchestration make one not even notice Eddie's line about "the air not staying in his mouth".And what can be said about "For The Love Of Money"?Nothing that hasn't been said;O'Jays at their funkiest,hands down.During this time The O'Jays were more then just a great singing trio-they were a musical movement.Like The Isley Brothers,The Blue Notes and The Spinners were musical movements.And the fact that all three of these movements co existed in their classic period all around the same is more then enough to make albums like 'Ship Ahoy' seem overwelming.But it really isn't.But truth be told;you just cannot listen to music like this and not have some kind of excited reaction.

This 1973 album was the followup to the O'Jays breakthrough "Back Stabbers". The good news is that it's almost as strong as that album. "Put Your Hands Together" and "For The Love of Money" went Top 10 Pop and R&B, while good album tracks like "Now That We Found Love" and the title track make this 8 track CD a must for Old School R&B fans. The liner notes for the 2003 reissue are VERY brief, and there's good pictures of the group. The one bonus track is a live version of "Put Your Hands Together" which was previously released.

Had this a long time ago on vinyl and just recently replaced it on CD -- WOW! I forgot how landmark this CD is. What a classic.

The O'Jays -- along with producers Gamble & Huff and a collection of fabulous songwriters -- had (and have) GUTS to tackle the tough issues through song and verse.

A wonderful song, "This Air I Breath" has got to be the funkiest song about pollution. You can dance, listen, and think about important issues at the same time!

The title track is a legendary ballad -- along with chilling whip sounds -- about slavery. Few people were singing about this back in the day, and today's rap is lost in horrible songwriting, no singing, bad verse, obsenities, and bad musicianship.

Not this stuff, The O'Jays are for real!

"Put Your Hands Together" isn't about clapping, it's about praying for the world to get better. "For the Love of Money" isn't about being proud of having lots of money, it's about the abuse of money.

"Don't Call Me Brother" is about how people lie and deceive others ... a continuance of "Backstabbers."

This seems like an underrated album to me as the legendary "Backstabbers" receives its just due as one of the greatest musical pieces of all time, but this one is right there with it.

This is a classic and a must-buy for all music lovers.

Back in the day, you were sure to find someone in the college dorm who had this on the record player, with good reason. I can't think of anyone save gospel singers who ever got close to singing of the issue of slavery, but the O'Jays sure met the challenge here. They made their most serious commentary with the title cut, and with "Don't Call Me Brother", lamenting the incidence of dishonesty and betrayal among Black folks. There is a very early warning in "The Air I Breathe", and "For the Love of Money".

It would not have been a successful album, however, if all it contained was preaching and social commentary. The O'Jays also have one of the great love songs of the era with "You got your Hooks in Me", which was the theme song for every lucky guy who just could not get some woman out of his heart. Their style was always one of no classic lead singer, but vocals which were interwoven with each of the guys taking the lead several times in a song. The instrumentals, like everything from Gamble & Huff, were nothing but tight.

"Put Yor Hands Together" for this great set.

R&B isn't generally thought of music with a message. It's supposed to make you get up and dance, not comment on social issues. Marvin Gaye proved that R&B artists could make great protest records and Gamble & Huff constantly made songs that were socially aware. The team's main mouthpieces were the O'Jays and together on Ship Ahoy they created an album that tackled subjects from the ecology, to greed to slavery. "Put Your Hands Together" is a plea for people to pray for and help those less fortunate. "For The Love Of Money" is a about the lengths people will go to get money. "This Air I Breathe" is about pollution and "You Got Your Hooks In Me" is about obession. The title song is a 10:00 opus about a subject rarely broached in music, slavery. Including the sounds of waves breaking on the ocean, the song takes us aboard a slave ship. Even though the album takes on tough subjects, the Philly Soul Sound makes the album immensly listenable. As always with Gamble & Huff, the album contains alot of stiring strings and you won't find a heavier bass line anywhere than on "Money". The O'Jay's are in fine vocal form and 27 years later, the messages, unfortunately, are still releveant.

Oh.. My.. Word!! This is one hell of a discrete mix! Those quadraphonic engineers back in the '70's must have had a ball panning all the sounds around at the time as the acoustic gymnastics go through the roof here!

The record is an out and out soul classic, a concept album with a strong social heart beating through every vibe and I for one love it! So it is strange that such an honest work could feature a surround mix that is so gimmicky and loaded with effects and tricks!

However, this makes it no less sonically exciting - and challenging - everytime I finish listening to it (and I have to play it all the way through with no breaks) I am exhausted! Maybe that was the original producer's intention, to actively engage the listener at every turn? Who knows!?

Whatever, on every single track there is so much activity in the rears .. it's a bongo-bonanza at the back, I tell ya! The amount of percussion detail coming through is at times overwhelming in the mix!! At other times there's loud horns and full-on backing vocals that are as forceful as the lead vocal from the rear speakers, it can be a bit much. The vibes that come in towards the end of "Don't Call Me Brother" for example, tinkle away so realistically though, I can almost forgive the exuberance of the mix, you just have to hear them - we're talking about really impeccable engineering and recording for what amounts to just a tiny element of the overall sound here.

This rear-heavy presentation could potentially be too great a distraction from the main focus of the front channels. Somehow it doesn't detract as much as it should, it only colours some of the more subtle moments, when rather than ambience there's oodles of action coming from behind you!

If you like your 5.1 music to have lots of bells and whistles, this one is most certainly for you. If you demo it to anyone, they'll never ask you what all the fuss is about this "surround sound sacd", I can assure you of that! -- fredblue, SA-CD.net, May 19, 2009

The O'Jays were at the height of their fame in 1973 when this album was released and was immediately one of the most popular records heard at parties and on radio stations. The title track is a moving retelling of the awful legacy of the slave trade and what will be America's greatest shame for all time. Relationships with women are examined here as well, with the fine song, "You Got Your Hooks in Me" and "Now That We Found Love". The importance of a meaningful system of values is the theme of "For the Love of Money", and "Don't Call Me Brother" is an acknowledgment that your neighbor and street corner buddy can be your worst enemy. Sage lyrics and wonderful message music from Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.

A strong Isaac Hayes influence is all over this record - the guy's brand of epic, orchestrated R&B was also a big influence on Curtis Mayfield and Norman Whitfield, as I'm sure you already know. The three extremely drawn-out tracks are actually my three favorites, too. Of course you're familiar with "For the Love of Money", the lengthy funk-jazz hybrid that was a Top 10 R&B hit. Everybody's already praised it, but I'd like to add my voice to the chorus. And you need to hear the whole thing. It's just fantastic. And as I already said, I love the other two longer pieces, too: "Middle Passage" has powerful group vocals, stirring orchestration, and a moving message about the transporting of slaves. And "Don't Call Me Brother", while the weakest of the three, still has a lot going for it, especially in the horn part and (once again) complex vocals. It's the shorter, more concise songs that don't sound the best, other than the optimistic "Put Your Hands Together" and the highly melodic "People Keep Tellin' Me"; "You Got Your Hooks in Me" is a genero Temptations copy; "This Air I Breathe" and "Now That We've Found Love" slap on the melodrama to breaking point.