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“The Very Best of the Ohio Players” is a collection of tunes recorded by the Players early in their career, before they developed their signature funk sound in the 70s. At this early stage in their career they were playing a very energetic and aggressive RnB that leaned heavily on Wilson Pickett and James Brown, as well as newer RnB bands with large vocal ensembles such as the Isley Brothers and the Temptations. Also, the slightly rough recorded sound and loose approach is reminiscent of fellow Ohioans, Funkadelic’s early records. If the Players had never switched to the funk, they probably would have gone down as one of the better RnB bands in history and that’s why this record is such a treat for Player’s fans and fans of late 60s RnB.
There are no duds on this record, every song is smoking hot with excellent vocal leads and ensemble horn work, all trademarks of the Player’s sound which will become well known in the 70s. Some highlights include a couple jazzy instrumentals, “Find Someone to Love” and “Alabama Soupbone”, and an incredible high pitched vocal rendition of the classic ballad “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. I’m not sure who the un-credited singer on “Rainbow” is (I have the 1977 United Artists version of this record) but towards the end of the song he takes the vocal line up into Phillip Bailey range. This ‘unique’ choice of a cover tune and the Player’s over-the-top rendition works both as ironic kitsch and a damn good performance, the double whammy of great art wherever you find it.
These tunes from the Ohio Players early days tend to get re-packaged under a variety of names. Whatever the name of the collection you run into, if you are an RnB or funk fan, you will definitely want to pick this up. The sound is rough, but that doesn’t hurt the music much at all.