O'Jays Family Reunion
jazzman21
287 Posts
I've never been a big O'Jays fan, but this one is very nice, mellow and uplifting. Alot different from there backstabber/richer get richer stuff. Gamble & Huff continues to amaze me. Anyone else given this a listen? 
Comments
the title cut allways trips me out, especially when he gets to breakin' down family relationships.
keep your eyes peeled for this O'Jays LP
funky!
Super Bad is cool as well. Glad other people are upon that.
The O'Jays' protest phase was pretty much over and done with, starting with this album. While they would occasionally do the uplifting message songs (like Family Reunion's title track), from this LP on they pretty much stayed off the more paranoid tunes like "Rich Get Richer."
That said, I dig positive tunes as much as the next person, but this LP never really did it for me. (Gamble & Huff's formula wearing thin?) However, you cannot argue with "I Love Music" and "Living For The Weekend."
I like this album... I like alot of the O'Jay's work, even the more pop-style songs. Its more of a time and place and mood group though. I won't turn the channel if they came on.
She's Only A Woman..............
err... apart from the 'ship ahoy' album, wakey wakey, earth to visiting alien
Isn't UpFront a repackage label like Pickwick etc? Just wonder which came first.
Yeah, alot of there LP's are really sweet, though - collections of 45's that were never on albums, etc. I am still looking for the Ohio Players one with all their Compass label material collected.
Ah, no - I meant what I said. Ain't no sleeping alien here. Ship Ahoy was BEFORE Family Reunion.
Back Stabbers(1972), Ship Ahoy(1973), and Survival(early 1975) - that was their soulful-protest trilogy right there***[/b]. Then Family Reunion(late '75) came out and they eased up on the "doomsday" lyrics.
***not counting a live album, a reissue of The O'Jays In Philadelphia, and all those rereleases of non-Gamble & Huff material, like Super Bad.[/b]
my mistake, i misread the line, likely due to too much fine wine, no offence intended
no big thing, it's cool!
That part has been sampled by somebody. "I love Music" off that LP is nice too. Can anyone relate to the message?
Nothing to do with nothing, but as far as the O'Jays go, I always wondered why Eddie Levert and Walter Williams always got to sing, clown, ad-lib, etc. while "the third guy in the middle" did nothing 'cept sing backup...not to threadjack, but the mention of Levert's spoken interlude in "Family Reunion" reminded me of this.
(Also see: the Isley Brothers...Ronnie Isley sang, and Chroo, Ernie and Marvin played their axes, but Rudolph and O'Kelly essentially just posed for pictures, at least after 1975...you don't hear their input on any latter-day Isleys records at all.)