Ohio Players — Honey

• Artist: Ohio Players
• Title: Honey
• Year: 1975
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1999 ? – Record Mart in Alexandria, VA?
• Keeper: Yes

Good morning from Fayetteville, NC. We’re spending a couple days with Mary’s parents after spending a couple with mine. Tomorrow morning we finally head to Asheville where we will spend a night or two with Grayson and Kellie while we wait for the movers to show up. Time with family: priceless. Roadtripping after shoulder surgery: painful.

The Ohio Players love their gatefold-pin-up album covers. If you think the cover for “Honey” is spicy-hot you should see the inside. I was going to include it here but I’m Heavy Duty! is a family show. Just picture the woman on the outside cover with honey dripped all over her. Enough about the packaging. The big hit, classic even, on this record is of course “Rollercoaster”, made popular again a few years ago as a cover by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But my absolute favorite is the riff-heavy, slow-grinding, super-funky “FOPP.” This is another classic by any standard and has also had its share of cover versions. Soundgarden did a great version on an early EP of the same name when they were still with Sub Pop. What does “FOPP” mean? Anything?

Read more about The Ohio Players at Wikipedia.

Ohio Players — Fire

• Artist: Ohio Players
• Title: Fire
• Year: 1974
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1998 ? – Pretty sure I got this at Record Mart in Alexandria, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

I’m ’bout to choke
From the smoke
Lemme tighten up my stroke
You’re a four alarm bay-baaaay

And when you sing the word “stroke” in the Ohio Players most awesome song “Fire” you have to go for the falsetto like you just sat on a tack. Some of the other songs on this record are sorta spaced out, trippy pop like you would expect on a mid-1970s soul record. Then, they hit you with “What The Hell” on side two. That song is one of the most metallic funk-jazz odysseys ever laid down. It’s like Funkadelic or something.

Signing off from another house hunting trip to Asheville, NC. Total driving time today: over 12 hours. When will it end?