Back | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1988 | |||
Studio | Sonic Art Studios, Royal Recorders, Westlake Audio | |||
Genre | Funk | |||
Label | Track Record Company | |||
Producer | Ohio Players, Rick Brown, Glen Rupp, John A. Bokowski, Jr., Chip Wilson | |||
Ohio Players chronology | ||||
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Back is the final studio album by the American band Ohio Players, released in 1988. [1] [2] The first single was "Sweat". [3] It was Ohio Players' only album for Track Record Company. [4]
The band supported the album by headlining a SOS Racisme show during the New Music Seminar and with a North American tour. [5] [6] "Sweat" and "From Now On (Let's Play)" were minor chart successes. [7]
The album was produced primarily by Ohio Players; the band was made up of five members for the reunion. [8] Some of the tracks incorporated hip hop-influenced sounds. [9] Herbie Hancock contributed to the album, after Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner had guested on Perfect Machine . [10] [11] "I'm Madd!" is about the dangers of drunk driving. [12]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Los Angeles Times wrote that "the OPs attempt to reconcile their greazy, yowl 'n' growl attack with the stacks of microchips that go into creating le funk moderne." [14] Spin determined that the band "sound as good as ever, sweet and nasty funk played just right." [10] The Christian Science Monitor called the album "a continuation and expansion of the jazzy powerhouse funk style that popularized the Ohio Players in the mid-1970s." [12] The New York Daily News praised the "live, groove-oriented sound." [15] The Washington Post deemed the sound "hypnotic rhythms geared to maximum danceability, fueled by the dual guitars of Chet Willis and Leroy 'Sugarfoot' Bonner." [16]
AllMusic concluded that, "while the Players deserve credit for trying something different and attempting to be relevant to the hip-hop/urban contemporary scene of the late 1980s, Back simply wasn't strong enough." [13]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Get 2 the Good Part" | |
2. | "Sweat" | |
3. | "From Now On (Let's Play)" | |
4. | "Show Off" | |
5. | "Just to Show My Love" | |
6. | "I'm Madd!" | |
7. | "Vibe Alive" | |
8. | "Rock the House" | |
9. | "Just a Minute" | |
10. | "Reputation" | |
11. | "Try" |
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