Back Stabbers | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 1, 1972 | |||
Recorded | 1972 | |||
Studio | Sigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 39:54 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
The O'Jays chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Christgau's Record Guide | B+ [2] |
The Daily Vault | A [3] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
Melody Maker | favorable [5] |
MusicHound | [6] |
Pitchfork | 9.2/10 [7] |
Rolling Stone 1972 | favorable [8] |
Rolling Stone 2004 | [9] |
Yahoo! Music | favorable [10] |
Back Stabbers is a studio album by Philadelphia soul group the O'Jays, released in August 1972 on Philadelphia International Records and the iTunes version was released and reissued under Epic Records via Legacy Recordings. Recording sessions for the album took place at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1972.
Back Stabbers was a breakthrough album for the group, reaching the top 10 of the Billboard Pop Albums chart and selling over 500,000 copies within a year of release. It also featured two of their most successful singles, "Back Stabbers" and "Love Train", which hit #1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. On September 1, 1972, the title track was certified as a gold single by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The following year, on May 8, Back Stabbers was also certified Gold by the RIAA. [11] It has gained the reputation as a landmark album of early 1970s soul and has been cited by critics as "the pinnacle of Philly soul." [9] In 2012, the album was ranked #318 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. [12]
It was voted #754 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000). [13]
The song Back Stabbers was featured on the Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film) soundtrack
The song Back Stabbers was featured on the Carlito's Way soundtrack, which was found and collected as evidence from O. J. Simpson's white Ford Bronco. [14]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "When the World's at Peace" | Kenneth Gamble, Bunny Sigler, Phil Hurtt | 5:21 |
2. | "Back Stabbers" | Leon Huff, Gene McFadden, John Whitehead | 3:07 |
3. | "Who Am I" | Sigler, Hurtt | 5:14 |
4. | "(They Call Me) Mr. Lucky" | Gamble, Huff | 3:20 |
5. | "Time to Get Down" | Gamble, Huff | 2:53 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
6. | "992 Arguments" | Gamble, Huff | 6:09 |
7. | "Listen to the Clock on the Wall" | Gamble, Huff, Whitehead, McFadden | 3:48 |
8. | "Shiftless, Shady, Jealous Kind of People" | Gamble, Huff, Whitehead, McFadden | 3:36 |
9. | "Sunshine" | Sigler, Hurtt | 3:42 |
10. | "Love Train" | Gamble, Huff | 2:59 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "992 Arguments" (single version) | Gamble, Huff, Whitehead, McFadden | 2:22 |
12. | "Love Train" (Tom Moulton Mix) | Gamble, Huff | 6:13 |
The O’Jays
Musicians
Production and design
Title | Information [15] |
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Back Stabbers |
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Title | Information [15] |
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"992 Arguments" |
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"Back Stabbers" |
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"Love Train" |
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"Time to Get Down" |
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The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hit "Lonely Drifter" in 1963, but reached their greatest level of success once Gamble & Huff, a team of producers and songwriters, signed them to their Philadelphia International label in 1972. With Gamble & Huff, the O'Jays emerged at the forefront of Philadelphia soul with "Back Stabbers" (1972), and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 the following year with "Love Train". Several other US R&B hits followed, and the O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
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a stone-classic