Skin Tight cover

Skin Tight

Released

The Ohio Players were much more than their hit singles and sexy album cover photos, and this album, their first of two released in 1974, proves it. While “Skin Tight” is a monster groove, with a stinging horn line, the album version runs nearly eight minutes and makes room for extended solos. Once you get past the jokey title, “Streakin’ Cheek To Cheek” is a monster jazz-funk jam that showcases Billy Beck’s keyboard wizardry; “It’s Your Night/Words Of Love” is an eight-minute soul-gospel ballad with some psychedelic warping and panning added to the vocals, to captivating effect; and the closing “Is Anybody Gonna Be Saved?” takes them into Funkadelic territory, laying apocalyptic visions and social criticism over a monster groove.

Phil Freeman

Recommended by

Suggestions
Being with You cover

Being with You

Smokey Robinson
Call Me cover

Call Me

Al Green
The Brothers: Isley cover

The Brothers: Isley

The Isley Brothers
Fresh cover

Fresh

Sly & the Family Stone
There Is cover

There Is

The Dells
Going to a Go-Go cover

Going to a Go-Go

Smokey Robinson, The Miracles
Come Get It! cover

Come Get It!

Rick James
Fire Illuminations cover

Fire Illuminations

Wadada Leo Smith, Orange Wave Electric
The Meters cover

The Meters

The Meters