Search - O'Jays :: Total Soul Classics: Backstabbers

THE MIGHTY O'JAYS

will power | BELTSVILLE ,MD | 10/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"ANOTHER GEM FOR THE CD COLLECTOR,TRACK AFTER TRACK OF THE FINEST PHILLY SOUL EVER RECORDED,AS A KID I STOOD WAITING AT THE BUS STOP,BEHIND US WAS A RECORD STORE BLASTING "LOVE TRAIN" WHICH HAD ALL OF US ON THE CORNER DANCING.

PRICELESS MUSIC FROM A SUPER SOUL GROUP...........TIMELESS"

(3.5 stars) Good starter, but the next two are better

finulanu | Here, there, and everywhere | 11/26/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The group's famous debut, with four charting singles: the title song, paranoid and dramatic; "992 Arguments", solid through its first three minutes but monotonous afterwards, even if the Latin-jazz infusion is a genius arranging touch; the middling slow jam "Sunshine", which does have phenomenal strings; and the anything-but-middling "save-the-world" anthem "Love Train". I find a couple of the album tracks just as good as select hits: "Shiftless, Shady, Jealous Kind of People" is lifted straight from the Whitfield/Strong book, but it's a flattering imitation; "Time to Get Down" is inviting and funky. They lose it completely on the three soap operas, though ("Mr. Lucky"; "Who Am I"; "Listen to the Clock on the Wall"). Still, this and the next record are probably the two best the O'Jays made. So if you have any interest in them, start there."