Pleasure (album)
| Pleasure | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Ohio Players | ||||
| Released | December 1972 | |||
| Recorded |
Artie Fields Studios (Detroit, Michigan) | |||
| Genre | Soul/Funk | |||
| Label | Westbound | |||
| Producer | Ohio Players | |||
| Ohio Players chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Pleasure is the third studio album by the Ohio Players and the second released through the Westbound label.
History
Pleasure continues with vocal harmonies more reminiscent of earlier work than what they would do when they moved to Mercury two years later, and would often show jazz tendencies with some of their musical arrangements. The songs are a mixture of radio-friendly material with songs that come off as late night studio jam sessions, such as "Walter's First Trip".
The song "Funky Worm" was released as a single and went to #1 on the Billboard R&B charts, their biggest hit during their time with Westbound. The song, about a unique worm that enjoyed going in mysterious places, would later be sampled by a number of producers in hip-hop and R&B during the late 80's and early 90's.
The single and album mixes of "Funky Worm" are slightly different, most notably the opening drum break and the synthesizer solo that represents the sound of the worm. Upon listening to hip-hop and R&B songs that have sampled it, one can detect if they used the single or album version.
The album was produced by the band, and engineered by Arlen Smith. The cover photo was taken by Joel Brodsky.
Track listing
All tracks written by Ohio Players.
| Side one | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Pleasure" | 5:26 |
| 2. | "Laid It" | 3:00 |
| 3. | "Pride and Vanity" | 4:22 |
| 4. | "Walt's First Trip" | 3:08 |
| Side two | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 5. | "Varee Is Love" | 2:43 |
| 6. | "Walked Away from You" | 2:29 |
| 7. | "Paint Me" | 2:02 |
| 8. | "Funky Worm" | 2:35 |
| 9. | "Our Love Has Died" | 4:50 |
Production
- Ohio Players – producers, arrangements
- Arlen Smith – engineer
- David Krieger – art direction
- Joel Brodsky – photography
- Mia Krinsky – album co-ordination
- Bob Scerbo – art production supervision
Charts
| Chart (1972) | Peak [2] |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top LPs | 63 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Soul LPs | 4 |
- Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US [2] |
US R&B [2] | ||
| 1972 | "Pleasure" | — | 45 |
| "Varee Is Love" | — | — | |
| 1973 | "Funky Worm" | 15 | 1 |
References
- ↑ Henderson, Alex. Pleasure review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- 1 2 3 "US Charts > Ohio Players". Allmusic. Retrieved 2013-03-30.