Observations In Time: The Johnny Brantley/Vidalia Productions (Remastered) Ohio Players

• 1Here Today And Gone Tomorrow03:30
• 2Mother-In-Law03:06
• 3Stop Lying To Yourself02:18
• 4Over The Rainbow04:21
• 5Find Someone To Love02:18
• 6Cold Cold World03:50
• 7Summertime07:48
• 8Bad Bargain02:36
• 9The Man That I Am02:33
• 10Lonely Street02:29
• 11Street Party02:24
• 12A Little Soul Party (A Woman & Some Soul)03:01
• 13A Thing Called Love03:24
• 14My Neighbors03:10
• 15Tell Me Why02:21
• 16You Don't Mean It02:40
• 17Trespassin'01:57
• 18I've Got To Hold On02:41
• 19It's A Cryin' Shame02:26
• 20Alabama Soupbone Pt. 1 & 203:55
• 21I Gotta Get Away02:37
• 22Love Slips Thru My Fingers02:28
• 23The Man That I Am (Instrumental)04:06
• 24Street Party (Instrumental)02:30
• Total Runtime01:14:29

Info for Observations In Time: The Johnny Brantley/Vidalia Productions (Remastered)

The early recordings from the Funk and Soul Powerhouse that would bring “Fire” and “Love Rollercoaster” to the world • All 24 tracks from 1967–1968 collected together for the first time • Packaging contains new liner notes from Tim Dillinger-Curenton Formed in 1964 as The Players, and eventually The Ohio Players, the group was “doing Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears-type stuff long before they were. Our crowds at home were so big by 8:30 you couldn’t get anywhere, and this wasn’t blacks, this was whites!” according to founding member Clarence “Satch” Satchell. Meeting up with producer Johnny Brantley in 1966, the band began recording the following year. After a single on Ray Charles’ Tangerine label, they released two singles on the Compass label, and landed a contract with Capitol Records. Observations In Time appeared in January 1969, containing a number of Ohio Players originals including “Here Today And Gone Tomorrow,” which David Bowie would make part of his Diamond Dogs tour and releasing it on 1974’s David Live. Covers include Allen Toussaint’s “Mother-In-Law,” the band’s take on “Over The Rainbow,” and a version of the immortal “Summertime” from Porgy And Bess. After the release of the Capitol album, the band parted ways with Brantley and re-emerged in 1971 with their LP Pain on Detroit’s Westbound Records. When they hit superstardom with the million-selling “Funky Worm” (1973) on Westbound and million seller “Fire” (1974) and Gold-single “Love Rollercoaster” (1975) on Mercury Records, Brantley repackaged the remainder of their original pre-Capitol sessions across various releases in 1976–1977. Now, for the first time, all 24 tracks from this pivotal and influential period of their long and successful career are available on Observations In Time: The Johnny Brantley/Vidalia Productions. Containing the entire Observations In Time LP, their two Compass singles, and the material released afterward, Observations In Time: The Johnny Brantley/Vidalia Productions is the ultimate early look at a group that would transform modern R&B multiple times, eventually becoming part of the inaugural class inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame in 2013. With packaging featuring new liner notes from Tim Dillinger-Curenton outlining the story, Observations In Time: The Johnny Brantley/Vidalia Productions is a perfect release to showcase a band that was always on the cutting edge of musical exploration and excellence.

Ohio Players

Digitally remastered

Ohio Players
Formed in music hotbed of Dayton in 1959 as the Ohio Untouchables, the group initially included members Robert Ward (vocals/guitar), Marshall "Rock" Jones (bass), Clarence "Satch" Satchell (saxophone/guitar), Cornelius Johnson (drums), and Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks (trumpet/trombone). When Ward, the group leader, broke the act up in the early 60s, the remaining members reformed with additions Gary Webster (drums) and the auspicious young guitarist, Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner, and later added trumpeter Bruce Napier, trombonist Marvin Pierce, and keyboardist Walter "Junie" Morrison.

The Ohio Players signed with the Detroit-based Westbound label in 1971 and began a string of three successful albums, each punctuated by a loose, funky sound and erotic album covers that brought added attention. They hit with the single "Pain," and became an R&B staple. However, upon their signing with with Mercury Records in 1974 and the addition of keyboardist Billy Beck and drummer James “Diamond” Williams, they reached new heights.

This lineup created a series of memorable songs and albums over the remainder of the decade, including "Funky Worm," "Fire," “Skin Tight,” "Who'd She Coo," and their biggest hit, "Love Rollercoaster." The Ohio Players were perhaps the biggest R&B band in the world by 1976; but their fall was quick. Drug usage among the group members gutted the creativity and work ethic of the members, and charges of tax evasion robbed them of the wealth they had created over the decade -- and they never fully recovered.

The group fired leader Satchell (who ended up spending time in prison for his role in the tax case) and signed with Boardwalk Records for the minor 1980 hit "Try a Little Tenderness" (a cover of the Otis Redding classic), but they never again achieved the heights of their earlier years. The group split in the 80s and reunited several times in various forms., and both Satchell and Middleton died in the mid-90s. Williams and Bonner led a revised version of the group, but after Bonner suffered illness in the late 90s, his spot in band was no longer available. He went on to form an alternate version of the Ohio Players.

Williams’ Ohio Players released the album Trespassin' early in the new century, their last full studio album. For several years after, two versions of the Ohio Players tour the nation, one led by Bonner and one by Williams, always playing the basketful of memorable hits from the group's heyday.

Death has taken members of the group over the years. Satchell and Middlebrooks died in the 90s, Sugarfoot Bonner passed of cancer in 2013, and Jones, the last of the original Ohio Untouchables, died in 2016.

Booklet for Observations In Time: The Johnny Brantley/Vidalia Productions (Remastered)