The Essential O'Jays [3.0] [Digipak]

Performer: The O'Jays
Artist: MFSB
Engineer: Dirk Devlin; Don Murray; Jay Mark; Jim Gallagher; Joe Tarsia; Kenny Present; Arthur Stoppe; Carl Paruolo
Producer: Kenneth Gamble; Dwain Mitchell; Eddie Levert, Sr.; George Kerr; Gerald Levert; H.B. Barnum; Leo Sacks; Ron Fair; Terry Stubbs; Tommy LiPuma; Thom Bell; Bunny Sigler
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel: Bunny Sigler (guitar, piano, electric piano, organ, keyboards, synthesizer, background vocals); Doc Wade, Doc Wade (guitar, background vocals); Reggie Lucas, Dennis Harris, Dennis Dozier, David Bay, Guy Fiske, T.J. Tindall, Tom Kennery, Dennis Dozier, Edward Moore, Tom Kennery, Theodore Life, T.J. Tindall, David Bay, Guy Fiske, Kim Miller, Norman Harris, Roland Chambers, Ronnie James , Theodore Life, Bobby Eli (guitar); Christine Reeves, Don Renaldo, Rudy Maliazia, Rudy Maliazia, Don Renaldo, Charles Apollonia, Christine Reeves, Albert Barone, Joe Donofrio (violin); Angelo Petrella, Davis A. Barnett (viola); Romeo Distefano, Romeo Distefano, Larry Gold (cello); Sam Peake, Zach Zachary, John C.F. Davis, Toni Williams, Jack Faith, Michael Pedicin, Jr., Tony Williams (flute, saxophone); Roger Stevens, Roger Stevens (trumpet); Bobby Martin , Bobby Martin (French horn, vibraphone); Joseph DeAngelis, Milton Phibbs, Milton Phibbs (French horn); Ed Casceralle, Frederick Joiner, Bob Moore & His Orchestra, Al Grey, Bob Moore (trombone); Frankie Brunson, Harold Williams, James Mendell, Dexter Wansel, John Hart , Eddie Green , Eugene Lambchops Curry, Cotton Kent, James Mendell, David Jones & The Lower Third, Ugene Dozier, Frankie Brunson, Bruce Gray, T.G. Conway, Jerry Cohen, Jimmy Sigler, Lenny Pakula, Leon Huff , Richard Rome, Ron Kersey, T.G. Conway, Ugene Dozier, Victor Carstarphen, Thom Bell, Cotton Kent, Bruce Gray (piano, electric piano, organ, keyboards, synthesizer); Vince Montana (vibraphone, marimba, congas, bongos, tambourine, timpani); Nick Dimico, Nick Dimico (vibraphone); Earl Young, Charles Collins , Charlie Collins (marimba, drums, congas, bongos, tambourine, timpani, background vocals); Robert Cupit, Corliss "Sunshine" Forrest, James Hicks, David Cruse, Allan Felder, Ron Tyson (marimba, congas, bongos, tambourine, timpani); David Cruse, Corliss "Sunshine" Forrest, Robert Cupit, Rickie Hicks, Leonard Pakula, Larry Washington, James Hicks (marimba, congas, bongos, tambourine); Karl Chambers, Jim Helmer, Norman Farrington, Jim Helmer, Scott Miller , Andrew John Smith, Michael Thompson , Norman Farrington, Michael Thompson (drums); Stanley Wade, Cissy Houston, Evette Benton, Barbara Ingram, Carla Benson, Carl Helm, Deborah Stockton, David Guest, Harriet Tharpe, Harriet Tharpe, Kenneth Gamble, David Guest, Gene McFadden, Stanley Wade, Herb Johnson & The Impacts, Carl Helm, Herb Johnson, Deborah Stockton, Jimmy Ellis, John Whitehead, Joseph B. Jefferson, Kenneth Gamble, Linda Creed, The Sweet Inspirations, Yvette Davis, Big Jim, Shirley Brewer, E.J. Jones (background vocals). Photographers: Baron Wolman; Don Hunstein; Don Hunstein; Baron Wolman. Arrangers: Gerald LeVert; Harold Battiste; Bobby Martin ; Jack Faith; Norman Harris; Richard Tee; Ron Fair; Thom Bell. Supplanting the first ESSENTIAL O'JAYS collection (a single disc limited to the 1970s), this edition is a two-disc set that covers the full breadth of the R&B legends' career. From early tunes such as the doo wop-tinged "Lonely Drifter" through '70s soul classics like "Back Stabbers," on through to latter-day hits such as 1987 chart-topper "Lovin' You," this collection offers a comprehensive accounting of the O'Jays' life in music. The Essential O'Jays covers 1972's Back Stabbers through 1978's So Full of Love, including all but six of the Philly soul group's charting singles from the period. Nearly every crucial hit is here, including the number one R&B singles "Back Stabbers," "Give the People What They Want," "I Love Music," "Livin' for the Weekend," "Love Train," "Stairway to Heaven," and "Use ta Be My Girl." A pair of singles that put major dents in the disco chart, "Unity" (number one) and "Rich Get Richer" (number six), are not here, but this disc was still one of the better single-disc O'Jays compilations made available. [Sony's Legacy division sort of contradicted itself in 2008, when it released a two-disc version of The Essential O'Jays, expanding their idea of the O'Jays' essential material from 16 songs to 35 songs. This edition added seven songs that predated Back Stabbers, an assortment dating from 1979-1995. It also went deeper with the earlier '70s releases, adding a few of the relatively minor hits. And then, in 2009, Legacy issued a limited "3.0" edition of the anthology, which threw in a third disc (of eight songs) that went deeper yet. This time, Legacy included "Rich Get Richer"...but still no "Unity."] ~ Andy Kellman

Although formed in 1958, The O'Jays failed to find major success until the early '70s when they signed to the Philadelphia International label. Under the direction of producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, the group (along with label mate Harold Melvin and others) pioneered a brand of slick, danceable, smoothly accessible R&B music. This approach resulted in a string of hit singles that virtually defined what has become known as the "Philly sound."

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