Ohio Players Honey DVD Audio

This is a DTS CD, which features DTS 5.1 Surround Sound technology and is playable on a DTS-capable 5.1 Surround Sound system.

This is a DTS CD, which features DTS 5.1 Surround Sound technology and is playable on a DTS-capable 5.1 sound system.

The follow-up to FIRE, the band's breakthrough smash, HONEY continued the Ohio Players' golden streak by building on the elements that made FIRE such a hit: smooth soul balladry, churning funk, and plenty of freaky, outrageous attitude (due in large part to the cartoonish lead vocals of Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner). Slow songs and balladry seem to play a larger part here, as the lush leadoff title track and the carpe diem anthem "Let's Do It" indicate. "Alone" strikes an unusually somber note for the Players in its sincerity, a mood marked by the song's comparatively spare arrangements.

But the Players thrive on pulse-quickening jams, too, and "Ain't Givin' Up No Ground," with its jittery pop-and-lock rhythms, and the stomping groove of "Fopp" rank with the band's best sweaty workouts. Of course, the irrepressible "Love Rollercoaster" may be HONEY's highlight. (Its instantly memorable three-chord riff and vocal hook have been sampled endlessly in the decades since.) Add to all this some rather explicit and provocative cover art (the photo, of a naked female model covered in honey, was the band's most controversial), and you've got another feisty, fun slab of classic funk.

Honey was the most controversial LP of 1975, due to the nude honey-coated model on the cover. Though many retailers refused to carry it due to its cover, the album became a million seller and a classic in the street funk genre. Its succss was driven by the radio staple "Love Rollercoaster" and now their legendary sexy funk stomp takes on a new life in this DTS 5.1 Surround Sound DVD Audio. Features 7 tracks: "Honey," "FOPP," "Ain't Givin' Up No Ground" and more!

Recorded and mixed at Paragon Recording Studios, Chicago.

Recorded at Paragon Recording Studios, Chicago, Illinois.

Personnel: Leroy "Sugar" Bonner (vocals, guitar, harmonica, percussion); Claren "Satch" Satchell (vocals, saxophone, flute); Jimmy "Diamond" Williams (vocals, drums, percussion); Marvin Pierce (trumpet, trombone, percussion); Ralph "Pee-Wee" Middlebrooks (trumpet); Billy Beck (keyboards); Marshall Jones (bass).

Personnel: Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner (vocals, guitar, harmonica, percussion), Claren "Satch" Satchell (vocals, saxophone, flute), Ralph "Pee-Wee" Middlebrooks (trumpet), Marvin Pierce (trumpet, trombone, percussion), Billy Beck (keyboards, vocals), Marshall Jones (bass), Jimmy "Diamond" Williams (vocals, drums, percussions).