Sticky Fingers

Ohio Players - "Honey" (1975) - Mercury Records

Listen girl,

Don't you hold on to me for the things that I've got.

Its heating up outside and its getting warm in here too!  I'll pour some cocktails, dim the lights and put this record on the turntable while you slip out of those sticky clothes!

Last year we got down and dirty with the Ohio Players' fantastic fifth record, Skin Tight, and tonight we've got their seventh record on the turntable and its almost as funktastic!

This is album oozes stickiness.  (in a good way!)

Beginning with quiet and fluttering piano notes that seem to descend to Earth from above the clouds, the sultry "Honey" gets thing started nice and easy. You so, so sweet girl, you're so sweet like honey.  It keeps me stuck on you girl.  

It almost makes me wish that the tiki bar had a lava lamp!

Hey that drum beat intro sounds familiar on the next song!  Is it Paradise City?  Nope.  It's "Fopp". As in Fopp with me and I'll Fopp with you and Fopped so hard that I lost my shoe!

Things slow down to a sensual pace again on "Let's Love" because it takes an L and an O and a V and an E. 

"Ain't Givin' Up No Ground" is insanely funky and threatens to break up the mood a little luckily the dancing fingers of Billy Beck are there to save us once again with the flittering notes of his electric piano.

Side Two is equally as hot sticky & sweet with the rather remarkable "Sweet Sticky Thing". Your beehive is full of bees, I wish you had a place for me.  Will you share your beehive with me, you sweet, sticky thing? 

Oh shit!  Things are warming up again and its time for a second wind.  "Love Rollercoaster" would be The Ohio Players' second # 1 hit and is one of the bounciest tunes in all of funkdom.  I want to ride, yeaah!

If you're not dancing around the tiki bar when this song comes on, you just might be passed out.

We're in the home stretch now girl.  This record's about to end and we've got some unfinished business.  Let's quiet things down a bit, sit back and enjoy.

Unfortunately, things get downright dark and maudlin on the closing number, "Alone".  

I don't want to be alone.  Pick me up off the floor. Jeez... you don't want to be alone? Well then stop covering your dates in honey and taking them to amusement parks!!

FUN FACT: Hey kids, did you know that there was an urban legend that the blood-curdling scream heard at about the 2:30 mark in "Love Rollercoaster" was of the LP's cover model screaming in agony as batches of hot honey were poured down her naked body?  Actually, its a scream from one of the band members imitating a scream he might have had on a rollercoaster.  As far as we know, no one was hurt, maimed or murdered while shooting the album's cover art.  

By the way, the cover model is Ester Cordet, a stewardess, who was a also Playboy Magazine's first Latin Playmate.  Here's some more of Ester.  Enjoy!

RATING: 4 Sweet Sticky Things Leaving Honey Everywhere out of 5