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AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:

Back Stabbers

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Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Albums

  • Artist: The O'Jays
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1972
  • Total Time: 39:54
  • Genre: Rhythm & Blues

Review

A major turning point for the O'Jays, Back Stabbers took the group to the top of the charts and made them household names in the R&B world. The O'Jays had been paying serious dues since the late '50s, and their perseverance payed off in a major way when the unsettling title song, the infectious "Time to Get Down," and the uplifting "Love Train" became their biggest hits up to that point. Indeed, this album did more than its part to help establish Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International Records as the most successful soul label since Stax and Motown. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi

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Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Back Stabbers

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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
For the song of the same name, see Back Stabbers (song).
Back Stabbers
Studio album by The O'Jays
Released August 1972
Recorded 1972
Sigma Sound Studios
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Genre Soul, funk, Philadelphia soul
Length 39:54
Label Philadelphia International
KZ-31712
Producer Gamble & Huff, Bunny Sigler
The O'Jays chronology
Super Bad
(1971)		 Back Stabbers
(1972)		 Ship Ahoy
(1973)
Music sample
"Back Stabbers"
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 5/5 stars[1]
Robert Christgau B+[2]
The Daily Vault A[3]
Melody Maker favorable[4]
MusicHound 5/5 stars[5]
Rhapsody favorable[6]
Rolling Stone 1972 favorable[7]
Rolling Stone 2004 4.5/5 stars[8]
Virgin Encyclopedia 4/5 stars[9]
Yahoo! Music favorable[10]

Back Stabbers is a studio album by Philadelphia soul group The O'Jays, released in August 1972 on Philadelphia International Records.[11] Recording sessions for the album took place at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1972.[12]

Contents

Reception

Back Stabbers was a breakthrough album for the group, reaching the top 10 of the Billboard Pop Albums chart and selling over 500,000 copies within a year of release. It also featured two of their most successful singles, "Back Stabbers" and "Love Train", which hit number one on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. On September 1, 1972, the title track was certified as a gold single by the Recording Industry Association of America.

The following year, on May 8, Back Stabbers was also certified gold in sales by the RIAA.[13] It has gained the reputation as a landmark album of early 1970s soul and has been cited by critics as "the pinnacle of Philly soul."[8] In 2003, the album was ranked number 318 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[14]

Track listing

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "When the World's at Peace"   Kenneth Gamble, Bunny Sigler, Phil Hurtt 5:21
2. "Back Stabbers"   Leon Huff, Gene McFadden, John Whitehead 3:07
3. "Who Am I"   Sigler, Hurtt 5:14
4. "(They Call Me) Mr. Lucky"   Gamble, Huff 3:20
5. "Time to Get Down"   Gamble, Huff 2:53
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
6. "992 Arguments"   Gamble, Huff, Whitehead, McFadden 6:09
7. "Listen to the Clock on the Wall"   Gamble, Huff, Whitehead, McFadden 3:48
8. "Shiftless, Shady, Jealous Kind of People"   Gamble, Huff, Whitehead, McFadden 3:36
9. "Sunshine"   Sigler, Hurtt 3:42
10. "Love Train"   Gamble, Huff 2:59

Chart history

Album

Title Information[15]
Back Stabbers

Singles

Title Information[15]
"992 Arguments"
"Back Stabbers"
  • US Pop Singles (1972) #3
  • US Black Singles #1
"Love Train"
  • US Pop Singles (1973) #1
  • US Black Singles #1
"Time to Get Down"
  • US Pop Singles (1973) #33
  • US Black Singles #2

Personnel

Musicians

  • The O'Jays - Vocals
  • Dennis Harris - Guitar
  • Bobby Eli - Guitar
  • Roland Chambers - Guitar
  • Bunny Sigler - Guitar, Keyboards, Piano, Producer
  • Norman Harris - Arranger, Guitar
  • Ronnie Baker - Bass
  • Eddie LeVert - Vocals
  • William Powell - Vocals
  • Walter Williams - Vocals
  • Lenny Pakula - Keyboards
  • Leon Huff - Keyboards, Producer, Piano
  • Earl Young - Drums
  • Don Renaldo - Conductor, Horn, Strings
  • Thom Bell - Arranger, Strings, Producer
  • Larry Washington - Bongos, Percussion
  • Vincent Montana, Jr. - Percussion, Vibraphone

Additional personnel

  • Kenneth Gamble - Producer
  • Tony Martell - Executive Producer
  • Adam Block - Director
  • Joe Tarsia - Engineer
  • Leo Sacks - Reissue Producer
  • Tony Sellari - Art Direction
  • Bobby Martin - Arranger

References

  1. ^ Henderson, Alex. "The O'Jays: Back Stabbers" at Allmusic. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert. "The O'Jays". RobertChristgau.com. http://robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=the+o%27jays. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 
  3. ^ McGuane, Kenny S (9 April 2008). "Backstabbers: The O'Jays". DailyVault.com. http://www.dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=5381. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 
  4. ^ "The O'Jays, Back Stabbers". Melody Maker (London: IPC Specialist & Professional Press): p. 52. 13 July 1996. ISSN 0025-9012. http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7716839. Retrieved 14 October 2011. "a stone-classic" 
  5. ^ Graff, Gary; McFarlin, Jim (1998). MusicHound R & B : the essential album guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-1-57859-026-1. http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/A256.htm. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 
  6. ^ "Back Stabbers: The O'Jays". Rhapsody. http://www.rhapsody.com/the-ojays/back-stabbers. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 
  7. ^ Goldberg, Daniel (26 October 1972). "The O'Jays: Back Stabbers". Rolling Stone (Straight Arrow) (RS 120). ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on 6 May 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070506024447/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/theojays/albums/album/284045/review/5946350/back_stabbers. 
  8. ^ a b Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The new Rolling Stone album guide (Completely revised and updated 4th ed.). New York: Fireside. pp. 601–602. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=lRgtYCC6OUwC&pg=PA601&dq=rolling+stone+back+stabbers&sig=ACfU3U2ynqvbMcN8_Kzq9SbFcOnV7DjsfA. Retrieved 2 January 2009. 
  9. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2002). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th revised ed.). London: Virgin Books. ISBN 978-1-85227-923-3. http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/A256.htm. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 
  10. ^ Crisafulli, Chuck (27 February 1996). "Back Stabbers". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on 12 September 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060912101311/http://music.yahoo.com/read/review/12030124. 
  11. ^ "O'Jays, The - Back Stabbers". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/release/436121. Retrieved 23 August 2008. 
  12. ^ "O'Jays - Back Stabbers CD". CDUniverse.com. http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7716839. Retrieved 14 October 2011. 
  13. ^ "American album certifications – The O'Jays – Back Stabbers". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Back+Stabbers%22. Retrieved 23 August 2008.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  14. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone (Straight Arrow) (Special Issue): 318 | Back Stabbers - The O'Jays. November 2003. ISSN 0035-791X. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/back-stabbers-the-ojays-19691231. Retrieved 23 August 2008. 
  15. ^ a b "Back Stabbers > Charts & Awards at Allmusic. Retrieved 23 August 2008.

External links

The O'Jays
  • Bill Isles
  • Bobby Massey
  • William Powell
  • Sammy Strain
  • Nathaniel Best
Studio albums
Live albums
  • The O'Jays Live in London
Singles
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