Back Stabbers cover

Back Stabbers

Released

The two big hits on the O’Jays first outing for Gamble/Huff powerhouse Philadelphia International Records are as thematically disparate as anything — the “it’s not paranoid if they’re really out to get you” tension of the god-tier title cut (that piano intro alone!, and the closing salvo of soul-unites-the-planet anthem “Love Train,” which respectively nail early-decade, pre-Watergate “smiling faces” anxiety and anticipates (or invents) late ’70s discomania. The rest of it, from the pristine bowtie-funk of “When the World’s At Peace” to the floating-in-space regret ballad “Who Am I,” sound like the top ten hit singles they inexplicably weren’t but should’ve been.

Nate Patrin

Recommended by

Suggestions
The Ultimate Collection cover

The Ultimate Collection

Smokey Robinson, The Miracles
Masterpiece cover

Masterpiece

The Temptations
Remain in Light cover

Remain in Light

Talking Heads
Moodymann cover

Moodymann

Moodymann
The Funky Broadway cover

The Funky Broadway

Dyke & the Blazers
Waiting To Exhale cover

Waiting To Exhale

Various Artists
Ivory cover

Ivory

Teena Marie