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
Ton-Ton Macoute! cover

Ton-Ton Macoute!

Johnny Jenkins
Sex Machine cover

Sex Machine

James Brown
The Funky Broadway cover

The Funky Broadway

Dyke & the Blazers
It's Our Thing cover

It's Our Thing

The Isley Brothers
Maybe cover

Maybe

The Three Degrees
Express Yourself cover

Express Yourself

Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
Kurtis Blow cover

Kurtis Blow

Kurtis Blow
The Budos Band III cover

The Budos Band III

The Budos Band