Ohio Players - Pain (2021) Hi-Res

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: The Ohio Players might be more well-known to some for their provocative album covers—which, when blown up to the specs of a vinyl jacket, can be intimidating—than their music. That was done on purpose, a juxtaposition with the sweltering funk and upbeat grooves that saturated the music. And to think that the Ohio Players, and their album Pain, almost didn’t exist: The band’s first LP, Observations in Time, had been a minor hit for Capitol Records, but it flexed only a small part of their artistry. On Pain, the group played expansive arrangements that became rich cover material for their creative progeny: For his outro to Welcome 2 Detroit, producer J Dilla sampled this record’s title track. “Players Balling…” re-emerged as the opening chant of D’Angelo’s overwhelmingly great Voodoo. “The Reds” still stands as a hypnotic rendering of the blues, and “Singing in the Morning”—with its echoed drums and searing trumpet wails—imparts the gospel of Sunday morning Baptist church services. “Never Had a Dream” was rapturous in the same way, except the air around it was more sultry and humid. Pain marked the start of an illustrious run for the Ohio Players on Westbound.