Ship Ahoy

About

<i>Ship Ahoy</i>, the O’Jays album that consolidated their superstardom after the world-beating <i>Back Stabbers</i>, is best known for “For the Love of Money” and its lowdown, phased bassline. It’s the album's toughest cut by some measure, but <i>Ship Ahoy</i>’s pursuit of Philly-style message soul hardly ends there. “Put Your Hands Together” is an uptempo jam whose payoff (“And let us pray”) gives a spin to an R&B and rock commonplace. “Now That We Found Love,” a mellow romancer that expands its brief to “spreading it all over the land,” was later a hit in a revved-up version by reggae kings Third World. The most startling moments, however, come with the title track, which places the ruminations of a slave ship’s denizens in the trio’s mouths.

via Apple Music