After being on nearly a two-year hiatus, the veteran R&B/funk aggregate signed with the now-defunct
Boardwalk Records
after being with
Mercury
for seven years and a brief stay with
Arista
. Hoping to jumpstart their once prosperous status,
the Ohio Players
recorded two
Otis Redding
classics:
"Try a Little Tenderness"
and
"Sittin' on the Dock of Bay."
Reduced to a quartet on this recording, they lay their patented style on the former. Beginning as a soulful ballad, the track kicks into high gear with
Leroy "Sugar" Bonner's
trademark baritone complemented by horns and a groovin' bassline. The single only managed to reach the number 40 position on the
Billboard
R&B charts after ten weeks, but it was truly deserving of a better outing.
"Sittin' on the Dock of Bay"
was never released.
The Ohio Players
did not present anything new on this single; this is probably more a tribute to
Redding
. There are also two other featured singles that were promoted by the label:
"Sometimes I Cry"
"Skinny."
The former is a slow, drifting song with a twist of country & western that is unlike any other
Ohio Players
recording; the single never charted. The latter, the title track, is a funky composition driven by
Bonner's
scratch baritone and a delayed, groovin' bassline; it posted a #46 rating after ten weeks. ~ Craig Lytle