Far East Mississippi
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Album Summary
By 1976, the Ohio Players were deep in their groove, riding the wave of funk royalty they had earned through years of sweat and soul. 'Far East Mississippi' arrived as a Mercury Records release, with the band themselves at the creative helm as they had come to be — these cats were never just performers, they were architects of their own sound. The album represented a leaner, more focused side of the Players, a two-track release that captured the band exploring the tension between Eastern sonic textures and the deep Mississippi blues-funk roots that always ran through their veins. It was a period when the group was stretching out, experimenting with mood and atmosphere, and this release stood as a testament to their willingness to push the boundaries of what funk could feel and sound like.
Reception
- As a limited release with only two tracks, 'Far East Mississippi' was not a mainstream chart contender in the traditional album sense, but it kept the Ohio Players' name alive in the funk conversation during a busy mid-decade period.
- The release was embraced by dedicated fans of the band who recognized the Players' trademark layered instrumentation and the emotional depth they brought even to shorter-format work.
Significance
- The title track 'Far East Mississippi' stands as a fascinating cultural artifact, blending Eastern musical influences with the deep Southern funk and blues sensibility that defined the Ohio Players' identity — a rare fusion that few funk acts were bold enough to attempt.
- 'Only A Child Can Love' showcases the Ohio Players' gift for emotional tenderness within a funk framework, demonstrating that this band was never just about the groove but always about the full spectrum of human feeling.
- Released during a pivotal moment in mid-1970s funk, this recording reflects the Ohio Players' ongoing artistic restlessness and their refusal to be confined to a single sonic identity.
Tracklist
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A Far East Mississippi 97
3:07
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B Only A Child Can Love —
3:22
Artist Details
The Ohio Players — oh, what a band — rose up out of Dayton, Ohio in the late 1960s and rode that funk wave all the way to the top of the charts through the mid-1970s, cooking up a sound so thick and greasy it practically dripped right out of the speakers, blending hard funk, R&B, and soul into stone-cold classics like "Fire," "Love Rollercoaster," and "Skin Tight." They were among the architects of the funk movement alongside Parliament-Funkadelic and Sly Stone, pushing the groove harder and deeper than most dared to go, while their provocative album covers made them as visually daring as they were musically bold. Their influence carved a deep groove into the DNA of funk and hip-hop, with "Love Rollercoaster" alone being sampled and covered across generations, cementing the Ohio Players as true pioneers who never got quite as much credit as they deserved.
