Listen: Westbound Records Delivers Restored and Remastered Ohio Players' Album 'Pleasure,' Share "Funky Worm"
by Staff Writer
Ohio Players. Courtesy Image
Detroit's Westbound Records has teamed up with vinyl specialist label Org Music to relaunch and deliver a series of remastered, celebrated funk and soul albums, beginning with the Ohio Players' landmark 1973 album, Pleasure, due on Oct. 6 on all formats, including standard black vinyl, silver metallic, transparent red and red smoke.
Ohio Players formed in Dayton, Ohio, during the 1960s. The ensemble backed up the OJays prior to a powerful drop of funk-soul albums for Westbound, including Pain, Pleasure, and Ecstacy. The aforementioned albums were led by Walter "Junie" Morrison, who later joined Parliament-Funkadelic.
As a preview of the newly remastered LP, Westbound and Org have shared Ohio Players' "Funky Worm." Notably, the original song hit the top of the Billboard R&B charts in 1973 and rose to No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, earning praise as one of the foundational sample sources for genres such as hip hop.
Pleasure comes after a decade-long process of rescuing, preserving, and restoring Westbound's original master tapes. The groundbreaking recordings have been mastered at the famed 54 Sound Studio in Detroit by award-winning engineer Dave Gardner with restoration and tape transfers by archival specialist Catherine Vericolli and additional engineering assistance from in-house 54 Sound engineer Nick King.
The Westbound relaunch is guided by a commitment to responsibly compensate the original performers, musicians and songwriters for their outstanding work. Upcoming reissues in the series include releases from The Counts, Dennis Coffey, Assemblage, Eramus Hall, Funkadelic and many more to come.
Pre-orderPleasure now. Listen to "Funk Worm" below.
Pleasure Track Listing:
01 Pleasure 02 Laid It 03 Pride and Vanity 04 Walt's First Trip 05 Varee Is Love 06 Walked Away from You 07 Paint Me 08 Funky Worm 09 Our Love Has Died
