Kitty And The Haywoods: "Love Shock"

An obscure one, with the Ohio Players maneuvering behind the scenes…sort of.  The album was released on the OP’s then-current label, Mercury, and the back cover does feature the group’s logo and musician credits quite prominently.  Here, the Players provide some exquisite backing and production for Kitty et al, and much like the famous Faze-O LP from the same year (1977), the music has the distinction of being arguably better than what the Players themselves were releasing at the time.  Perhaps it is the sultry voices of the Haywoods that push things over the top, adding to the already dream-like musings that were the unmistakable trademark of the Players in their prime.  Diamond’s drumming pulses and skitters around the beat, Sugarfoot’s guitar adds its singular flair to the mix, and Billy Beck’s ethereal keyboards orbit the voices of Kitty & The Haywoods gracefully, underscoring the deeply mellow, almost-trancelike energy that runs throughout the length of the record.  For diehard Ohio Players fans, the best moment comes in the brief instrumental intro/outro, which features the group getting down and gritty in a manner not seen from them since their “Funky Worm” days on the Westbound label.  Yet regardless of one’s deference for a particular era in the Players’ oeuvre, this was clearly a creative if not commercial triumph for the collective, and when Kitty and the crew bust into cuts like the title song and “Grandma’s Cookin’,” you know this shit ain’t playin’ around.