The saving grace behind Everybody Up is the excellent "Don't Say Goodbye". Slow funk, sensual funk jam…backed by the wonderful guitarist/vocalist Sugarfoot and his excellent scat guitar delivery. The surrounding jams for the record boast nice funk, almost a return to form, and Everybody Up would serve as the last Ohio Players album to retain their signature vibe somewhat. The tunes here are still mostly forgettable, you would be buying the album primarily because you are a fan of the group and their history. The guys seem to be dipping into a Cameo bag a bit in 1979, but, the one trait that has always set them apart was Sugarfoot's guitar playing, and solid background ensemble vocals.

In 1988, the Ohio Players attempted a comeback with Back, their first album in seven years. Though the influential band hadn't had a major hit in over a decade, their classic funk and soul recordings of the 1970s were continuing to have an impact on black music – anyone who was into hip-hop in 1988 couldn't help being bombarded with samples of "Love Rollercoaster," "Fire," and "Skin Tight." So the Players tried to beat the younger artists at their own game by going for a more high-tech production style, eliminating horns and incorporating elements of hip-hop and urban contemporary.

Honey may have had the most controversial LP cover of 1975. Its erotic cover, which depicted a nude model covered in honey, was protested by feminists when it was alleged that the model had become stuck to the floor during the photo shoot. Some retailers, in fact, refused to carry it. All the controversy certainly didn't hurt the album commercially. In 1975, the Ohio Players were one of R&B's most successful acts, and were inescapable for anyone who listened to R&B/Soul radio at the time. The album kept the band's commercial momentum going thanks to such hard-driving funk as "Love Rollercoaster" (a song that was sampled to death by rappers in the '80s and '90s and covered by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1996), "Fopp," and the playfully jazz-influenced hit "Sweet Sticky Thing"…

Upon the release of this album, the Ohio Players were at the pinnacle of their long music careers, which date back to the late '50s. This album produced the number one Billboard R&B single "Who'd She Coo." The rhythm arrangement and jazzy horn arrangement are complemented by a titillating guitar, colorful vocals, and a suggestive lyric. While the title is "Who'd She Coo," the chant is actually "oochie coo", but was modified due to its racy content. The ballad "My Life," with its rolling rhythm and frigid background vocals, shines with Leroy Bonner's agile baritone. Still on a somber note, "Bi-Centennial" sends a social message to the masses, and the title track is a direct reflection of life…

After greatly increasing their visibility with Skin Tight, the Ohio Players became even more visible with Fire - an unpredictable masterpiece that boasted such explosive horn-driven funk jewels as "Smoke" and the wildly addictive title song. The Players were always best known for their hard-edged funk, but in fact, there was much more to their legacy. "I Want to Be Free," the almost innocent "Together," and the remorseful "It's All Over" demonstrate that their ballads and slower material could be first-rate soul treasures. The influence of gospel imagery and the black church experience had asserted itself on Skin Tight's "Is Anybody Gonna Be Saved," and does so once again on the intense "What the Hell" and the hit "Runnin' From the Devil." Without question, Fire was one of the Ohio Players' greatest triumphs - both commercially and artistically.