Ship Ahoy

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

Ship Ahoy is the seventh album by the O'Jays and was released in 1973 on Philadelphia International Records. It is conceived as a concept album around the title song, which Gamble and Huff had first written for the soundtrack of Shaft in Africa. That song lasts almost ten minutes and is about African prisoners on a slave ship. The sounds of waves and cracking whips make the story immediate. The cover, too, with the group in a slave hold, was striking.

Besides these songs of social comment there are love songs. For the Love of Money, built around a bass line by Anthony Jackson, protests against materialism. Put Your Hands Together sounds hopeful, with a strong gospel feel. The album reached number 1 on the Billboard Black Albums chart and The New York Times praised it as Gamble and Huff at their most creative.

Listening

Track list

1. 1Put Your Hands Together4:07Apple Music ↗
2. 2Ship Ahoy9:37Apple Music ↗
3. 3This Air I Breathe3:53Apple Music ↗
4. 4You Got Your Hooks In Me5:33Apple Music ↗
5. 5For the Love of Money7:20Apple Music ↗
6. 6Now That We Found Love4:41Apple Music ↗
7. 7Don't Call Me Brother8:56Apple Music ↗
8. 8People Keep Tellin' Me3:59Apple Music ↗
9. 9Put Your Hands Together (Live)4:04Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗

See also

• The O'Jays