Recorded in December 1973 at
the O'Jays' commercial peak, the live format gave the group chance to stretch, length-wise, beyond the time allotted to them in the studio. Although the disc is 47 minutes, there are only seven songs (six, if you don't count "Introducing the O'Jays"). So you get an eight-minute "Back Stabbers," a six-minute "Love Train," a ten-minute "Sunshine," and a long cruise through "When the World's at Peace," though "Put Your Hands Together" (then a month away from entering the American Top 40) is pretty concise. On the one hand, these live versions don't match the snazzier arrangements, and greater economy, of the studio ones. On the other, you want something a little different from a live album, and this does give you the chance to hear the group elasticize their material, with a live band and, of course, some in-song raps. Whoever thought it was a good idea to do a ten-minute cover of
Skylark's "Wildflower," however, was wrong. ~ Richie Unterberger