Travelin' at the Speed of Thought

Travelin' at the Speed of Thought
Studio album by
The O'Jays
ReleasedMay 1977
Recorded1976–77
StudioSigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
GenrePhiladelphia soul, R&B
Length37:59
LabelPhiladelphia International Records
ProducerKenny Gamble, Leon Huff, Gene McFadden, John Whitehead, Victor Carstarphen, Dennis Williams
The O'Jays chronology
Message in the Music
(1976) 		Travelin' at the Speed of Thought
(1977) 		So Full of Love
(1978)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
The New Rolling Stone Record Guide[3]

Travelin' at the Speed of Thought is the eleventh album by the American R&B group the O'Jays, released in 1977 on Philadelphia International Records.[4][5] Unusual for the time, there had been no advance single release from the album; the only single subsequently issued, "Work on Me", became a #7 R&B hit but failed to reach the pop listings, making this the first O'Jays PIR album without a top 100 pop single. Travelin' at the Speed of Thought peaked at #6 on the R&B chart and reached #27 on the pop chart.[6] The album achieved a gold certification.[7]

In 2004, Travelin' at the Speed of Thought was reissued by Demon Music in the UK in a double package with the O'Jays' previous album, Message in the Music.

Production

The album was recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, with six of the eight tracks written and produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Travelin' at the Speed of Thought is the first O'Jays album to feature vocals from Sammy Strain, who in 1975 had been brought into the group as the replacement for the then-terminally ill William Powell.[2] Powell's death from cancer in May 1977 coincided with the release of the album.

Track listing

All songs written by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, except where noted.[8]

Side one

  1. "Travelin' at the Speed of Thought" - 4:59
  2. "We're All in This Thing Together" - 4:52
  3. "So Glad I Got You, Girl" - 3:32
  4. "Stand Up" - 4:46

Side two

  1. "Those Lies (Done Caught Up with You This Time)" (John Whitehead, Gene McFadden, Victor Carstarphen) - 3:45
  2. "Feelings" (Morris Albert) - 7:11
  3. "Work on Me" - 4:26
  4. "Let's Spend Some Time Together" - 4:33

Personnel

References

  1. ^ "Travelin' at the Speed of Thought - The O'Jays | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  2. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 290.
  3. ^ The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Random House. 1983. pp. 368–369.
  4. ^ "The O'Jays | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  5. ^ "Soul Brothers Top 20 Albums". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. June 16, 1977 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "The O'Jays". Billboard.
  7. ^ Jackson, John A. (September 23, 2004). A House on Fire: The Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0-19-514972-2 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ allmusic ((( Travelin' at the Speed of Thought > Overview ))). All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-08-23.