Kool & The Gang

Kool & The Gang (reunited with phenomenal J.T. Taylor) managed once again to prove themselves by releasing this incredible album. If you like their older classics, you will by all means love this one. Every song is "Kool & the Gang" at its finest, varying from slow grooves to funky dance beats. This album is a must for "Kool and the Gang" fans.

Formed as a jazz ensemble in the mid-'60s, Kool & the Gang became one of the most inspired and influential funk units during the '70s, and one of the most popular R&B groups of the '80s after their breakout hit "Celebration" in 1979. Just as funky as James Brown or Parliament (and sampled almost as frequently), Kool & the Gang relied on their jazz backgrounds and long friendship to form a tightly knit group with the interplay and improvisation of a jazz outfit, plus the energy and spark of a band with equal ties to soul, R&B, and funk.

By the time 1983's In the Heart hit the streets, Kool & the Gang had left the fast lanes of funk for the smoother ride of the adult-oriented R&B expressway. Nevertheless, their grasp of 1980s soul sonics ensured that the band continued to top the charts with a verve and style that left their early influences firmly behind. With Ronald Bell temporarily stepping off the stage to shoulder the production, the band entered yet another fruitful era. With the monster hit "Joanna" setting the pace, Kool & the Gang powered their way through a set that seemed light to some, but still had enough force to push In the Heart into gold disc territory.

"Open Sesame" is the eighth studio album by the funk band Kool & the Gang, released in 1976. The album yielded the hit title track, "Open Sesame", which achieved some success, first as a top ten R&B single, then later as part of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. "Super Band" also reached the R&B top twenty. The album was the second of two albums released by the band in 1976.

This collection finds the fascinating video for "Cherish," both a romantic and philosophical song suggestively set in a Utopian afterlife on a beach. "Joanna," possibly the sweetest music video ever, finds the group gracefully serenading a middle-aged waitress as she recalls tender years of being wooed in the 1950s…

EMERGENCY continues the trend begun on 1979's LADIES NIGHT and continued on albums like CELEBRATE! and IN THE HEART of pushing Kool & the Gang's sound deeper into the smooth grooves of Adult Contemporary R&B. Though the band had long since relinquished the hardcore funk on which it honed its chops, EMERGENCY proves Kool & the Gang still capable of moving bodies on the dance floor, as the thumping "Misled," the album's lead-off single, attests. The hard-driving vibe of the title track, and the almost Prince-like "Surrender," should be enough to assure old-school Gang fans that they've still got the funk.

This album contains some of the best Kool & the Gang Singles. For some reason it's been underrated but singles like Forever,I.B.M.C., Peacemaker, Holiday and God's Country are among the best this group has ever come up with.

Formed as a jazz ensemble in the mid-'60s, Kool & the Gang became one of the most inspired and influential funk units during the '70s, and one of the most popular R&B groups of the '80s after their breakout hit "Celebration" in 1979. Just as funky as James Brown or Parliament (and sampled almost as frequently), Kool & the Gang relied on their jazz backgrounds and long friendship to form a tightly knit group with the interplay and improvisation of a jazz outfit, plus the energy and spark of a band with equal ties to soul, R&B, and funk.

Spirit of the Boogie was a highly successful album released in 1975 by Kool & the Gang. It can be seen as a follow-up to "Wild And Peaceful" (1973); The instrumental "Jungle Jazz" uses the same basic rhythm track heard in "Jungle Boogie", but lets the players improvise on their instruments (saxophone, trumpet and flute)."Spirit of the Boogie" features Donal Boyce, who was rapping on "Jungle Boogie". Some African influence can be felt, and the band even play in a West-Indian style on "Caribbean Festival", another instrumental track, with once more lots of room for improvisation.

Believe it or not, Gold is the first compilation with U.S. distribution to provide a fair and rather thorough glance at Kool & the Gang’s career from 1969 through 1987. Dozens upon dozens of other sets either focus on one of the group’s distinct eras or attempt clumsily to appease those who want “Jungle Boogie” and “Joanna” in one spot. The Chronicles catalog division of Mercury realized that roughly 90 percent of Kool & the Gang’s chart hits can fit neatly on two discs, so this is an ideal package for casual fans who can appreciate raw ’70s funk and slick, radio-friendly ’80s R&B.