Kool & The Gang Album: “Very Best of Kool & the Gang [Retro]”

THE greatest hits CD to own from one of the 80s top hitmakers. Never as groundbreaking as Michael Jackson or Prince, or as flamboyant as George Clinton or Earth, Wind, & Fire, Kool & The Gang earned a steady stream of Top 10 hits throughout the decade that, heard together, indicates how quietly prevalent their sound was.

Never as popular as the comparable Ohio Players at their mid-70s peak, Kool & The Gang with producer Eumir Deodato crafted a funk/R&B/pop formula that clicked literally as the clock struck midnight to begin the 80s. They hit equally with funkier tunes and lush ballads, many with one-word titles: "Fresh," "Misled," "Cherish," "Joanna," "Tonight," and the cliched #1 hit "Celebration" (refreshed little by a house remix).

You also hear the group's bass-heavy, influential and heavily rap-sampled early hits like "Funky Stuff," "Hollywood Swinging," and the "Pulp Fiction"-featured "Jungle Boogie." Together, these songs form nearly 15 years of hitmaking that, despite personnel changes that ultimately sunk the group, stands with the best in modern classic R&B. Recommended.

I knew Kool and the Gang was an awesome band. I grew up listening to them. But I never realize the impact that they had on modern music until I got this collection. Just hearing the songs (hits) back to back, made me respect their work even more. In a time, where R&B artists actually wrote, produced, and played their own music, what set Kool and the Gang apart from others is they had alot of crossover hits. But they never lost their funkness or koolness. Get this collection and learn to love Kool and the Gang all over again.

Kool & The Gang was one of the greatest and most popular funk-soul band of the 70's and 80's with countless of hit singles behind them. Although they were already formed in 1964 by brother Robert and Ronald Bell when they were still teenagers they had their big break in 1979 to the mainstream audience with "Celebration" when the 2 new singers Earl Toon, Jr. and, more importantly, James "J.T." Taylor joined. And during the early part of the 80's they recorded some of the greatest songs of the decade. Just like many other soul band of the 70's like EWF and Cameo they used horns but eventually followed the popular trends and started to use synthesizers in the 80's. Kool & The Gang perfectly blended Soul, R&B, Jazz, Funk with catchy pop melodies and is one of the most sampled bands of all time. Some of their old funk songs like "Hollywood Swinging", "Funky Stuff" and "Jungle Boogie" appear here, and you can really hear the diffrence between them and the 80's singles, but it really proves the versability of their music. In 1979 came the bi break with hits like "Ladies Night" "Too Hot" (later sampled by Coolio) and "Celebration" that was a massive hit. The band had taken the new trends of the 80's with success and hits like "Get Down On It" "Joanna" "Fresh" and obviously the big hit "Cherish". Kool & the Gang is defenitely one of the greatest 80's bands and this album proves why. If you want a taste of their talent, check this out cause it covers it all. Buying individual albums is more difficult, cause some albums are hard to get and many are rather inadequate. Either way, great purchase from a classic band.

KOOL & THE GANG-THE VERY BEST OF KOOL & THE GANG: These RNB cats could do it all---raw, urban monster groove funk (JUNGLE BOOGIE, FUNKY STUFF, HOLLYWOOD SWINGING), laid back MOR soul (CHERISH, TOO HOT), and in the designer pocket dance floor shoutalongs (CELEBRATION, GET DOWN ON IT, LET'S GO DANCIN'-OOH LA LA LA). It's all wrapped up right here in one nifty li'l party-hearty package, the most comprehensive of their many anthologies (although a few more of their gritty underground classics wouldn't have hurt). A large, horn propelled unit led by bassist Robert "Kool" Bell, Kool & the Gang's fortunes were made when they dropped their mostly instrumental ways in favor of oh so silky smooth vocalist James "J.T." Taylor, losing a portion of their street cred en route. But "Old School Kool" and "80's Greatest Hits Kool" alike will have even the most dance-impaired listeners practicing their best Julia Louis-Dreyfus moves in front of the nearest mirror. RATING: FIVE FANCY STEPS

this is an excellent collection of their hits. of course, with 21 songs on this cd, the songs are the edited single versions, but that's okay. the only thing i'm confused about is why the song, "stone love", a top 10 hit in 1987, isn't included on this album. in its place is a remix of "celebration", which is ok, but not worth including over a song that made the top 10. it's still a great cd to listen to, and very conveinient to have (with one exception) all of their hits on one cd.