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Soul Strut 100: #22 - Kool and the Gang (album) (1969)

RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
edited April 2013 in The Soul Strut 100
I will slowly be unveiling the Top 100 Soul Strut Related Records as Voted by the Strutters Themselves.

#22 - Kool and the Gang (album) (1969)



The list so far:

# 100 - Jr. and His Soulettes - Psychodelic Sounds
# 99 - Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul
# 98 - Donny Hathaway - S/T (1971)
# 97 - Bernard Wright - ???Nard
# 96 - Tom Scott - Honeysuckle Breeze
# 95 - People Under the Stairs - Question in the Form of an Answer
# 94 - Harlem River Drive
# 93 - Black Moon - Enta Da Stage
# 92 - Marvin Gaye - Here, My Dear
# 91 - Muddy Waters - Electric Mud
# 90 - Les McCann - Layers
# 89 - Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
# 88 - Leroy Hutson - Hutson (1975)
# 87 - ESG - S/T (1981)
# 86 - Can - Tago Mago
# 85 - Bohannon - Stop & Go
# 84 - WILLIAM DEVAUGHN - Be Thankful For What You Got
# 83 - Power of Zeus - The Gospel According to Zeus
# 82 - Gang Starr - Hard To Earn
# 81 - The J.B.???s - Doing It to Death
# 80 - Parliament - Osmium
# 79 - McNeal & Niles - Thrust
# 78 - The Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Malik
# 77 - Earth, Wind, and Fire (1971)
# 76 - Dr. Dre - The Chronic
# 75 - Black Sabbath (1970)
# 74 - Trap Door / An International Psychedelic Mystery Mix (2006)
# 73 - Bob James - One
# 72 - Matthew Larkin Cassell - Pieces
# 71 - The Beginning Of The End - Funky Nassau
# 70 - Big Bear - Doin??? Thangs
# 69 - Steely Dan - Aja
# 68 - Quasimoto - The Unseen
# 67 - Curtis Mayfield - Curtis/Live! (1971)
# 66 - Al Green - Im still in love with you
# 65 - The Beatnuts - Street Level
# 64 - Archie Whitewater - Archie Whitewater (1970)
# 63 - Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Mecca & the Soul Brother
# 62 - Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die
# 61 - The J.B.???s - Food For Thought
# 60 - Don Blackman (1982)
# 59 - Niagara - (Tiddies)
# 58 - Can - Ege Bamyasi
# 57 - Whatnauts - On the Rocks
# 56 - The Mohawks - Champ
# 55 - McDonald and Giles (1971)
# 54 - Darondo - Let My People Go
# 53 - Dorothy Ashby - Afro Harping
# 52 - Beastie Boys - Paul???s Boutique
# 51 - Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu of Ethiopia
# 50 - Lyman Woodard Organization - Saturday Night Special
# 49 - Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul
# 48 - Lyn Collins - Think (About It)
# 47 - James Brown - In The Jungle Groove
# 46 - Bill Withers - Still Bill
# 45 - Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
# 44 - Silver Apples - S/T
# 43 - Mobb Deep - The Infamous
# 42 - Lyn Christopher (1973)
# 41 - Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson
# 40 - Gang Starr - Step in the Arena
# 39 - Diamond D - Stunts, Blunts, & Hip Hop
# 38 - Terry Callier - What Color is Love
# 37 - David Axelrod - Song of Innocence
# 36 - The Invaders - Spacing Out
# 35 - Leo Sayer - Endless Flight
# 34 - Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
# 33 - DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist - Brainfreeze (Mix)
# 32 - Michael Jackson - Thriller
# 31 - DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
# 30 - De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising
# 29 - Ray Barretto - Acid
# 28 - The Sylvers - II
# 27 - Donald Byrd - Places and Spaces
# 26 - Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information
# 25 - Nas - Illmatic
# 24 - The Baby Huey Story - The Living Legend
#23 - Roy Ayers - He???s Coming

Please discuss your reactions to this record. The thread will be archived later here.

About


Kool and The Gang are originally formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.A. in 1964. They went through several musical phases during the course of their recording career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, then becoming practitioners of R&B and funk, progressing to a smooth pop-funk ensemble.

The group's main members over the years included brothers Robert Bell (known as "Kool") on bass and Ronald Bell on tenor saxophone, George Brown on drums, Robert Mickens on trumpet, Dennis Thomas on alto saxophone, Claydes Charles Smith on guitar and Rick Westfield on keyboards.

In 1964 Robert formed an instrumental band called the Jazziacs with five high-school friends. They changed their name to Kool and The Gang and were signed by Gene Redd to his new record label De-Lite Records in 1969. Slowly morphing their style to incorporate emerging funk sounds of Sly and the Family Stone and James Brown. They first hit the pop charts with the release of their debut eponymous album.
Kool and the Gang's funky debut was an unexpected hit, with a first single (self-titled) climbing both the pop and R&B charts. Subsequent singles "The Gang's Back Again," "Let the Music Take Your Mind," and "Funky Man," followed the first into the charts, and there were plenty of other standout tracks: "Raw Hamburger," "Chocolate Buttermilk," and "Kool's Back Again."

Though barely over a half an hour long, Kool and the Gang is a blast of a record containing strong elements that would become the band's trademarks: smooth melodies, suave rhythms and brassy horns. This is one of Kool and the Gang's jazzier albums and a strong debut worth checking out, though less accessible than any of their later pop recordings.


http://hippy-djkit.blogspot.com/2010/02/kool-and-gang-st-1969-us-kool-and-gang.html

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Media



  Comments

  • strataspherestratasphere Blastin' the Nasty 1,035 Posts
    Classic material, i came by my copy in a 5 lp lot sale. It's another great record that took me forever to get.
  • DJ_EnkiDJ_Enki 6,475 Posts
    As a wee young'in, all I knew of Kool & The Gang was "Celebrate." It wasn't until later, as I got into digging and learned about stuff like this album that I realized holy crap, this band isn't just about cheese, it's actually funky as fuck.
  • pknypkny 549 Posts
    I came up on a minty OG of this for $1 many years ago, before the Interwebs blew up. The person who priced it must've had "Celebration" running through his/her head and thought it was a dollar bin turd. Classic record, "Give It Up" is still my shit.
  • OptimusLimeOptimusLime 227 Posts
    Try as I might, coming by this album and actually most of their early (good) stuff is super hard. Just bad luck I guess....

    But yeah I have the music and it is funky as hell and just GREAT.
  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    Have we seen any other Kool and the Gang's in the Soul Strut 1hunna?
  • Possum SlimPossum Slim 353 Posts
    Their early albums are part of funk holy grail in my opinon. Shame most of the general public associate them with Ladies Night, Celebration etc.
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Yeah, when it all comes down to it, Wild and Peaceful is my favorite Kool & the Gang album. Jungle Boogie, Hollywood Swinging, and Funky Stuff are just faaaaar too classic to not be recognized as such. I also love me some Chocolate Buttermilk-era Kool & the Gang, but that harder-edged street funk that they were doing in between their soul-jazz beginnings and their much glossier run of hits into the 80's signifies the peak of the band to me.

    That being said, I grew up hard on Ladies Night, Get Down On It, Celebration-era Kool & the Gang so I'm certainly not hating on JT stepping so far out in front the way so many others in our digging circles do.
  • FlomotionFlomotion 2,391 Posts
    Fantastic record. Live at the Sex Machine is probably my favourite LP (though not at all sure how live it was or how much of it was from the Sex Machine) but this the record is a strong second with Head to the Sky coming up fast behind.
  • yuichiyuichi Urban sprawl 11,332 Posts
    One of the all-time classic covers.
  • DJBombjackDJBombjack Miami 1,665 Posts
    I seem to remember the first issue of Grand Royal magazine having an article between the Beastie Boys about who was the funkier band - the JBs or K&TG; - IIRC Kool came out on top
  • fishmongerfunkfishmongerfunk 4,154 Posts
    don't get me wrong, i really like this record but it's not peak era for me. "live at pj's" and "music is the message" get alot more play at my place. was never a a fan of the "live at the sex machine" album, need to pull that one and re-listen.
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Lightnin' Rod ain't no slouch either.
  • strataspherestratasphere Blastin' the Nasty 1,035 Posts
    Wrong thraed
  • FlomotionFlomotion 2,391 Posts
    HarveyCanal said:
    Lightnin' Rod ain't no slouch either.

    Also, Keep You Head to the Sky is an Earth, Wind & Fire album.

    Oh man, yeah, of course it is...Don't know Lightnin' Rod...
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Flomotion said:
    HarveyCanal said:
    Lightnin' Rod ain't no slouch either.

    Also, Keep You Head to the Sky is an Earth, Wind & Fire album.

    Oh man, yeah, of course it is...Don't know Lightnin' Rod...

    Surely you do...

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Funky Black Man Soul
  • LoopDreamsLoopDreams 1,195 Posts
    Had to settle for the re-ish early on and it was one of the last OG's of theirs I pulled, it had become a white whale by then. Love it because it is so different from their classic mid 70's lp's. Kool and the Gang was the first show I ever saw live as a nine year old and I saw Kool again a yr or two ago. He probably played Celebrate both times, but what the shiz.
  • caicai spacecho 362 Posts
    Burner.
  • Da VinylmentalistDa Vinylmentalist 229 Posts
    I have the Blue Elephant pressing (also from 1969) but it got two extra songs: Funky Man and 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. What's the deal with that, did Kool & The Gang record those songs especially for Blue Elephant or something?
  • strataspherestratasphere Blastin' the Nasty 1,035 Posts
    Da Vinylmentalist said:
    I have the Blue Elephant pressing (also from 1969) but it got two extra songs: Funky Man and 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. What's the deal with that, did Kool & The Gang record those songs especially for Blue Elephant or something?

    I think it was recorded during the sessions or shortly after. Let The Music Take Your Mind was added to the US release of the album after the single took off. That track is not on first pressings of the self titled lp.
    Attached files
  • cookbookcookbook 783 Posts
    forever on my want list

  • SoultakerSoultaker 9 Posts
    My favorite Kool and The Gang album. The drums on this are bananas!! The classic years for them are 1969-1976 imo.
  • kalakala 3,362 Posts
    found at the salvation army for a dollar
    it only took 16 years to pop up
  • PrimeCutsLtdPrimeCutsLtd jersey fresh 2,632 Posts
    found it for $1 back in the day. When I got it I thought it was semi-common. Guess not huh.
  • Otis_FunkmeyerOtis_Funkmeyer 1,321 Posts
    Perfect LP! The melodies and arrangements are unmatched. You just feel kool when you listen to it.
  • soulfoolsoulfool 20 Posts
    This is a great album - an absolute funk classic.

    For people who associate them with Joanna, Cherish and other cheese-covered crap, here's what James Brown had to say about them back in the day: "They're the second-baddest out there. They make such bad records that you got to be careful when you play a new tape on the way home from the record store. Their groove is so strong you could wreck."
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    soulfool said:


    For people who associate them with Joanna, Cherish and other cheese-covered crap,

    BAN.
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