Best album from the greatest funk ensemble ever

Parliament, James Brown, and even Prince earn the headlines for greatest funkateers of all the time, but old testatment Kool and the Gang, pre JT Taylor, was the greatest band of all time. Their horns are tight and reveal the chops that lie underneath the riffs. "Jungle Boogie"'s horn lick is one of the best funk riffs ever. This was the first time they put it all together for an album that has no weaknesses. "Jungle Boogie", "Hollywood Swinging", and "Funky Stuff" are all classic cuts, but I like some of the lesser known tunes as well. "Wild and Peaceful" has a nice jazzy vibe and "Heaven at Once" has one of my favorite lines, "we're scientists of sound, matheamatically putting it down."

Classic funk from a very underappreciated band. The Godfather, James Brown, called Kool and the Gang is second favorite funk band [after his own of course]. Kool and the Gang has a positive message, stellar musicians, and no holds barred thrown it down funk.

Give this a listen and see the best of classic funk.

5 stars [classic album!]

--sd

THE album to own in the fall of 1973

When I was in the 3rd grade in the fall of 1973, this was THE album to own in Black American communities. Before J.T. Taylor arrived and the group became "dull and the bland" to their original core of fans, this album topped the soul charts with back-to-back raw, jazzy and funky hits like "Hollywood Swinging,"" Funky Stuff," "More Funky Stuff" (check the guitar solo), and "Jungle Boogie." An additional treat is the beautiful "Heaven At Once," where Kool Bell has a heart-to-heart talk with his younger brother Wahid to a lovely jazz background. Get this, "Live at the Sex Machine," and their self-titled debut "Kool & The Gang" and you'll see why the orginal version of this group were "Scientists of sound who were mathematically putting it down!"

The best ever from Kool and the Gang

Having grown up in the 70s this album was one of my favorites. Has the great strong base lines and dance beats that brought Kool and the Gang into main stream R&B. Funky stuff parts 1 & 2, Jungle Boogie, and Hollywood Swinging are funk classics. I like this much better than Kool's later stuff like Fresh, Slick Super Chick and Too Hot.