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The title track of one of the few albums cut by this Chicago dancefloor trio – done in a skipping clubby mode that's not entirely disco, not entirely soul. The track's playful enough to live up to the title – kind of a jaunty groover with nice back/forth action.... read more

Key early work from Crown Heights Affair – the kings of the indie club scene of the mid 70s! There's a strong De-Lite funk groove firmly in place – with lots of electric keyboards, tight guitar, and harmony vocals in a very late 70s Kool & The Gang style! Titles include "Sexy... read more

A tasty little disco album that's a lot better than you might think! In some ways, this might be Crown Heights Affair's most perfectly realized album – as it's got lots of long tracks that mix the group's always-tight instrumental style with a spacey soul sensibility that's quite captivating.... read more

Seminal 70s work from Crown Heights Affair – recorded when the group still had a lot of fire, and were working in that key transitional sound from soul to disco! The album's got a really full and grooving feel – and includes both disco and vocal versions of their hit "Dreaming A... read more

A smooth later groover from Crown Heights Affair – a lot more 80s sounding than the group's classic work, but in a way that's actually totally great! CHA were never shy of hitting a mainstream sound – and early in the group's career, they traded harder funk for smoother disco –... read more

It's past the disco years, and Crown Heights Affair have emerged nicely – with a sweet modern soul style that's got a bit of 80s groove, and which shows a lot more soul than some of their earlier work! The band's singing in a sweet harmony style that works very well with the music –... read more

Not as hard and funky as the early stuff – with that disco sound that was dominating the De-Lite imprint at the time – but also not too bad, as the groove is in a fast funk mode, with plenty of real instrumentation, in that tight east coast studio mode of the mid 70s. Includes their... read more

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A huge crossover hit for the group – but a pretty tasty dancefloor single as well! Deodato's producing track here – and it's got a nicely compressed sound that pops along the bassline and catchy hook wonderfully!... read more

Something Special indeed – as the album was one of the biggest hits for Kool & The Gang, and showed that the group still had plenty of energy left to groove into the 80s! The record features production work by Brazilian music maestro Eumir Deodato – who by this point had become a... read more

A super-huge album for Kool & The Gang – the set that features their massive hit "Celebration", a cut that became an instant party classic, and which is probably still earning them a fortune in royalties year after year from wedding bands alone! Believe it or not, the album was... read more

A nice one from Kool & The Gang – and kind of a transitional record for the group – falling directly between the hard funk and spacey jazz inspired earlier work and the chart-ready grooves that would follow soon after! They weren't about to abandon the heavy horn lines and some... read more

Kool & The Gang's a little bit slicker and a little bit smoother on The Force than on earlier classic records – but thankfully, they're still getting on down to the funky sounds! The Force does indeed have more of a spacey boogie than a jungle boogie vibe, but they're still doing what we... read more

Kool & The Gang's a little bit slicker and a little bit smoother on The Force than on earlier classic records – but thankfully, they're still getting on down to the funky sounds! The Force does indeed have more of a spacey boogie than a jungle boogie vibe, but they're still doing what we... read more

Often overlooked amidst the bigger early albums by Kool & The Gang – but a totally solid record of funky stuff that's right up there with their best work! The band is super-tight at this point, grooving along in a hard drum, heavy bass, wah wah guitar frenzy – and even the vocals... read more

A landmark album of funky genius – and one of the first times a batch of funky 45s had ever been so tightly sewn into a full LP! By the time of this album's release, Kool & The Gang were already underground legends – cutting it up in small clubs around the east and midwest, and... read more

A landmark album of funky genius – and one of the first times a batch of funky 45s had ever been so tightly sewn into a full LP! By the time of this album's release, Kool & The Gang were already underground legends – cutting it up in small clubs around the east and midwest, and... read more

Nice compilation of some of Kool & The Gang's best early funk tracks for De-Lite. The record's got lots of nice groovers, including "Soul Vibrations", "Music is the Message", "Rated X", "Jungle Boogie", "Hollywood Swinging", "Funky... read more

Classic early funkiness from Kool & The Gang! "Kool & the Gang" is a hard funky groover – very worthy of the group's name, with that full-on horn/guitar groove that they virtually pioneered! "Raw Hamburger" is excellent too – with a slowly building, trumpet... read more

A great album – even if most of the cuts are on other records! The set's designed to focus on the jazzier side of Kool & The Gang – and it sifts through the first few albums to come up with some of the more sophisticated (yet still totally funky!) numbers by the band, giving a good... read more

A shameless dancefloor cash-in move – but with a few nice touches! You all know the big title cut "Ladies Night", so we won't bother to describe it – but we can say that the group wisely hooked up with Deodato, who produced, mixed, and even played keyboards on the album. ... read more

A funky later classic from Kool & The Gang – not as hard and heavy as their early work, but still plenty darn great! And while "Ladies Night" is a well-known hit, there's always great bits on the track that we always fall in love with again – like the tightly compressed... read more

It's the mid 70s, and Kool & Co not only keep the funky groove up, but also expand their style into a moogy style that adds a nice dimension of spacey soul to their rich palette of funk. The funkier cuts – like "Street Corner Symphony" and "Rhyme Tyme People" –... read more

It's the mid 70s, and Kool & Co not only keep the funky groove up, but also expand their style into a moogy style that adds a nice dimension of spacey soul to their rich palette of funk. The funkier cuts – like "Street Corner Symphony" and "Rhyme Tyme People" –... read more

One of the greatest Kool & The Gang albums ever – a monster live session that almost blows away their studio classics! The groove here is far more freewheeling and complex than some of their singles from the 70s – longer, tripped-out tunes with a definite undercurrent of jazz... read more

Fantastic live stuff from the classic early period of Kool & the Gang! The set swings mightily with a sound that's hardly matched on some of their studio albums, and the band proves that their tightness isn't just a batch of studio tricks as they blow away the crowd at the Sex Machine night... read more

A magic carpet ride of funky soul from Kool & The Gang – classic Open Sesame from '76 – one that took the group to a higher level! It's not as rawly funky as some of the group's earlier albums, but they do still bring it, just with a cooler spirtual vibe that we never expected... read more

A magic carpet ride of funky soul from Kool & The Gang – classic Open Sesame from '76 – one that took the group to a higher level! It's not as rawly funky as some of the group's earlier albums, but they do still bring it, just with a cooler spirtual vibe that we never expected... read more

Sure, this one's got "boogie" in the title – but don't let that scare you off! The album's carved in the same hard funky style as mid 70s hits like "Hollywood Swinging" or "Jungle Boogie" (both from earlier albums) – and in fact, the "boogie" in... read more

Way more than just a "boogie" album – as you might think from the title – and much more a hard-hitting batch of funky tunes, mixed with some even cooler laidback numbers! The album follows heavily off the style of Wild & Peaceful – mixing together the group's older... read more

One of the group's first really monster cuts! The track shows the band moving past a straight funk mode, hitting a more message-oriented approach that bears some resemblance to some of the more righteous funk/jazz ensembles at the time. The cut starts out with a spare, spiritual intro –... read more

After this one, there was no turning back for Kool & The Gang! The record has them bringing their underground funk sound to the masses – with a choppy riffy groove that stands out almost as a public challenge to all the other pretenders that had been cropping up on major labels during... read more

After this one, there was no turning back for Kool & The Gang! The record has them bringing their underground funk sound to the masses – with a choppy riffy groove that stands out almost as a public challenge to all the other pretenders that had been cropping up on major labels during... read more

A funky soul band with a bit of a clubby groove – and one that features some great male harmony vocals behind lead singer Jann Harrison! Harrison's got a very light style of singing – almost soprano at points, which makes the male voices especially welcome – as they help ground... read more

An obscure little funk number from the days when De-Lite was a straight funk label! The track's not the greatest you'll ever hear, but it's a pretty nice ensemble number, with a rolling groove, and lyrics about being out of the frying pan and in the fire.... read more