Kool & the gang's wild & peaceful

[funkyone71]

HELLO ALL! BELOW IS A LINK TO MY ARTICLE SPOTLIGHTING KOOL & THE GANG'S 1973 BREAKTHROUGH ALBUM "WILD & PEACEFUL." A CLIP OF THE GROUP PERFORMING "FUNKY STUFF" ON SOUL TRAIN IS ALSO INCLUDED. HOPE YOU ENJOY!

http://soultrain.com/2013/10/07/classic-soul-album-spotlight-kool-the-gangs-wild-peaceful/

[splanky]

Thoroughly enjoyed it, funkyone, meant to say so much earlier. I have that album on vinyl
but with quite a few scratches thanks to my siblings when I left for Korea. Wish I had it on cd,...is it?...Though I know they really hit big later with JT in the group, I've always prefered
the earlier edition of Chilly and The Group, especially with more jazz and raw funk in the mix...

[soulster]

I never cared for the song" Funky Stuff", but loved the others, especially "Jungle Boogie" and "Hollywood Swinging".

Splanky,
I liked some of their stuff with JT, but it just never had the excitement that the earlier 70s music had, where it seemed that they were more musically adventurous.

Another sad casualty of the 80s was the near-demise of the instrumental,

[splanky]

That I can remember I probably only liked 2 songs by K n da G with Mr Taylor on lead:
Joanna and Cherish and that's because someone who I was very fond of was always singing
along with them and cherish is what I did and still do of every moment I spent with her...

Funky, I'm waiting on the next one...

[soulster]

Of the J.T. years, I like the entire "Ladies Night" album and parts of "Celebration", Something Special", and "As One". After those, they totally lost me, apart from a couple of singles like "Misled" and "Tonight".

But, give me "Spirit Of The Boogie", "Love and Understanding", "Jungle Boogie", and "Open Sesame" any day.

[timmyfunk]

That album is a classic from start to finish. Definitely represents their man on the moon moment. Anything after 1979 you can leave alone. That period is just too slick, commercial, and ultimately unenjoyable.

[soulster]

It's a matter of opinion. And, sales figures disagree with you.

[timmyfunk]

It's a matter of opinion. And, sales figures disagree with you.

And sales figures do not determine the quality of any kind of music. And that is definitely the case with KATG. In fact, they did a gig at the Blue Note in NYC in the early 2000's and didn't perform [[ under contract mind you) any post-1979 material. That says a lot about that chapter in their musical history, doesn't it?

[soulster]

Common sense? Hmmm..."Ladies Night" was their first #1 album, and it was their first to go platinum. Apparently, a LOT of people disagree with you.

You are letting your opinion of musical quality interfere with your argument. Any time you attempt to argue opinion, you've lost.

You may not like any of their post 1978 music, but to to say that none of it is any good is flat out wrong.

[timmyfunk]

Common sense? Hmmm..."Ladies Night" was their first #1 album, and it was their first to go platinum. Apparently, a LOT of people disagree with you.

You are letting your opinion of musical quality interfere with your argument. Any time you attempt to argue opinion, you've lost.

You may not like any of their post 1978 music, but to to say that none of it is any good is flat out wrong.

Again, sales figures are no indicator of the quality of music. Their post-80's music has, over time, been far more forgettable than anything they recorded in the 1970's. Their 1970's period is far more sought after than the anything they did in the 1980's. My opinion has no influence on what happened at the Blue Note. I'd be willing to bet that most of the people that bought their records in the 1980's aren't too familiar with what they did in the 70's.

[ollie]

Wild & Peaceful is a great album. Also i like the Good Times, and Spirit of The Boogie albums.

Making music or making money is the question an artist or a band needs to answer by themselfs. In the case of KATG, i think they sold their music to money in the late 70'. [[like many good bands did, just to get a peace of the cake) Altough 'Ladies Night' was a money making disco floor filler, it is not as deep as the material they did earlier. Money music just isn't that deep.

[timmyfunk]

Exactly Ollie. Their pre-1979 material holds up over time far better than the post-1979 stuff. I just checked eBay to see how their material moves. The 1970's era, especially in terms of original vinyl, goes for far more than the 1980's albums. That period is basically defined by very radio friendly, safe as buttermilk R&B. One degree above Atlantic Starr.