Aaahhhhh, thanks for this. I never get tired of the Gang. Them, and the Gap Band both have a greatest hits package via the Funk Essentials line (as does Cameo, and Barry White). They're great 1-disk compilations.

I always think Kool and the Gang were a bit unappreciated for their horns, unlike Chicago, or Earth, Wind & Fire. They ALL had great horn sections, but Kool & The Gang never got THAT attention, like "OH yeah, they're a great band.....and that horn section...OMG!" I just never heard that about them, but maybe I just missed the praise.

Side note: The Gap Band has a second Funk Essentials disk with 12" mixes on it. I have all the disks listed. I don't know if The Gap Band were the first to come up with the chant of "I said oops up side ya head, I said oops up side ya head", but they certainly put it to good use.

Kool and the Gang are one of the greatest groups ever, "Joanna" aside

scriptgirl said:

Nah, ya gotta take it all. It's just one song, and it fit the 80's perfectly. I actually love the Emergency, and Forever albums, the latter of which gets a lot of flack for some reason.

ernestsewell said:

I think the reason they get a lot of flack is because die hard
Kool fans felt they were poppafied. I felt Emergency was a great
album outside of Cherish and i think that's what gave the album
a lot of flack. Forever for me was a different story. I felt outside
of Victory,IBMC,and Stone Love this album was a waste. I think a lot
of Kool fans felt the same way about Stone Love they did Cherish.
Nevertheless;Let's Go Dancing was a great cut especially if you
got to see them perform it live.
[Edited 12/7/09 13:21pm]

Great song with kinda a reggae feel to it.

"Joanna" is definately one of their worst.

Really? The first one was great and covered most of them. What are some of the tracks on the second one? I want the 12 Inch of "Jam The Mutha" with the Munchkin people on it.

vainandy said:

I've got that one already. I thought you meant a volume 2 of the same series.

ernestsewell said:

Yeah, but both bands have better 2-disc compilations available now via the Gold series. But that 12" Gap Band collection is most definitely essential!

I wish they'd release a follow-up.

vainandy said:

I assumed this was the first, based on its track list being similar to the other bands. The 12" seems more unusual in that most of the other bands don't have a 12" collection under Funk Essentials.

ernestsewell said:

Gap Band, Kool & The Gang, Cameo, and Parliament all have a 12" Collection.

AlexdeParis said:

I MUST GO CONQUER!

Yep. The Barkays and Con Funk Shun also have Best Of compilations on Funk Essentials but they don't have a 12 Inch Collection. I wish The Barkays had one though because I've been looking for the 12 Inch of "Do It (Let Me See You Shake)" for years with no luck.

ernestsewell said:

"Joanna" gets a bad rap,but I've always liked that song It's definitely one of the most "pop" sounding tracks they ever recorded,but like you say,it fits the 80s perfectly.I pretty much like all of the albums with JT Taylor,including the two that you named.'Something Special' is my favorite.

SoulAlive said:

"Joanna" and "Cherish" are two songs that put Kool and the Gang in a new spotlight. And in the 80's where people had killed disco for a while, and were loving a new pop sensibility, it was songs like "Cherish" that pulled Kool out of the R&B market, and into the pop market full force. It's what "Little Red Corvette" did for Prince.