NorthC said:

TheFman said:

it's funny how a band with so many classics to their name are still not being taken too serious. Falls almost in 'guilty pleasures' category. They will never be named in the same breath as the traditional respected big names, while K&TG is often better than those. I love them!

That's because they went from being a funk band that James Brown called "the second baddest out there" to a disco act that was closer to KC and the Sunshine Band. They're # 1 in The Sellout Hall of Shame. [Edited 8/6/17 10:44am]

I don't consider them a sell out band. All of their disco inspired songs are genius to me and I love KC and the Sunshine band, so there.

SoulAlive said:

Nobody ever calls out the Elements, I hated shit like Magnetic lol.

All time favorite among others.

https://www.youtube.com/w...ture=share
[Edited 8/7/17 20:12pm]

LittleBLUECorvette said:

NorthC said:

That's because they went from being a funk band that James Brown called "the second baddest out there" to a disco act that was closer to KC and the Sunshine Band. They're # 1 in The Sellout Hall of Shame. [Edited 8/6/17 10:44am]

Celebration is their only cheesy hit. A lot of stuff they did with JT is really good. Too Hot, Steppin Out, Tonight, Fresh, etc.

They didn't sell all the way out but I do prefer the pre-JT funk era.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

SoulAlive said:

I agree.There's nothing wrong with the stuff they did with JT....."Ladies Night","Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)","Jones Vs.Jones","Misled",""Tonight","Joanna",etc.....I love all those songs.

I don't consider them a sellout band at all.They simply made a few necessary changes in order to survive into the 80s.If they had not made those changes,they would have been 'over' by the late 70s.

Nobody ever calls out the Elements, I hated shit like Magnetic lol.

Hey watch it now. We will over the Elements. I dug Magnetic but I kind of know where

you're coming from. Electric Universe didn't impress me much at all outside of a few numbers.

The ballads on the album were very weak. I think one was a David Foster ballad Could It Be Right which was so sappy it would make some of Lionel Richie's solo material sound more soulful.

EWF damn sure needed a break after this album.

mjscarousal said:

NorthC said:

TheFman said: That's because they went from being a funk band that James Brown called "the second baddest out there" to a disco act that was closer to KC and the Sunshine Band. They're # 1 in The Sellout Hall of Shame. [Edited 8/6/17 10:44am]

I don't consider them a sell out band. All of their disco inspired songs are genius to me and I love KC and the Sunshine band, so there.

they had alot of great songs that still stand up today. I loved Cherish (1984), its beautiful......and Get Down On It is a classic

[Edited 8/8/17 22:48pm]

This thread has got me in a Kool & The Gang mood ......here is another classic.....Joanna (1983)

Another great jam from the 80s.....Misled (1984)

Here comes another classic.....Emergency (1984)

[Edited 8/8/17 22:58pm]

But wait there's more......Fresh (1984)

LittleBLUECorvette said:

SoulAlive said:

I agree.There's nothing wrong with the stuff they did with JT....."Ladies Night","Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)","Jones Vs.Jones","Misled",""Tonight","Joanna",etc.....I love all those songs.

I don't consider them a sellout band at all.They simply made a few necessary changes in order to survive into the 80s.If they had not made those changes,they would have been 'over' by the late 70s.

Nobody ever calls out the Elements, I hated shit like Magnetic lol.

I remember I was truly shocked when the single came out and I catched it for the first time on the radio. WTF? but today I think that song kicks some major ass the album however had several low points, no doubt

[Edited 8/8/17 23:33pm]

phunkdaddy said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

SoulAlive said: Nobody ever calls out the Elements, I hated shit like Magnetic lol.

Hey watch it now. We will over the Elements. I dug Magnetic but I kind of know where

you're coming from. Electric Universe didn't impress me much at all outside of a few numbers.

The ballads on the album were very weak. I think one was a David Foster ballad Could It Be Right which was so sappy it would make some of Lionel Richie's solo material sound more soulful.

EWF damn sure needed a break after this album.

I have a whole different opinion about Electric Universe.In Maurice White's book,he says that "by 1983,I was getting bored with R&B".He lists songs that were really impressing him during that period: "She Blinded Me With Science" by Thomas Dolby,"I Can't Go For That" by Hall and Oates,etc.Basically,he felt that the old EW&F sound was getting stale and he was right.The previous album Powerlight sounds uninspired to me....like they're just going through the motions.So I can understand why Maurice wanted to take some chances and venture into new sounds.I think Electric Universe is very good....a bold departure from what they had been doing.It flopped,of course,but hey,you gotta take chances,right? And I think "Could It Be Right" is excellent it's reminscent of "After The Love Is Gone" and should have been a single.Pop audiences would have made that song a smash hit.

Goddess4Real said:

This thread has got me in a Kool & The Gang mood ......here is another classic.....Joanna (1983)

I love "Joanna" such a great song

SoulAlive said:

I have a different view of Powerlight. One of my favorite albums by EWF. You had the smooth If You Fall In Love With Me. You are dead if you don't feel Verdine's bass licks on that one and the opening. The next single Side By Side is still a staple on Quiet Storm. Gotta love the carribean feel of the steel drums on it too.
I feel those two songs alone trump everything on Electric Universe. Straight from the Heart and Something Special are miles better than both ballads on Elecric Universe imo. Straight From The Heart is a beautiful Phillip Bailey led ballad followed by a short cool Kalimba instrumental to close side 1 of the album. Speed Of Love and the bass thumping Heart To Heart I liked to. How can anyone not like the inspirational Miracles? For me I felt Electric Universe was uninspiring with no direction. In fact Larry Dunn admitted he clashed with Maurice somewhat over the direction of Electric Universe and when they reunited in 1987 Larry turned down the offer to come back.
You're right it was nothing wrong with taking chances but fo me the album just
wasn't very good. Most of it just didn't have any bite as its predecessor Powerlight. Could It Be Right might have worked in 1986 as an attempt at a crossover hit as R&B started going in that direction but no way in hell that would have worked in 1983 with synth funk happening from Zapp, Barkays, Lakeside, Cameo,etc. EWF would have gotten booed for that at that time.

[Edited 8/10/17 15:18pm]
[Edited 8/10/17 15:19pm]

SoulAlive said:

It is. The odd thing about is when I first heard it I thought it was an old song
from Ladies Night or Celebration. I had no idea the song was new in 1983.
I liked Take My Heart better but Joanna was a nice song.m

lol,pretty soon we're gonna have to do an EW&F thread so we can discuss their albums in-depth

phunkdaddy said:

Im tired of the JT hate.

as for "Get Down On It",this jam is insanely catchy! A kickass groove! I think that the 'Something Special' album is the absolute best of the JT-era albums.Every track is stellar.

NorthC said:

TheFman said:

it's funny how a band with so many classics to their name are still not being taken too serious. Falls almost in 'guilty pleasures' category. They will never be named in the same breath as the traditional respected big names, while K&TG is often better than those. I love them!

That's because they went from being a funk band that James Brown called "the second baddest out there" to a disco act that was closer to KC and the Sunshine Band. They're # 1 in The Sellout Hall of Shame. [Edited 8/6/17 10:44am]

.

in that "sellout hall of shame" - in my opinion - Lionel Richie is the undisputed champ.

I think with each subsequent solo album, he just..

well.. LISTEN TO THOSE SONGS!!!

.

Lionel went from "preachin' like an old southern Baptist preacher" on the Commodores CLASSIC ballad "just to be close to you"

("ma-tarial thangs.. that ah thought had so much VALYA.."

.

to..

.

"say you.. say me.. say it forever..

naturally.."

.

GET THE F%@K OUTTA HERE WITH THAT!

.

I just got 5 CAVITIES

just for typin' that sugary-sweet nonsense..

.

ANYWAY..

.

mltijchr said:

K&TG Greatest hits has been on heavy rotation the past month.

They are easily my fave R&B band of all time.