Officially Kool & The Gang formed in 1964, but under the name The Jazziacs, a band that, as the name suggests, focused more on jazz. In 1969 they changed their name and took a successful dive into the then very fresh funk market. With singles like Jungle Boogie and Hollywood Swinging, they were among the leading funk bands of the 1970s until, at the beginning of the next decade, under the production
… direction of Eumir Deodato, they switched to disco and scored with hits like Ladies Night, Celebrate and Something Special. When Quentin Tarantino used Jungle Boogie for his film Pulp Fiction a renewed interest in their older repertoire grew, which they still perform live to this day. Their 25th studio album Perfect Union proves that a band can best stop at its peak, a record that would undoubtedly have done well in the 80s, but now sounds hopelessly dated. Considering the advanced age of the band members, the phrase 'I was moving, I could feel it in my feet' from Leaving It On The Dance Floor has a completely different meaning than the writer of this review intended. (AD)more
