''Celebrate!'' is the twelfth studio album by American band
Kool & the Gang
Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. ...
. Released on September 29, 1980, the album reached No. 1 on the
US R&B chart and #10 on the
''Billboard'' 200. The album produced perhaps Kool & the Gang's most recognizable hit song, the #1 chart-topper, "
Celebration", which still receives heavy play today over four decades later.
Critical reception
Dennis Hunt of the
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
called Celebration "the band's mostly excellent new album."
of the
Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
gave a C- grade saying "It says something for these funk pioneers that unlike
James Brown,
George Clinton, and the
Ohio Players they've adapted painlessly, nay profitably, to disco: a number-one single leads their Deodato-produced album into the top ten. What it says is that their funk was as bland as you suspected."
With a 3 out of 5 stars review Amy Hanson of
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
found that "Celebrate itself marked the end of an era for Kool & the Gang, as the band would slip even farther from their funk roots and adopted dance grooves into the realms of smooth soul. But what a way to go!"
''
Record World'' said that the follow-up single to "Celebration", "Take It to the Top" was appropriately named and that it has "wonderful harmonies, vigorous strings & a snappy beat."
Track listing
Personnel
*Bass –
Robert "Kool" Bell
Robert Earl "Kool" Bell (born October 8, 1950), also known by his Muslim name Muhammad Bayyan, is an American musician, singer & songwriter.
He is one of the founding members of the American R&B, soul, funk and disco band Kool & the Gang.
...
*Lead guitar –
Charles Smith
*Keyboards, saxophone, backing vocals –
Ronald Bell
*Drums, percussion, backing vocals – George Brown
*Lead and backing vocals –
James "J.T." Taylor
*Alto saxophone – Dennis Thomas
*Trumpet, backing vocals – Robert Mickens
*Keyboards, backing vocals – Earl Toon, Jr.
*Keyboards – Kevin Bell
*Additional keyboards – Adam Epolito
*Backing vocals – Cedric Toon, Meekaeel Muhammad, Robert Bell, Coffee, Something Sweet
*Orchestra arranged and conducted by –
Eumir Deodato
Eumir Deodato de Almeida (; born 22 June 1942) is a Brazilian pianist, composer, arranger and record producer, primarily in jazz but who has been known for his eclectic melding of genres, such as pop, rock, disco, rhythm and blues, classical, ...
;Production
*Recording engineer – Jim Bonnefond
*Assistant engineers – Bobby Cohen, Clif Hodsdon, Jeff Kawalex, Joe DeAngelis, Jullian Robertson, Kenny Robb
*Mixed by – Eumir Deodato, Jim Bonnefond, Gabe Vigorito
*Mastered by – Tom Coyne
*Producer – Eumir Deodato
*Associate producer – Kool & The Gang
*CD Mastering - Joe Gastwirt
*CD Remastering - Joe Gastwirt
Certifications
References
*
Kool & the Gang albums
1980 albums
De-Lite Records albums
Albums produced by Eumir Deodato
{{1980s-album-stub