''Spirit of the Boogie'' is the sixth studio album by

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 in 1975. It can be seen as a follow-up to '' Wild and Peaceful'' (1973); the instrumental "Jungle Jazz" uses the same basic rhythm track heard in "

Jungle Boogie "Jungle Boogie" is a funk song recorded by Kool & the Gang for their 1973 album '' Wild and Peaceful''. It reached number four as a single, and became very popular in nightclubs. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the number 12 song for 1974, despite ther ...

", but lets the players improvise on their instruments (saxophone, trumpet and flute). References to earlier works can be noticed ("Ancestral Ceremony" contains the line: "making merry music...", which was the name of a song from their 1972 album, '' Good Times''). "Spirit of the Boogie" features Donald Boyce, who was rapping on "Jungle Boogie". Some African influence can be felt, and the band even play in a West-Indian style on "Caribbean Festival", another instrumental track, with once more much room for improvisation. The LP cover mistakenly lists "Cosmic Energy" as track 4 instead of "Sunshine and Love". "Cosmic Energy" was actually released on the next album, '' Love & Understanding''. In one of the songs in the album, entitled "Jungle Jazz", the repetitive drum beat that is heard after the drum fill at the beginning has been sampled in over 50 songs, including " Don't Walk Away" by Jade and " Pump Up The Volume" by

M/A/R/R/S MARRS (stylised M, A, R, R, S) were a 1987 recording collective formed by the groups A.R. Kane and Colourbox, which only released one commercial disc. It became "a one-hit wonder of rare influence" because of their international hit " Pump Up ...

; it can also be found as a sample in FL Studio's files. '' Record World'' said that the single "Caribbean Festival" "lived up to its title" and has "whirlwind rhythms."

Track listing

Personnel

;Kool & the Gang * Ronald Bell – arrangements, vocals (1), acoustic piano (1, 2, 5, 7, 8), clavinet (1), ARP synth bass (1),

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

(1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8), percussion (2, 3, 5, 6),

ARP synthesizer ARP Instruments, Inc. was a Lexington, Massachusetts manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. It created a popular and commercially successful range of synthesizers throughout the 1970s before de ...

(5, 7, 8),

kalimba Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and p ...

(5), alto flute (7) * Ricky West – vocals (1, 2, 5), clavinet (2, 3, 5), acoustic piano (6), Moog synthesizer (6) *

Claydes Charles Smith Claydes "Charles" Smith (real name ''Claydes Eugene Smith''; September 6, 1948 – June 20, 2006) was an American musician best known as co-founder and lead guitarist of the group Kool & the Gang. Biography Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he ...

– guitar (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8), arrangements (8) * Kevin Bell – guitar (2, 6), arrangements (8) *

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. ...

– bass guitar (1-8), vocals (1), arrangements (8) * George "Funky" Brown – drums (1-8), vocals (1, 2, 6), percussion (3, 5, 6), acoustic piano (6), arrangements (6, 8) * Dennis "D.T." Thomas – alto saxophone (1, 2, 3, 6), vocals (1, 2, 5, 7), flute (3), percussion (3, 8), arrangements (8) * Otha Nash – trombone (1, 2, 3, 6, 8), vocals (1, 2, 3, 6), arrangements (8) * Robert "Spike" Mickens – trumpet (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8), vocals (1, 2), percussion (2, 3, 5, 8), arrangements (8) ;Additional Personnel * Don Boyce – vocals (1) * Something Sweet – backing vocals (5, 6)

Production

* Producers – Kool & The Gang * Recorded and Mixed by Harvey Goldberg * Overdub Engineers – Godfrey Diamond, Alec Head, Ray Janos, Terry Rosiello and Ron St. Germain. * Mixed at Record Plant (Los Angeles, CA). * Artwork – Frank Daniel and Diane Nelson * Photography – Henry Arvinger

Charts

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spirit Of The Boogie Kool & the Gang albums De-Lite Records albums 1975 albums