''GCS 2000'' is a studio album by

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

group Graham Central Station released on July 21, 1998, on NPG Records. It was their first new album in America since 1979's ''

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''.

Background

Prince had greatly boosted the career of another funk artist,

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

, in 1984 with her platinum-selling album, '' I Feel for You''. In 1998, he tried to revitalize her career with the album ''

Come 2 My House ''Come 2 My House'' is the ninth studio album by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan released on the NPG Records label in 1998. ''Come 2 My House'' was Khan's first full-length album since 1992's ''The Woman I Am'', due to the Warner Bros. Re ...

''. It was released the same day as ''GCS 2000'' and peaked at #49 R&B. Prince's attempt to salvage Graham Central Station's status, however, was not as successful, and neither the album nor its singles charted in the U.S. One of the chief issues, as noted by Greg Prato at allmusic, was that "Too much Prince and not enough Graham makes GCS 2000 sound like a Prince solo album with Graham guesting, instead of a triumphant return to form from this trailblazing funk bass great." Allmusic Review/ref> Another complaint was that the album, in contrast to prior Graham Central Station works, sounded much more like Prince's "studio perfection", whereas the group's prior works sounded "as if they were recorded entirely live".
quick preview
of the album reveals a departure from the

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technique the band was known for. "Just B My Lady", "Don't Let 'Em Change You", "Groove On", "I Just Found Somebody to Love" and "Outro" (5 of the 12 tracks) all feature several characteristics reminiscent of P-funk's style.

Track listing

All tracks were composed by Larry Graham alone, except for "Utopia", which Prince helped compose: #"Intro" #"GCS 2000" #"Free" (with

and Prince ) #"U Move Me" #"Just B My Lady" #"Love 4 1another" #"Don't Let 'Em Change U" #"Utopia" #"Groove On" #"I Just Found Somebody 2 Love" #"I'magettin'" (instrumental) #"Outro"

Personnel

Larry Graham Larry Graham Jr. (born August 14, 1946) is an American bassist and baritone singer, both with the psychedelic soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station. In 1980, he released the single "O ...

– bass, vocals, producer * Cynthia Robinson – trumpet * Jerry Martini – saxophone *Gail Mudrow – guitar, vocals *Wilson Rabb – guitar, vocals *Robert "Butch" Sam – organ, vocals * The NPG – additional shouts *Brother Jules – scratches * Prince – producer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gcs2000 1998 albums Graham Central Station albums Albums produced by Prince (musician) NPG Records albums