Artist: Kool & the Gang
Title: Live at the P.J.’s
Year: 1971
Label: De-Lite
Format: Vinyl LP (Original)
Flwrpt Rating of this Record: 4.75/5.0
Review
Continuously funky, Kool & the Gang deliver AGAIN, with the release of their second LP, Live at P.J.’s. These guys have such an amazing sound, releasing a live album only adds value to the music…puts it over the TOP, it really gives us a sense of the personality of each musician as well. Listening closely, you can really begin to hear the improv, how they’re playing off of the vibe from one another…and you can even catch the mistakes. That’s when you know you’re deep into the grooves, when you can actually FEEL the music…Kool & the Gang has the ability to that to listeners. At this point the group hadn’t achieved any commercial success (which is when they were at their best in my opinion, anything released on De-Lite was classic), so the sound is raw…street…straight from the heart. Enjoy…
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Dujii
N.T.
The Penguin
Sombrero Sam
Design
This cover is nice because it captures the night of the performance. That aspect alone is what makes this such a powerful cover. If it was anything other than what it is, the impact would be lost. I really like how they used the outlined font over the dark photograph, that preserves the prominence of the image without being too distracted. At first glance, it looks like a “blah” cover, right? Have a second look and appreciate it for impact and composition.
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Gordon's War.
Artist: Various
Title: Gordon’s War (Original Soundtrack)
Year: 1973
Label: Buddah
Format: Vinyl LP (Original)
Flwrpt Rating of this Record: 4.75/5.0
Review
Gordon’s War is one of the best blaxploitation action film soundtracks ever created. It’s the quintessential funk record of the 70′s. Wah-wah guitars, killer drum breaks, smooth grooves, all of these elements make for a great album…and the film-inspired instrumentation make for an amazing soundtrack. Each track tells a story through the music, just read the song titles…close your eyes, then listen. Every 70′s film had a classic “chase” scene, typically these scenes are accompanied by a funky upbeat tune to keep you at the edge of your seat…well this albums chase scene is called “Hot Wheels”, and it has to be one of the BEST pieces of funk that I’ve ever heard. Most of the record was created by a little-known studio group called “Badder Than Evil”, and I have to say, prior to this record I’ve never heard of them. They’re not really well-documented outside of the work they did for this particular soundtrack, but regardless, they did their thing! Enjoy…
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Hot Wheels
Tell That Man to Go to Hell
Just Plain Luther
Harlem Dreams
Design
I really dig the lockup at the top. “Gordon’s War” typeset in Avant Garde Bold, with the words being separated by a black graphic of a Tommy Gun…with bullet holes randomly placed throughout the words, and even throughout the “featured artists” graphic on the left. All of these aspects are cool…but it doesn’t stop there, below is an illustration of Gordon (Paul Winfield), 9mm in hand, stomping on a heroin syringe! That’s an amazing image there…especially since the movie is about Gordon returning home from Vietnam, and cleaning up the drug scene in his neighborhood. But what puts it over the top is the cherrywine-colored tuxedo, pumped fist, and the big heel protruding forward (it’s simply just a dope perspective). Having this cover on white gives the whole thing more shape, and even a weird bit of a nice tension, having the headshot of Barbara Mason stuffed at the top right. Super cool cover.
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