Kool & The Gang: In The Heart - Expanded Edition, CD

RE-PRESS: CD ORIGINALLY RELEASED IN 2015 .

• If The Pointer Sisters shaped themselves to be a successful all-female black crossover pop band of the 80s then Kool & the Gang certainly proved to be the most enduring all-male counterpart to this. Originally formed as a jazz band in the early 60s (then adopting the Jazziacs moniker), they would reinvent themselves via funk in the 70s and once again in the 80s with relentlessly feel-good pop-soul.

• Continuing on from a decade-long reign on the charts, Kool & the Gang released their fifteenth studio LP, 1983’s IN THE HEART, and continued their trend of unashamedly feel-good soulful pop music with the positive and inspirational ‘Straight Ahead’ (UK #15), the gorgeous mid-tempo balladry of ‘Joanna’ (R&B #1/Pop #2/UK #2), the anthemic ‘Tonight’ (R&B #7/Pop #13/UK #2) and the joyous love song, ‘(When You Say You Love Somebody) In the Heart’ (UK #7). Also featured here as a bonus track is a rare promotional 1983 Eumir Deodato remix of their earlier anthem. ‘Ladies Night’.

• Kool & The Gang noticeably injected sentimental fare around their dancefloor-ready hits throughout their commercial peak but IN THE HEART sees the band dedicate an entire record to the joys and nostalgia of romance. As unashamed as the band had become in their pop leanings, they also embraced adult themes beyond their sharply honed ‘good time’ sensibilities. Closer ‘September Love’ best exemplifies this with James “J.T.” Taylor regaling the story of a short-lived romance that could have happened at any time, any place yet Kool & the Gang’s delivery renders it both intimate and universal simultaneously.

• BBR are thrilled to present IN THE HEART in a remastered and repackaged edition with added bonus content and liner notes.