Spirit of the Boogie

Spirit of the Boogie
Studio album by Kool & the Gang
Released August 1975
Recorded 1975 at Media Sound Studios, New York City, New York
Genre Funk/R&B/Soul
Length 42:33
Label De-Lite
Producer Kool & the Gang
Kool & the Gang chronology

Light of Worlds
(1974)		 Spirit of the Boogie
(1975)		 Love & Understanding
(1976)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]

Spirit of the Boogie is the highly successful eighth studio album released in 1975 by Kool & the Gang. 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", but lets the players improvise on their instruments (saxophone, trumpet and flute). Reminiscences or earlier works can be noticed ("Ride The Rhythm" contains the line: "making merry music...", which was the name of a song from their 1972 album, Good Times). "Spirit of the Boogie" features Donal 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 lots of 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.

Track listing

Side one
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Spirit of the Boogie"  Bayyan, Boyce, Kool & the Gang 4:52
2. "Ride the Rhythm"  Bayyan, Kool & the Gang 2:55
3. "Jungle Jazz"  Bayyan, Kool & the Gang 4:43
4. "Sunshine and Love"  Bayyan, Kool & the Gang 3:46
5. "Ancestral Ceremony"  Bayyan, Kool & the Gang 3:39
Side two
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Mother Earth"  Bayyan, Brown, Kool & the Gang 5:38
2. "Winter Sadness"  Bayyan, Smith, Kool & the Gang 5:04
3. "Caribbean Festival"  Bayyan, Kool & the Gang 9:26

Personnel

  • Amir-Salaam Bayyan - Guitar
  • Khalis Bayyan - Piano, Arranger, Sax (Tenor), Vocals, Clavinet, Kalimba, Arp
  • Robert "Kool" Bell - Bass, Vocals
  • Donal Boyce - Vocals
  • George "Funky" Brown - Percussion, Piano, Drums, Vocals
  • Godfrey Diamond - Engineer, Mixing
  • Ron Saint Germain - Engineer
  • Harvey Goldberg - Engineer, Mixing
  • Alec Head - Engineer
  • Ray Janos - Engineer
  • Robert "Spike" Mickens - Percussion, Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Vocals
  • Otha Nash - Trombone, Vocals
  • Terry Rosiello - Engineer
  • Dennis "D.T." Thomas - Flute, Sax (Alto), Vocals
  • Ricky West - Vocals, Clavinet
  • Gary N. Mayo - Digital Remastering
  • Henry Arvinger - Photography
  • Claydes E.X. Smith - Guitar
  • Something Sweet - Vocals (bckgr)

Charts

Year Album Chart positions[2]
US US
R&B		 Jazz Albums
1975 Spirit of the Boogie 48 5 18

Singles

Year Single Chart positions[3]
US US
R&B		 US
Dance
1975 "Spirit of the Boogie" 35 1 —
"Caribbean Festival" 55 6 -

External links

References

  1. ↑ Hanson, Amy. "Kool & the Gang: Spirit of the Boogie > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
  2. ↑ "Kool & The Gang > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums at AllMusic. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  3. ↑ "Kool & The Gang > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles at AllMusic. Retrieved 23 June 2011.