Best Of (1969-1976) - (Funk Essentials Series)

The acid-jazzers of the '90s could learn a thing or five from the pre-"Ladies Night" Kool and the Gang. They were one of the tightest funk acts around, and this best-of finds them leaping from highlight to highlight. While their lyrics are sometimes just (admittedly sage) chants like "Love the Life You Live," the Gang also earn A-plusses for brashness ("Jungle Boogie," "Spirit of the Boogie"), tongue-in-cheek self-aggrandizement ("Hollywood Swinging"), and surreal antiheroin ranting ("Rhyme Tyme People"). --Rickey Wright