Live At The Sex Machine
This live outing shows Kool & The Gang in their infancy. Formed as a jazz group, they quickly evolved into a horn-based club band playing hits of the day along with their own original songs, and this package represents them at this embryonic stage in their career. The only significant hit here is the preachy "Who's Gonna Take the Weight," which became a Top 5 R&B; hit. The rest of the album shifts between jazzy instrumentals, dance floor jams, and contemporary R&B; covers from the early '70s. A fine live representation of the band before they broke through in 1973, this is still the portrait of a band in search of an identity and sound that they hadn't quite discovered.--Tom Vickers