01. Ladies Night (New Jack Swing Mix) (6:40)
02. Get Down On It (Oliver Momm Mix) (7:33)
03. Celebration (5:43)
04. Victory (Glory Mix) (6:27)
05. Tonight (Night Light Mix) (6:03)
06. Big Fun (Burnin' Mix) (7:08)
07. Funky Stuff (7:41)
08. Jungle Boogie (6:08)
09. The Megamix (9:06)

Self-styled "scientists of sound", Kool & The Gang developed a bit of a bad name later in their career for their move into cheesy disco and mawkish balladry, but in fact they were skilled jazz musicians whose 70's funk was among the very best of the era.

Formed in New Jersey by Robert "Kool" Bell and his saxophonist brother Ronald, their 1970 debut album, also called Kool & The Gang, has since been sampled by hip-hop artists so often that it is now regarded as a forgotten gem.

Their first great album to make an impression at the time was 1973's Wild And Peaceful, which contained the funk classics "Funky Stuff" and "Jungle Boogie". In August 1975, Kool & The Gang released their masterpiece LP - Spirit of the Boogie - a sprawling, ambitious set of jazz-tinged funk and tribal rhythms. James Brown acknowledged at the time that Kool & The Gang were the funkiest act in the world - except for his own - and he wasn't wrong.

It wasn't to last: catching the commercial bug, Kool & The Gang went on to have massive crossover success with disco hits like "Ladies' Night", "Too Hot", "Celebration" and "Get Down On It", and with the ballads "Joanna" and "Cherish". Their 80s albums were also big-sellers: Celebrate! (1980), Something Special (1981), and Emergency (1984) all went platinum. ---amazon.com

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A1 	Street Corner Symphony 	4:35
A2 	Fruitman 	5:22
A3 	Rhyme - Tyme People 	3:21
A4 	Light Of Worlds 	4:23
B1 	Whiting H. & G. 	3:20
B2 	You Don't Have To Change 	2:40
B3 	Higher Plane 	4:59
B4 	Summer Madness 	4:16
B5 	Here After 	2:55

Khalis Bayyan - Bass, Clavinet, Kalimba, Mellotron, Percussion, Piano, Sax (Tenor), Synthesizer, Vocals
Robert "Kool" Bell - Bass, Vocals
George "Funky" Brown - Drums, Gong, Percussion
Kenneth Banks - Vocals (Background)
Herb Lane - Vocals
Robert "Spike" Mickens - Flugelhorn, Trumpet
Al Pazant - Trumpet
Ed Pazant - Oboe, Sax (Alto)
Penni Phynjuar Saunders - Vocals
Richard Shade - Vocals (Background)
Claydes Smith - Conductor, Guitar, Percussion, Vibraphone
Alton Taylor - Vocals
Dennis "D.T." Thomas - Sax (Alto)
Ricky West - Piano 

"Light of the Worlds" was, by far, Kool & the Gang's most spiritual and sophisticated work, produced in the wake of the success of their previous album, "Wild and Peaceful." While it was their seventh album of new material, the Gang considered "Light of the Worlds" their ninth LP (counting two compilations), and therefore consciously chose nine songs for the album, to represent the nine planets in the solar system. The album contains rock-inspired funk set to jazz-informed playing with afrobeat influences and a tinge of analogue synthesizing. "Summer Madness" is considered to be the album's highlight, incorporating smooth melodies and a mesmerizing synthesizer. It was later released as a single, with a follow up titled "Winter Sadness" to the Gang's Spirit of the Boogie a year later. ---Editorial Reviews, amazon.com

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1. Kool & The Gang - Celebration [04:58]
2. Kool & The Gang - Hollywood Swinging [04:36]
3. Kool & The Gang - Jungle Boogie [03:03]
4. Kool & The Gang - Get Down On It [04:50]
5. Kool & The Gang - Ladies Night [03:27]
6. Kool & The Gang - Fresh [03:47]
7. Kool & The Gang - Cherish [05:40]
8. Kool & The Gang - Too Hot [05:03]
9. Kool & The Gang - Joanna [03:58]
10. Kool & The Gang - Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)[04:01]
11. Kool & The Gang - Let's Go Dancin' (Ooh La La La) [06:40]
12. Kool & The Gang - Open Sesame [03:46]

Kool & the Gang's budget-line Icon compilation, released in 2011, supplants 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection (2000). This includes “Let’s Go Dancin’ (Ooh La La La)” and “Open Sesame” in place of “Big Fun,” giving it a slight edge over its predecessor. Most of the group’s big hits from 1974 through 1985 are included, including the Top Five R&B singles “Hollywood Swinging,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Ladies Night,” “Celebration,” “Too Hot,” “Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It),” “Get Down on It,” “Joanna,” “Cherish,” and “Fresh” -- a very impressive run involving a smooth transition from gritty funk to highly polished pop-R&B. ---Andy Kellman, Rovi

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