Emergency

Sound DNA

• Soul & Funk
• Disco

• polished
• celebratory
• club

About

<i>Emergency</i> was Kool & The Gang’s last really big album, thereby ending an astonishing winning streak that had begun ten years earlier, with 1974’s <i>Wild and Peaceful</i>. You can track the evolution of funk music by the albums in Kool & The Gang’s catalog, and <i>Emergency</i> finds them moving forward once again and embracing the new technology of the mid-'80s. The title song is sassy and brassy, incorporating the mechanical hard rock riffs popularized by then-current rap groups like Run DMC. Even better is the snappy electro funk of “Misled” and “Surrender,” which sit easily alongside contemporaneous hits by Prince. Meanwhile, the new wave-ish “You Are the One” proffers a swifter strain of electro-boogie that could well be termed “aerobic funk.” The album’s biggest hit, however, was “Cherish” an ethereal Adult Contemporary ballad — the kind of song that will live as long as radio dedication shows keep running. The single symbolizes Kool & The Gang’s complete evolution — they started their career as a jazzy funk ensemble, and ended it as purveyors of grown-up urban pop.

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits