Something Special (Kool & the Gang album)
| Something Special | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Kool & the Gang | ||||
| Released | September 28, 1981 | |||
| Recorded |
1981 at House of Music, West Orange, New Jersey Overdubs at Kendun Recorders, Los Angeles, California and Secret Sound Studios, New York City, New York | |||
| Genre | Post-disco, urban, funk, R&B | |||
| Length | 36:18 | |||
| Label | De-Lite Records | |||
| Producer | Eumir Deodato | |||
| Kool & the Gang chronology | ||||
| ||||
Something Special is the thirteenth studio album by American band Kool & the Gang, released in 1981. It was the group's third consecutive Platinum-certified album.
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
It continued the level of success that the band's previous two albums brought, contained several hit singles including: "Take My Heart" went to No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 17 on the Pop chart. "Get Down On It" reached No. 4 on the R&B chart and No. 10 on the Pop chart. In addition, "Steppin' Out" ended up at No. 12 on the R&B chart and No. 89 on the Pop chart.[2] In the UK, the album reached #10,[3] becoming their first hit album there and most successful studio album of all, largely due to the success of the "Get Down On It" single.
Track listing
| Side 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Steppin' Out" | James "J.T." Taylor, Ronald Bell, Kool & the Gang | 4:51 |
| 2. | "Good Time Tonight" | Taylor, Bell, Kool & the Gang | 4:59 |
| 3. | "Take My Heart" | Claydes Smith, George Brown, Taylor, Kool & the Gang | 4:01 |
| 4. | "Be My Lady" | Bell, Kool & the Gang | 4:14 |
| Side 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Get Down on It" | Taylor, Bell, Kool & the Gang | 4:58 |
| 2. | "Pass It On" | Brown, Taylor, Kool & the Gang | 4:34 |
| 3. | "Stand Up and Sing" | Taylor, Bell, Kool & the Gang | 4:35 |
| 4. | "No Show" | Brown, Taylor, Bell, Kool & the Gang | 4:25 |
| CD reissue bonus track[4] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 9. | "Stop!" | Bell, Kool & the Gang | 3:22 |
Personnel
- Bass, backing vocals – Robert "Kool" Bell
- Lead Guitar – Charles Smith
- Saxophone, keyboards, backing vocals – Ronald Bell
- Drums, backing vocals – George Brown
- Lead and backing vocals – James "J.T." Taylor
- Alto saxophone – Dennis Thomas
- Alto saxophone, flute, backing vocals – Steve Greenfield
- Trombone – Clifford Adams
- Trumpet, backing vocals – Michael Ray, Robert Mickens
- Keyboards – Brian Jackson
- Keyboards – Eumir Deodato
- Additional percussion – Jimmy Maelen
- Additional handclaps – Platinum Hook
- Backing vocals – Clifford Adams, Cynthia Huggins, Joan Motley, Kelly Barretto
- Production
- Engineer – Jim Bonnefond
- Assistant engineers – Bobby Scott Cohen, Cliff Hodson, Joe DeAngelis, Julian Robertson
- Overdubs engineers – Bob "Ziggy" Winard, Mallory Earl
- Mixed by – Eumir Deodato, Jim Bonnefond, Gabe Vigorito
- Mastered by – Tom Coyne, Stephan Galfas (Assistant)
- Producer – Eumir Deodato
- Associate producer – Kool & The Gang
Charts
| Chart (1981) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Pop Albums[5] | 12 |
| Billboard Top Soul Albums[5] | 1 |
| UK Albums Chart[3] | 10 |
Singles
| Year | Single | US chart positions[2] | UK chart positions [6] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot 100 |
R&B | Dance | |||
| 1981 | "Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)" | 17 | 1 | 16 | 29 |
| 1982 | "Get Down On It" | 10 | 4 | — | 3 |
| "Steppin' Out" | 89 | 12 | — | 12 | |
See also
References
- ↑ Lytle, Craig. Kool and the Gang: Something Special > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
- 1 2 Kool & The Gang > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles at AllMusic. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
- 1 2 "Something Special". ChartStats.com. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
- ↑ Kool & The Gang – Something Special CD remastered reissue at Discogs
- 1 2 Kool & the Gang > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums at AllMusic. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
- ↑ "Kool and the Gang". ChartCtats.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
External links
- Kool & The Gang - Something Special at Discogs (list of releases)
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