Kool and The Gang - Live at P.J.’s / LP Mobile Fidelity

Make it funky! On “Live At P.J.'s,” Kool and the Gang do just that – and much more: The rousing concert album, which was decades ahead of the resurgent soul jazz movement, as well as the infectious energy of the band,

which refused to be pigeonholed into a particular style throughout its career and shone with virtuoso skill, demonstrated what groove really means with “Live At P.J.'s.” None other than the Godfather of Soul himself, James

Brown, said of “Live At P.J.'s”: “Don't play this in the car when you're driving. The groove is so funky that you'll get into an accident.” The album opener “N.T.” (short for “No Title”) features one of the most famous drum breaks

in history, which has been sampled by Public Enemy, N.W.A, Nas, Q-Tip and other prominent hip-hop artists.

It's quite remarkable that “Live At P.J.'s,” released in 1971, is the band's second live album in a row, because it's important to remember that this group had only released one studio album up to that point – a bold strategy that

ignored all existing conventions, but at the same time reflected the vision of an ensemble that made its own rules. As the last album of Kool and the Gang's jazz-oriented era and the last album the band released before gaining

a foothold on commercial radio, “Live At P.J.'s” delights with excursions into tropical-tinged regions (“Ricksonata”), romantic sounds (an inspired interpretation of the pop evergreen “You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling”) and Latin-inspired

tracks (“Sombrero Sam,” a cover version of the song by saxophone legend Charles Lloyd).

Lovingly mastered from the original tapes at MoFi's California studio and pressed on 180-gram vinyl (33 rpm) by Fidelity Record Pressing, this LP presents this classic in audiophile reference quality for the first time: With spectacular

dynamics and attention to detail, this collectible reissue honors every single note that Kool and the Gang recorded on that Saturday night in late May 1971 at a concert that began at 10:45 p.m. local time. Although strings were added

later in the studio, the core of “Live At P.J.'s” remains what the septet actually performed on stage. The LP from MFSL, strictly limited to 2,000 copies, comes in a sleeve from Stoughton Printing and, of course, features the iconic album cover.

MUSICIANS

Robert "Kool" Bell: bass guitar 
Ronald Bell: tenor and soprano saxophone
George Brown: drums
Robert "Spike" Mickens: trumpet, bongos
Dennis Thomas: alto saxophone, flute, congas
Claydes Smith: guitar Ricky West: electric piano, organ, tambourine

Additional studio strings: Selwart Clark (violin), Gayle Dixon (violin), Nina Simon (violin), Winston Collymore (violin), Warren La Fredo (viola), Kermit Moore (cello)

We recommend the use of "L'Art du Son" LP cleaner to wet wash your vinyl. Even new records of high quality production will benefit from this.

Title

Side A

1. N.T.

2. Ricksonata 

3. Sombrero Sam

4. Ronnie’s Groove

Side B

1. Ike’s Mood

2. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling

3. Lucky for Me

4. Dujii