Perfect Union

史上最も偉大なFUNKバンドがパーフェクトに復活!!
60年代より活動し時代に合わせたクールなサウンドを鳴らし続けて来た真のレジェンド達が、実に14年振り(!)に新作を発表!往年のグルーヴはそのままに、タキシードやブルーノ・マーズを思わせるディスコ・ファンクも圧巻。2020年に惜しくも亡くなった中心メンバーのロナルド・ベルがエグゼクティブ・プロデュースを手掛けているということでも聴かずにはいられません…
(C)渋谷店:山内 慶一郎

The release of Perfect Union is bittersweet. Kool & the Gangs first proper album since 2007s Still Kool was completed just before the death of Ronald Bell, and issued only a couple weeks after the death of Dennis D.T. Thomas, leaving Robert Kool Bell and George Funky Brown as the bands surviving co-founders. Back in 2016, the funk legends hit the Adult R&B chart with the easy-striding Sexy, which introduced Walt Anderson, a singer who is spirited and engaging like James J.T. Taylor -- the bands mainstream-era frontman -- and to his credit is no impressionist. Sexy lands in the middle of Perfect Union and is followed by a romantic midtempo cut with even more appeal, All to Myself (with former members Amir and Royal Bayyan teaming on guitar), and another highlight, the smoothly uplifting Hold On. Its obvious why Kool & the Gang have remained a major draw on-stage. The interplay among the musicians is lively, and theres a fine balance struck between Anderson and a group of additional vocalists that includes Shawn McQuiller, who is in his third decade with the band. Despite the inestimable losses of Ronald and D.T., theres a way forward for Kool, Funky, and the evolving Gang. ~ Andy Kellman

デビュー50周年を突破した大御所バンドが14年ぶりのオリジナル新作を完成。プロデュースを務めるロナルド・ベル親分とサックス奏者のデニス・トーマスにとっては遺作となったが、バレワ・ムハマド(あの?)が共作してリード歌唱も担うポジティヴな"Pursuit Of Happi ness"を筆頭に洗練された楽曲が揃っている。ファンクにディスコ、ラテンまで、鮮やかなホーンとシンボリックなベースが織り成すキャッチーな楽しさは余裕で健在!
bounce (C)出嶌孝次