For those unaware, it’s time to make it funky! Kool and the Gang do that and much more on Live at P.J.’s, a freewheeling concert album that both preceded the resurgent soul-jazz movement by decades and demonstrated the boundless diversity, virtuosic skill, arrangement chops, and contagious energy of a band that over the course of its career refused to be hemmed in to any particular style or characteristic. Filled with then-new compositions, this wordless 1971 set comes on like one long, magnetic, ever-shifting groove. And it’s never been better.

Sourced from the original analog master tapes, strictly limited to 2,000 numbered copies, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 33RPM LP presents the incalculably influential record in audiophile sound for the very first time. Compared to prior editions, Live at P.J.’s plays with deeper, tauter bass, enhanced definition, and more realistic presence. Everything from the brassiness of the horns to the snap of the snare to the rattle of the congas comes across in full-range perspective.

This collectible version of the monster LP also exhibits a combination of clarity, solidity, and imaging that helps bring to light every note Kool and the Gang committed to tape that late May 1971 Saturday night at a show that kicked off at 10:45 local time and came amidst another of the group’s busy tour schedules.

Though augmented with strings later in the studio, the core of Live at P.J.’s remains what the septet of Robert “Kool” Bell, saxophonist Ronald Bell, drummer George Brown, guitarist Claydes Smith, trumpeter Robert Mickens, and multi-instrumentalists Dennis Thomas and Ricky West delivered onstage.

Side One:
1. N.T.
2. Ricksonata
3. Sombrero Sam
4. Ronnie’s Groove

Side Two:
5. Ike’s Mood
6. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling
7. Lucky for Me
8. Dujii

As I think we are all more than well aware by now, Kool and the Gang is a legendary American funk band that achieved peak popularity in the 70’s and had a massive resurgence in the 80’s. Before this LP even arrived, last week I had decided to listen to all of their 70’s material, as well as some of their 80’s hits, as the sun was out and I felt I had neglected the band’s output before their 80’s chart domination.

In truth, Kool & the Gang is one of the most quintessential funk bands to me, in a lot of ways. They don’t necessarily delve into genres like soul, or rock as much as others, so I’d say that they just manage to slide in wherever the song fit, and always with a clean soulful funk sound. A great first listen if you’re new to the genre, for sure.

While all of their albums are good, I have to say (as we are concentrating on this new MoFi release of their second live 70’s show today) that their “Live at the Sex Machine” album (also released in 1971) definitely sounds less plumped up, less percussion driven than this sophomore live recording at PJ’s. Whilst the horns centered on funk do their job, it wasn’t (to my ear) as tight of a horn section as I was hoping to hear.

But then a few months later and they released Live at P.J.’s and, possibly remarkable, the sound had become more rounded, their horn section had stepped up to the plate, and they were now (as a band whole) coming into their own.

Recorded at P.J.’s, a popular nightclub and music venue in West Hollywood, California, that operated from 1961 to 1973, and unbeknownst to the audience, or even to Kool & the Gang, their rendition of N.T. within this very same set would prove to be one of the most legendary samples of all time, what they brought forth within this 11 song set is an thoroughly entertaining listen from start to finish.

They even covered The Righteous Brothers’ You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling, a song that had only come out but 7 years prior and so to hear them give their own impassioned, soul-infused performance of it here is like honey to the bee. OK, sure, Kool & the Gang may have achieved bigger commercial success in the late 70’s and throughout the 80’s when they adopted a more sleek, pop-radio-friendly sound, but Live at P.J.’s remains the band’s strongest live output, capturing them at the top of their 70’s game.

The Record That Preceded the Soul-Jazz Movement: Kool and the Gang’s Funky Live at P.J.’s Thrills with Boundless Diversity, Virtuosic Interplay, and Contagious Grooves.

Experience the Exhilarating 1971 Album in Audiophile Sound for the First Time: Strictly Limited to 2,000 Numbered Copies, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 33RPM LP Plays with Exceptional Definition and Clarity.

1/4” / 15 IPS analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe.

Official Purchase Link