This compilation is for connoisseurs. The Gang are best known in Britain for their amiable post-disco '80s hits topped by James "JT" Taylor's vocals. The best of these ("Get Down On It", wedding/barmitzvah staple "Celebration") appear here; the worst ("Joanna", "Cherish") thankfully don't. The two discs have been themed separately: CD 1 ("Wild"), focusing on their '70s funk heyday, is uncompromising; check the overlapping voices on "Hollywood Swinging" or the freeform sax throughout. On CD 2 ("Peaceful") we get blissful, meditative soundscapes such as the much-sampled "Summer Madness". On tracks like "Wild And Peaceful", the ethereality places them closer to the Cocteau Twins than James Brown.
This compilation is for connoisseurs. The Gang are best known in Britain for their amiable post-disco ’80s hits topped by James “JT” Taylor’s vocals. The best of these (“Get Down On It”, wedding/barmitzvah staple “Celebration”) appear here; the worst (“Joanna”, “Cherish”) thankfully don’t. The two discs have been themed separately: CD 1 (“Wild”), focusing on their ’70s funk heyday, is uncompromising; check the overlapping voices on “Hollywood Swinging” or the freeform sax throughout. On CD 2 (“Peaceful”) we get blissful, meditative soundscapes such as the much-sampled “Summer Madness”. On tracks like “Wild And Peaceful”, the ethereality places them closer to the Cocteau Twins than James Brown.
