These funk pioneers came together as session players in the late '60's L.A. hotbed, among other jobs serving as backing band for Bill Cosby's foray in soul as part of his stage act. The talented group proved to have a great, danceable groove going on, able to fill floors with improvised jams and killer hooks. Soon they were editing actual hit singles out of those live shows, starting with 1969's Do Your Thing. Wright was the producer, singer on the funky stuff, and band leader, so his name went to the top of the billing. For the smoother fare, drummer James Gadson handled the vocals, best heard on the hit Love Land from 1970 that deserves to be better remembered.
It was the next song that became their best-known cut, Express Yourself, another adaption of the Do Your Thing theme, the band's signature. If it doesn't leap to mind, you'd recognize bits from the dozens of tracks that have sampled the break beats over the years, and all the group's material from those years includes ridiculously infectious rhythms. Although they just had three years of core existence, this best-of easily fills up an hour without flagging. Most surprisingly, there are two recent cuts from Wright from an upcoming album that are seriously strong, including the return of that ultimate groove in Remember That Thing.
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