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Celebrate! 1980
Album · by Kool & the Gang ↗ View artist

Celebrate!

The album Celebrate!, released by Kool & the Gang in September 1980, marked a key moment for the band. The recording sessions took place between January and July of that same year at the House of Music studios, located in West Orange, New Jersey. This work, which straddles disco and smooth soul, was produced by the band itself along with Eumir Deodato, and became their twelfth studio album. The overall sound that emerges from Celebrate! evokes a sense of opulence and fluidity, with modern and precise dance rhythms that create a light and accessible atmosphere.

Year
1980
Songs
8
Duration
35 min 16 seg
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About the album

Celebrate!, according to DoReSol

From this album came the song that perhaps best defines Kool & the Gang: "Celebration". This track not only reached the top spot on the R&B charts in the United States but also positioned itself at number ten on the Billboard 200. More than four decades after its release, it remains a very popular song. The critical reception of the time offered different perspectives; some, like Dennis Hunt of the Los Angeles Times, described it as "the band's mostly excellent new album." Others, like Robert Christgau of The Village Voice, noted the group's ability to adapt to the disco sound profitably, albeit with a critical view on the evolution of their funk. Amy Hanson of AllMusic, for her part, perceived Celebrate! as the end of an era, where the band moved away from its funk roots towards more polished soul, but recognized it as a distinguished way to close that cycle.

Discography

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