KC and the Sunshine Band...(help?!)

Great thread about a great group. A couple of years ago I caught the episode of Unsung about KC. Worth watching, though possibly similar topics to the VH1 special. But I haven't seen that one.

Give It Up is one of the best early 80s pop/soul singles, which is high praise - that was pretty much the height of of that sub-genre's era.

That may have been true circa the first LP, but I'd bet they were okay with the moniker in 1976-77 - or most likely, until disco became a bad word at the end of the 70s. After that, nobody wanted to be called disco - it implied music of a fluffier variety, and an empty fad.

 

I haven't seen the Unsung episode. Both that and the VH1 BTM show seem to be unavailable to watch now, I assume for music-rights reasons. I hope they get that cleared up.

KC has fully accepted the "disco" label in recent years, I guess because it makes financial sense to do so. He's even headlining "The Ultimate Disco Cruise" later this year (I've seen the TV ads). But I think even during disco's heyday in the mid-late 70s, he resented the term bitterly--he talks about that a bit here (about 31 minutes in):

 

Just found this newly-uploaded KC video on YouTube - I think it's the earliest live performance I've seen:
KC & The Sunshine Band • Sound Your Funky Horn • TOTP 1974

 

And at the risk of violating DR numbers I found a pretty good remix by Rhino of KCSB hits that has a better more howling bass line especially with that live song of "I Get Lifted". The straight version off the original second album is pretty thin.

But I'm seriosly considering getting this Rhino remix just for the beefier bass sound...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00122N16A/ref=ap_ws_tlw_alb6

What the heck! It's disco or EDM anyway.

Oh, I forgot to add I played trombone in a cover band of KCSB songs called Viva in high school.

 

Where is the live version of "I Get Lifted"? The sample from that remix comp sounds like the studio version.

Let me know how you like that remix comp if you decide to get it--- I actually spotted a used copy of it the other day and considered getting it, although I'm usually not a fan of remixes.

That's great about the KC cover band! How long ago was that? Do you still play?

 

The live version "I Get Lifted" is the YouTube vid in post #43 of this thread. There's no Amazon sample that's from the VH1 or Best Of of this song that has the howling bass sound as in that YouTube vid. The only one I could find was of the 2004 remaster which has a thin or much quieter sounding bass...

https://www.amazon.com/KC-Sunshine-Band/dp/B00I8SFQRS/ref=ntt_mus_dp_dpt_3

That bass sounds thin to me compared to the Remix version listening on quality Sony Studio Monitor headphones. I just bought the remix CD at $7 used that includes shipping and tax.

That was back in '76 in Poteet, Texas. The Viva band entered our high school sponsored talent contest playing KCSB and some Boz Scaggs. Can't remember if we won.It was short lived and I no longer play music.

 

That remix cd is excellent. I normally dislike later remixes, but these are well done. Just be aware that the cd is a continuous mix, with each song blending into the next.

 

Sorry, I misunderstood-- I posted that "i get lifted" vid.

I just ordered that remix CD too, also a used copy, from eBay. Hopefully it's in decent shape. I normally don't like remixes either (e.g. the Tom Moulton/Rick Finch remix bonus tracks from the original '94 album CDs), but this CD gets some good reviews.

Thanks for the recommendations!

 

Thanks for the warning, but I'm used to that. Back in the early 2000's picked up two EDM steals at a book store bone pile for a $1 each brand new still in the factory shrink wrap. All the songs play right after each other. I still play them today because they sound so damn good.

 

KC and the Sunshine Band's style of disco with the wide stereo reverb, clear sounding brass and big thumping bass beat is made to sound big and loud like it sounded on the dance floor when I heard it played at my high school prom.

Whenever I heard them on AM or FM radio in constant rotation it was kinda' a let down with a lot of energy sapped out of it. EDM has a lot of energy if it's not too techno. KCSB's R&B groove balances and grounds the effect aesthetically. I really can't dance to techno or electronica. There's no soul in it unlike KCSB.

 

I just got the remix CD in the mail yesterday. It's the first dance-remix album I've ever owned, as I generally don't like latter-day remixes either, but, I actually like it! Not as a replacement for the original tracks obviously, but just as a different way to listen to them. It would be good for a party, which I guess is what albums like this are geared for. I like that the songs aren't in chronological order. "Shotgun Shuffle" and "I'm A Pushover" were kind of surprising choices for this collection!

Also, I found it kind of amusing that the only photo inside the leaflet is of the now-estranged, ex-band member Rick Finch!

 

Just got the remix several days ago and the VH1 compilation CD last week.

Was curious what you thought of the opening kick drum/bass line of track 4's "I Get Lifted" on the remix? On my vintage Sansui system it caught me so by surprise that I gave out a "Whoop! OH YEAH!". Didn't need a subwoofer for my '84 Norman Lab two way big box speakers. That bass line is much more prominent and mean sounding than what I heard on my Sony headphones.

And believe it or not these two CD's are my first KCSB album's I've bought. Back in the '70's I couldn't afford the vinyl or cassette being a Junior in high school, so this is the first time I've heard " I Get Lifted" which never played on radio where I lived in Texas.

I just played the entire remix CD on my Sansui system in my living room yesterday as I posted at SHF in my bedroom and the sound is quite balanced. I thought it was going to be too EDM pulsing synth bass dominant throughout and turns out it made for good background music in my apartment.

Was trying to figure out why KCSB music though very repetitive like EDM still holds up to most EDM stuff most of which sounds like listening to a metronome. And I think it's because most of KC's music comes across more as a celebratory sort of battle cry anthem like Queen's "We Are The Champions".

 

The opening of the remixed "i get lifted" is very different from the original -- sounds like Cabrera may have taken some liberties and added some stuff that wasn't there, as opposed to just pumping up samples of what was there originally -- hard to tell. But yeah, it's pretty jarring if you're not expecting it!

I have a question for you about the VH1 collection (I think I already know the answer, but I'm gonna ask anyway), the next time you listen to Boogie Shoes, pay attention to the "yeah!" at the very end--- does it fade out sort of abruptly? I don't have that collection but I have 2 other of the Rhino "best of" collections, and they both fade at the end which I find odd. I'm most familiar with the Saturday Night Fever version which doesn't fade at the end:

 

Yes, it does fade out similar to the YouTube vid but with more of the reverb fading out than the vocal and another thing different from the YT vid is the VH1 version is slightly higher pitched but you'ld have to A/B them to really notice it.

What I'm hearing on the opening bass line in the "I Get Lifted" remix is synth bass overdub that adds a grace note skip beat. Where the VH1 version goes on the one... Bum-Bump..234...Bum-Bump, the remix goes Buh-Dum BUMP...234...Buh-Dum BUMP with the remix having a huge bottom end which I prefer over the VH1 version.

 

Sorry--- maybe I didn't phrase that clearly. In the "fever" vid I posted above, the vocal doesn't fade at the end (the reverb kind of just trails off), so I was using that as the example. On all the Rhino CD versions I've heard so far, the vocal does fade, so I was wondering if the VH1 did as well (?) And yeah, the pitch also seems to be off on all the Rhino versions for some reason.

This is the version that does fade (again, Rhino):

 

Yes, that's what I said about the vid. The voice is heard trailing off gradually from the reverb echo where as the VH1 fades at the same rate of speed but cuts off more of the echo in the reverb. KC is not singing "YEAH" as a sustained note. It naturally ends on both versions. It's just the YT vid lets it hang a bit through the reverb echo.

Does this bother you? Because to me it seems to be a pretty minor issue.

But to confirm the 2004 remaster fade is on the VH1.

 

Thanks, that's what I figured. It puzzles me more than anything-- I know (& prefer) the Saturday Night Fever version well because it's the version I grew up with, so I thought it was odd when I heard it fade kind of abruptly on the Rhino versions (I noticed the pitch difference as well). I have the version I like-- so no problem.

Have you discovered any new songs you like on the Remix and VH1 CDs that you were previously unfamiliar with (other than "i get lifted")? I'm amazed at how many great KC songs I had never heard before, having just bought some of his albums for the first time in 2019.

 

Two songs I'm hearing for the first time from the VH1 disc is "Do You Want To Party" for its really beefy kick drum/bass line and funky attitude. The other is "All I Want" which blew my mind that Casey and Finch could write such a poignant cinematic style song.

That one song seemed to raise the bar on the aesthetics of the entire compilation as a major contrast to the funk driven party style of dance music. It's better than "Please Don't Go".

It would be perfect used in a movie soundtrack.

 

Yup, I agree 100%! "All I Want" really stands out- it's a gorgeous song. I love the fuzz guitar on it. That was actually a bonus track on their first "hits" LP. It's very underrated and I'm glad it's included on so many compilations.

"Do You Want To Go Party" is great. I think the VH1 comp has the album version with the party noises at the beginning and end (?) Very funny.

 

A few years ago I had the pleasure of seeing the simple and fun K.C. & The Sunshine Band in Dublin, Ohio, for their July 4th concert/fireworks event. I was always one of those lukewarm fans who knows the hits and a few of their album cuts, until I bought the following UK 2-CD set, which sounds great and allowed me to hear far more than I had in the past. This is a worthy purchase if you are a big enough fan of the band.

KC And The Sunshine Band* - The TK Years

Back to that concert, but I still have to ask what idiot scheduled Joan Jett as the opener to K.C., because that was almost like putting The Boomtown Rats with Elton John.

 

By the way, while we are on the topic, don't forget about this ...

 

Yeah, that's kind of how I was until I delved into the full albums. I never gave any thought to the idea that there might be something more than the hits I was familiar with. I didn't even know any of the album cuts. I have that TK set, btw, it's nice having all 5 albums on 2 CDs!

Joan Jett does seem like an odd choice, but I guess on the 4th of July, it's a festival-type environment so you're more likely to see a pairing like that. Normally you'd expect him to be billed with a disco act like Sister Sledge.

Which reminds me, I wonder if the coronavirus is putting a crimp in KC's "disco cruise"?
I keep seeing this ad on TV:

 

I haven't been able to find the full movie anywhere-- only that trailer.

 

Yeah, looks like nobody has picked it up for release on DVD or Blu-Ray yet? This happens to many music related documentaries, due to music licensing issues. With Henry Stone long gone and with his estate having no rights to the TK library, that could be the hold up?

 

Yeah, odd. You think you'd at least see it available on Netflix or Xfinity, or something. Must be a music-rights issue, which is also why the "Behind The Music" and "Unsung" docs have disappeared, I assume.