THE BEST OF KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND (RHINO, U.S.)
Release Date: 1989
CD Availability: In practically every store in the U.S.; or just borrow it from your neighbor
Becky Rating: 8.5 suns (out of 10)

ALMOST EVERYONE'S FAVORITE

Chances are, if someone in the United States owns only one KC and the Sunshine Band cd, this is it. The first KC best-of to be released in the United States, it contains all the "biggies," a few great lesser hits, and some filler.

Reviewing a greatest hits CD for any artist requires a different set of criteria than reviewing a studio album of new material or a live release.  You can't so much discuss the music (it's already been released!) as the choice of songs, the songs that were left off, the "new" songs that usually pad out these CDs, the packaging, the liner notes, and even the pricing. Often times, the artist has little or no control over such releases. The record company decides when, where, and how to put out greatest hits packages.

Let's look at The Best of KC and the Sunshine Band under these terms, then. Any KC greatest hits release worth its price includes all of "the biggies:" the five pop Number 1 hits "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way I Like It," "Shake Your Booty," "I'm Your Boogie Man" and "Please Don't Go;" the R&B Number 1 hit "Keep It Comin' Love;" and the Saturday Night Fever track "Boogie Shoes." All of these are present here. This is also one of the few CDs to contain KC's 1984 solo hit "Give It Up."

The other songs are for the most part well chosen. The two early releases "Sound Your Funky Horn" and "Queen of Clubs" are included, along with the minor hits "I Like to Do It," "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" and "Do You Wanna Go Party." A happy touch is added with the Sound of Sunshine track "Shotgun Shuffle."

Rhino then adds two filler songs, both written and recorded by KC in 1980. "All I Want" and "Let's Go Rock and Roll" are sung in an odd falsetto reminiscent of the voice Mick Jagger used on "Miss You" and "Emotional Rescue." It's not the normal voice we associate with KC, and both songs are lacking the horns and percussion we expect to hear from the Sunshine Band. Personally, I would not have chosen these songs for a basic KC best-of. I would have substituted "It's the Same Old Song" and "Blow Your Whistle" to get a more complete picture of the band's output.

The Best of KC and the Sunshine Band is by no means comprehensive, but it is a good CD for newcomers to the band, or for people who just want to remember the songs they heard on the radio in the '70s.

(c) 2002 Becky Banfield for Dos Gardenias Productions