Light of Worlds

Light of Worlds
Studio album by Kool and the Gang
Released September 1974
Recorded 1973–1974
Media Sound Studios
(New York, New York)
Genre Funk, soul, jazz
Length 36:06
Label De-Lite
DEP-2014
Producer K. & G. Productions
Kool and the Gang chronology
Wild and Peaceful
(1973)
Light of Worlds
(1974)
Spirit of the Boogie
(1975)
Reissue cover
Alternative Cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Rolling Stone(favorable)[1]
Rolling Stone[2]
Yahoo! Music(favorable)[3]

Light of Worlds is the fifth studio album by the American R&B group Kool & the Gang. Released in 1974, it was later remastered by Polygram and was a second success for the band, reaching number 16 in the R&B Charts and number 63 in the Pop Charts. It was a landmark in the funk/jazz fusion genre of the 1970s.

Light of Worlds is regarded as Kool & the Gang's most spiritual and sophisticated work, produced in the wake of the success of their previous album, Wild and Peaceful. While it was their seventh album of original material, the Gang considered Light of the Worlds their ninth LP (counting two compilations), and therefore consciously chose nine songs for the album to represent the nine planets in the solar system. The album contains rock-inspired funk set to jazz-informed playing with afrobeat influences and a tinge of analogue synthesizing.

"Summer Madness" is considered to be the album's highlight, incorporating smooth melodies and a synthesizer. It was later released as a single, with a follow up titled "Winter Sadness" to the Gang's Spirit of the Boogie a year later. A remake of "Summer Madness" was released on the Gang's 1993 album Unite titled "WKOOL/Summer".

Track listing

Side one
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Street Corner Symphony"  Kool & the Gang, Bayyan 4:32
2. "Fruitman"  Kool & the Gang, Westfield 5:19
3. "Rhyme Tyme People"  Kool & the Gang, Saunders, Thomas 3:19
4. "Light of Worlds"  Kool & the Gang, Smith 4:21
Side two
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Whiting H. & G."  Kool & the Gang, Bayyan 3:17
2. "You Don't Have to Change"  Kool & the Gang, Mickens 2:39
3. "Higher Plane"  Kool & the Gang, Bayyan 4:57
4. "Summer Madness"  Kool & the Gang, Mickens, Taylor 4:16
5. "Here After"  Kool & the Gang, Bayyan 2:54

Singles

Song R&B Charts Pop Charts
"Higher Plane" No.1 No.37
"Rhyme Tyme People" No.3 No.63
"Summer Madness" No.36 No.35

Personnel

Additional personnel

Use of "Summer Madness"

From this album, the song "Summer Madness" has been used in various features, such as:

Notes

  1. Palmer, Bob. Review: Light of Worlds. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2009-07-19.
  2. Hoard, Christian. "Review: Light of Worlds". Rolling Stone: 464. November 2, 2004.
  3. Leroy, Dan. Review: Light of Worlds. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved on 2009-07-19.

References

External links

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