KC and the Sunshine Band

by Alex HendersonThis self-titled effort wasn't the Florida band's first album (they'd recorded an underrated album in 1973 titled Do It Good), but it was the first K.C. collection to soar to the top of the charts. Fueled by such addictive funk hits as "That's the Way (I Like It)" and "Get Down Tonight," the album established K.C. as one of the top stars of the disco era. But while K.C. was labeled a disco artist, the truth is that many of these slick yet gritty songs have more in common with the Ohio Players than Silver Convention or Donna Summer. When Rhino reissued this album on CD in 1995 as KC and the Sunshine Band...And More, the company generously included several early K.C. smokers (including "I'm a Pushover") from Do It Good as bonus tracks. The invigorating material proves that even before the outfit hit big, its distinctive sound had been established.