Gap Band:Ultimate Collection

When lead singer Charlie Wilson reflects back on the hits that made the Gap Band one of few bands to successfully carry funk's torch into the early ’80s, he says, “They have meat and potatoes to them.” Clearly, lots of folks found these songs filling as well. Even before Wilson’s latest career renaissance, you were never far away from the Gap Band’s influence, either because some new rapper was sampling “Outstanding,” or because “You Dropped A Bomb On Me” was getting more airplay on today’s “Retro Lunch” shows and “Jammin’ Oldies” stations than it got from pop radio in 1982. Even though the group’s fortunes ping-ponged throughout the years, there has never been a moment when “Yearning For Your Love” sounded any less pristine or relevant than it did two decades ago. Brothers Charlie, Ronnie and Robert Wilson gave funk both its most aggressive and energetic records and some of its most plaintive. It’s hard to imagine Earth Wind & Fire recording anything as loopy as “Flash Light.” It’s hard to imagine anything as linear as “After The Love Is Gone” coming out of the P-Funk camp. In their ability to span those extremes, the Gappers more resemble the Ohio Players, who could have “Sweet Sticky Thing” and “Love Rollercoaster” on the same album, but the Wilsons created much more of an identifiable public persona than the Players ever managed. They were also among a mere handful of ’70s influenced funk acts – Cameo, Rick James, and Zapp were their most notable company – to hold their own against the advent of hip-hop and the rise of the synthesizer in the next decade.

TRACK LISTING
1.Shake single version
2.Open Up Your Mind (Wide) single version
2.Steppin’ (Out) single version
3.I Don’t Believe You Want To Get Up And Dance (Oops!) single version
3.Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me) single version
4.Yearning For Your Love single version
5.Early In The Morning single version
6.You Dropped A Bomb On Me single version
7.Outstanding single version
8.Party Train single version
9.Beep A Freak original album version edit
10.I Found My Baby original album version edit
11.Going In Circles original album version
12.Big Fun single version
13.Sweeter Than Candy – from Penitentiary III single version
14.I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
15.All Of My Love album version
16.Addicted To Your Love album version
17We Can Make It Alright album version

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