Kool & the Gang - Unite [2LP Blue & Red]

Kool & the Gang's Unite comes back as a limited, remastered double LP on blue and red vinyl, a 1992 album that found the funk veterans settling into smooth, grown-up R&B.

Nearly three decades after Robert "Kool" Bell and his brother Ronald first started playing together in Jersey City, the band had long since proved itself in jazz-funk, disco and pop. Unite leans into the sound of early-1990s R&B, mixing romantic ballads and mid-tempo grooves with polished arrangements and short interludes that tie the record together across four sides.

(Jump Up on the) Rhythm and Ride opens the record with an open invitation to the dance floor, setting a feel-good tone. Better Late Than Never and My Search Is Over show off the album's blend of funk, soul and feeling, all silky vocals and supple grooves, while Show Us the Way to Love brings a generous, hopeful spirit to the final side.

The emphasis here is on mood and melody rather than raw funk power, with keyboards and layered harmonies doing much of the heavy lifting. It is a side of the band that many fans have never explored.

Collectors chasing the deeper corners of the Kool & the Gang story will find this colourful reissue an inviting way in.