Search - Carl Douglas :: Kung Fu Fighting: Best of

Actually, a pretty bumpin' sweet & funky soul album...

Eddie Landsberg | Tokyo, Japan | 06/09/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just when the disco craze was about to explode, soul singer Carl Douglas just happened to be at the right place at the right time... and within a matter of weeks, the Jamaican born singer's kichey homage to those old Saturday afternoon kung-fu flicks we grew up watching on UHF became a national fad... and as is the case with almost all fads, within a few years, something no one would admit to having anything to do with... "Oh me... I never owned a leisure suit... who me ? I never owned a pet rock," - - Its amazing when you think how many of those things sold, when few people will admit to ever having one... The truth however is, if you listen to this album with a fresh ear, what you hear is a Sound of Philly type soul album with some great soul grooves... some mellow, others very bumping (take Witchfinder General for example.) If you give a serious listen, especially to sweet soul cuts like I Want To Give You My Everything, it becomes more and more difficult to lump Carl Douglas's music in the category of Disco schmaltz... once you can see past the smoke, its great soul music, pure and simple. If you're a lover of '70s soul, you'll love this album. If you're embaressed by it, well of course, you're going to want to put it down... its that plain and simple... but I'm not ashamed to owning several copies of Kung Fu fighting (one sealed, the other very played down to the groove, and of course this CD compilation.)Well gotta run... time to Dance The Kung Fu !"