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The Force
The Force
Studio album by Kool & the Gang
Released	December 1977
Studio	De-Lite, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genre	Funk
Length	35:47
Label	De-Lite
Producer	Kool and the Gang
Kool & the Gang chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[2]
The New Rolling Stone Record Guide	^[3]

The Force is the ninth studio album by the funk band Kool & the Gang, released in 1977 on De-Lite Records. The album peaked at No. 33 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.^[4]^[5]

Critical reception

The Globe and Mail wrote that "it's strange that to this day, black soul musicians are trying to say it better than Sly [Stone] did a decade ago and failing miserably."^[6] The Bay State Banner wrote that the album "lacked the excellent jive vocals, hot horn lines and boogie beat arrangements Kool made famous."^[7]

Singles

Slick Superchick peaked at No. 19 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[8]

Track listing

Side 1
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"A Place in Space"	Ronald Bell, Kool & the Gang	4:49
2.	"Slick Superchick"	George Brown, Kool & the Gang	4:05
3.	"Just Be True"	Ronald Bell, Kool & the Gang	4:21
4.	"The Force"	Ronald Bell, Kool & the Gang	4:26

Side 2
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Mighty, Mighty High"	Ronald Bell, Kool & the Gang	6:51
2.	"Oasis"	Ronald Bell, Kool & the Gang	6:06
3.	"Life's a Song"	Claydes Smith, Kool & the Gang	2:58
4.	"Free"	Ronald Bell, Kool & the Gang	2:11

Personnel

Ronald Bell – vocals, keyboards, clavinet, ARP synthesizer, percussion, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, alto flute
Kevin Lassiter – vocals, keyboards, clavinet, Minimoog, percussion
George Brown – vocals, keyboards, clavinet, drums, percussion
Dennis Thomas – vocals, keyboards, congas, percussion, alto saxophone
Claydes Smith – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, percussion
Robert "Kool" Bell – vocals, bass guitar, percussion
Otha Nash – vocals, valve and slide trombones, tuba, percussion
Robert Mickens – vocals, trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion

Additional Personnel

Jimmy J. Jordan – special effects
Donald Boyce – voice (1, 4)
Cynthia Huggins – lead vocals (6)
Female vocals – Renee Connel, Cynthia Huggins, Joan Motley and Beverly Owens
Arthur Capehart – trumpet (7)
Strings on 6 & 7 – MFSB; arranged by John Davis

Production

Producer – K&G Productions
Arrangements – Kool and The Gang
Co-Producer – George Brown
Executive Producers – Ronald Bell and Claydes Smith
Engineers – Terry Rosiello and Nils Salminen
Mixing – Ronald Bell, Terry Rosiello and Nils Salminen.
Recorded at De-Lite Recorded Sound Studio (Philadelphia, PA).
Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
Cover Painting – DeEs Schwertberger

Charts

Chart (1977)	Peak position
US Billboard Top Soul Albums	33
US Billboard 200	142

References

^ Hamilton, Andrew. "Kool & the Gang: The Force" at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 8.
^ The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Random House. 1983. p. 283.
^ Kool & the Gang: The Force. De-Lite Records. 1977.
^ "Kool & the Gang: Top Soul Albums". Billboard.
^ McGrath, Paul (5 Apr 1978). "Kool and the Gang". The Globe and Mail. p. F2.
^ Wynn, Ron (1 Nov 1979). "Shades of Blue". Bay State Banner. p. 19.
^ "Kool & the Gang - Hot Soul Songs". Billboard.