In the wake of the tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of four of their bandmates and
soul
legend
Otis Redding
, trumpeter
Ben Cauley
and bassist
James Alexander
formed a new edition of
the Bar-Kays
to cut
Gotta Groove
, a celebration of life and music that ranks among the funkiest, hardest-driving LPs ever released under the
Stax
aegis. The record's immense debt to
Sly & the Family Stone
is repaid via the two-part
"Don't Stop Dancing (To the Music),"
which galvanizes
' trademark deep-fried
grooves with an infusion of psychedelia. Even further out is the blistering
"Street Walker,"
with its shrieking guitar licks and organ fills. But most of all
serves as a showcase for the ferocious drumming of
Roy Cunningham
and
Willie Hall
, whose relentlessly funky rhythms push cuts like
"Humpin'"
"Jiving 'Round"
well past their somewhat pedestrian melodies -- little wonder the album's proven a fecund source of samples for acts including
Cypress Hill
,
Ice Cube
, and
GZA
. ~ Jason Ankeny