KC And The Sunshine Band - KC & the Sunshine Band, Pt. 3... and More (2004)

When the original LP version of Part 3 came out in 1976, it received more than its share of negative reviews from rock critics. As they saw it, KC's funk/soul/disco was exactly the type of mindless, hedonistic escapism that punk rock was rebelling against. But the critics who lambasted KC missed out on the most important element of all: feeling. Gems like "Shake Your Booty," "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" and "I Like to Do It" may not have either Marvin Gaye's sociopolitical bite or Earth, Wind & Fire's spirituality, but they have a wealth of soul and boast infectious grooves that simply won't quit. Those grooves held up well over time, and by the time Rhino reissued Part 3 as Part 3...And More in 1995, many of its selections had been sampled extensively by one hip-hopper after another, long after KC's name had disappeared from the charts. In addition to containing the original album in its entirety, this generous CD offers over 20 minutes' worth of bonus tracks (most of which are songs that KC recorded as a solo artist in the early 1980s). The solo material is strong, and it demonstrates that while KC wasn't nearly as popular in 1981 as he had been from 1975-78, he could still be relentlessly funky.