KC & The Sunshine Band (1974) Do It Good (BBR 2012 Expanded)

 Do It Good is the debut album by the American funk and disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. Produced by Richard Finch, it was released in 1974 on the TK label. 

 

Do It Good had little mainstream impact in the United States, despite catchy tracks like "Sound Your Funky Horn". The album was focused towards upbeat funk, which would later turn into disco.

After the song "Queen of Clubs" became a hit, the album was re-issued in 1978 with the title Queen of Clubs. The record had a new cover that featured a playing card with the Queen of Clubs on the front (the disc label still gave the album title as Do It Good).

Record World said of "Queen of Clubs" that "the sound is fuller than on recent K.C. hits with an uptempo Motown feel."^[3]

The album was remastered and reissued with bonus tracks in 2012 by Big Break Records. 

 Over the years, there have been many American artists who became well-known in England before becoming well-known in their own country. A perfect example is KC & the Sunshine Band, whose first album, Do It Good, was a major hit in Great Britain but only a minor hit in the United States. It wasn't until the 1975 smashes "Get Down Tonight" and "That's the Way (I Like It)" that KC & the Sunshine Band enjoyed a major commercial breakthrough in their own country; in England, they hit big in 1973 with "Sound Your Funky Horn." This LP contains all of the exuberant singles that put them on the map in the U.K., including "Sound Your Funky Horn," "Blow Your Whistle," "I'm a Pushover," and "Queen of Clubs" (which made it to number 25 on Billboard's R&B singles chart but was a Top Ten hit in England). You won't hear a lot of sociopolitical commentary on Do It Good, although R&B message songs were still quite popular when this album was recorded in 1973 and 1974. Unlike Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, and Marvin Gaye, KC & the Sunshine Band was never about trying to save the world -- this promising debut made it clear that their forte was pure, unapologetic, escapist party music. Do It Good isn't quite as essential as subsequent efforts like 1975's KC & the Sunshine Band or 1976's Part 3, but the record is exciting more often than not and is easily recommended to disco and funk enthusiasts.