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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stylish, very influential, amongst the best, worth the name!, 7 Jan 2005
Without doubt, I would place Chic amongst my all-time favourite bands, and not only that, amongst the most talented and most influential bands ever to have graced pop music, definitely amongst the likes of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin et alia. Certainly having discovered them a year or so ago(I am only 20!), I have yet to get tired of their songs, and through having heard their stuff done by other artists like Sister Sledge ("We Are Family", "Lost in Music", "He's the Greatest Dancer"), Diana Ross ("Upside Down") and Carly Simon ("Why"), I cannot help think that Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards are on par with Lennon and McCartney, Bacharach and David, and Elton John and Bernie Taupin as great songwriting partners.This album, for the neutral(for the Chic conoisseur, go for "C'est Chic" or "Risqué", their best albums), encapsulates why the group were brilliant, and would have been amazing to have seen live. Especially Nile Rodgers (guitar), Bernard Edwards (bass) and Tony Thompson (drums), they were definitely what defined the band. Quite frankly, whilst the female singers in Chic are very good, the musicians steal the show... which highlights how good Thompson, Rodgers and Edwards were. Thompson's pulsating rhythms, Rodgers' riffs, and Edwards mean basslines made them a phenomenal band musically, and certainly, I have yet to come up with anyone who could have matched or who can match Edwards on bass. Not even Flea from Chilis. Any suggestions? Okay, at their peak, they were a "disco" band, but they could certainly do rock too, as proved by their later contributions(e.g. work with David Bowie, Power Station, Duran Duran, Robert Palmer etc). In fact, if you take away the lush orchestration that gave the impression of effortless elegance, they would have been a very hard rock band. However, they DID define disco, and songs like "Le Freak", "I Want Your Love" and "Good Times" will always stick in people's minds as feel good songs that you strut and dance to. As well as songs that you can sit back, and just admire the handiwork of Rodgers, Edwards and Thompson. This is a CD that I would definitely recommend for anyone's collection, as all the songs are just brilliant, and show why their music has influenced so many artists, from rock(Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" was inspired by "Good Times") to rap ("Rapper's Delight", the first major rap song to hit charts worldwide, sampled the bass and guitar from "Good Times"). Even the lesser known songs you will recognise: "Chic Cheer" was sampled in a recent hit, and "Soup for One" in Modjo's hit song "Lady(Hear Me Tonight)". Overall, a fantastic set that has not dated whatsoever.
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