The Hits: Reloaded

Last updated
The Hits: Reloaded
Kool and the Gang - The Hits Reloaded.jpg
Studio album by
Released2004
Genre
Label Edel
Kool & the Gang chronology
Gangland
(2001)
The Hits: Reloaded
(2004)
Still Kool
(2007)
The Hits: Reloaded
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Birmingham Mail Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]

The Hits: Reloaded is a studio album by the band Kool & the Gang issued in 2004 by Edel Records. [3] It contains re-recorded versions of their songs in collaboration with other artists. The LP reached No. 19 on the Swiss albums chart, No. 21 on the UK R&B Albums Chart, No. 26 on both the Italian and German album charts and No. 30 on the French albums chart. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Contents

Three singles were released to promote the album. "Ladies' Night" featuring Atomic Kitten, "Fresh" featuring Liberty X and "Get Down on It" featuring Blue and Lil' Kim.

Critical reception

The Birmingham Mail gave a 3 out of four star rating, saying "The celebrated funksters team up with a dazzling array of stars to cover some of their biggest tunes." [2]

Singles

In 2003, American R&B band Kool & the Gang asked English girl group Atomic Kitten to re-record "Ladies' Night" for their The Hits: Reloaded tribute album. [9] The band subsequently asked them if they could include it on their then-untitled third album which they eventually named after the song in honor of the collaboration following Kool's approval. [9] The re-recording was produced by Khalis Bayyan and Andy Whitmore. Whitmore is credited as a co-producer, while Ash Howes and Martin Harrington served as additional prodcuers. [10] "Ladies Night" was released as the lead single from The Hits: Reloaded and served as the second single from Atomic Kitten's Ladies Night album. [9] The song peaked at number three in Spain, and reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart, outpeaking the original version of the track. [11]

The song debuted and peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Atomic Kitten's first single to not reach the top 5 in over two years. [11] It stayed in the top 40 for eight weeks, three of which were in the top ten. [11] In 2021, the Official Charts Company ranked the song as the band's eight seventh-selling single in the United Kingdom – ahead of previous single "If You Come to Me," making it the biggest-selling single from Ladies Night. [12]

In Spain, "Ladies Night" was Atomic Kitten's only top ten hit peaking at number three; it lasted three weeks in the top ten of the Spanish Singles Chart.[ citation needed ] The song reached the top twenty in Ireland, the Netherlands, Flanders and Denmark, and became a top-40 hit in German-speaking Europe, peaking at number 33 in Germany, number 32 in Austria and number 38 in Switzerland. [5] In Oceania, the song did not do as well as their previous singles. "Ladies Night" was not released in New Zealand, where their previous single "If You Come to Me" had reached the top 10, and it managed to peak at only number 39 in Australia, becoming their last single to reach the top 50 there. [13]

A music video for "Ladies Night" was directed by Cameron Casey. [14] The video begins with many people anxiously crowded around the entrance of a club, trying to get in. Suddenly a pink plasma waves sweeps through the middle of the crowd, from the door, pushing them off to either side. The group head into the Kitten Club, and the crowd follows them in, until only the bouncer is left standing outside. In the well-lit club, the group groove about and sing, a great deal of which is on a pure white discothèque dance floor. They primarily dance in a row, with two rows of men behind them, though occasionally they are straddling the fellows, or performing other dance moves with them.

A second single "Fresh" was re-recorded with English-Irish pop group Liberty X in 2004, to feature on Kool & the Gang's re-recorded greatest hits compilation, The Hits: Reloaded. The new version of the song features Liberty X on vocals, with Kool & the Gang merely playing the instruments. Thus, due to the popularity of this version, it was released as a single in certain European countries on April 14, 2004. Despite its success across Europe, the single was never released in Liberty X's home country, the United Kingdom. Subsequently, Fresh appeared as a bonus track on the Liberty X album Being Somebody in Japan, as well as appearing on certain European editions. At the time of the single's release, the band were in a dispute with their British record label, V2 Records, and thus, it was decided that the single would not be released in the band's home country. The band's version of "Fresh" was produced by band member Tony Lundon, who also went on to produce the band's follow-up hit single, "Song 4 Lovers". Despite this, "Fresh" was regarded as one of the band's best cover versions. The track peaked at number three in Germany, number 12 in France and number 55 in Spain. The music video for the single was recorded in late 2003, and features Liberty X playing to an audience in a club, all supported by mics and surrounded by a crowd of the group's fans. Although the video does not feature a vocal appearance from Kool & The Gang, they appear as guests inside the club, charming a woman who has arrived in search of a man. The video received a small amount of airplay on British music channels, but was often, as is with its upload to the band's official YouTube channel, credited to Liberty X featuring Kool & The Gang, whereas the official release credits the two artists the other way around.

In 2004, British pop group Blue recorded the song "Get Down on It" as a collaboration with Kool & the Gang and released it as the second single from their greatest hits compilation Best of Blue . This version also features American rapper Lil' Kim. Although the song did not chart in Blue's native United Kingdom, it became a moderate hit in mainland Europe, especially in Spain, where it reached number three and spent eight weeks in the top 20.

Track listing

CD Version

No.TitleLength
1."Ladies Night" (featuring Atomic Kitten)3:08
2."Get Down On It" (featuring Blue & Lil' Kim)4:15
3."Fresh" (featuring Liberty X)3:08
4."Cherish" (featuring Ashanti)4:26
5."Joanna" (featuring Blazin' Squad)4:10
6."Too Hot" (featuring Lisa Stansfield)4:30
7."Straight Ahead" (featuring Jamelia)3:30
8."Steppin' Out" (featuring Beverley Knight)4:17
9."Hollywood Swingin'" (featuring Jamiroquai)4:14
10."Summer Madness" (featuring Youssou N'Dour)4:05
11."Jungle Boogie" (featuring Redman)3:23
12."Take My Heart" (featuring Blu Cantrell)4:04
13."Ladies Night" (featuring Sean Paul with Spanner Banner)3:38
14."Cherish" (featuring Natural)4:33
15."Serious" (featuring Xavier Naidoo with Mousse T.)4:30
16."Where Da Boogie At!" (featuring R.O.C with Da Prince Hakim)3:39

2CD Version

CD1

No.TitleLength
1."Ladies Night" (featuring Atomic Kitten)3:08
2."Get Down On It" (featuring Blue & Lil' Kim)4:15
3."Fresh" (featuring Liberty X)3:08
4."Cherish" (featuring Ashanti)4:26
5."Celebration" (featuring Lulu with London Community Gospel Choir)4:13
6."Joanna" (featuring Blazin' Squad)4:10
7."Too Hot" (featuring Lisa Stansfield)4:30
8."Let's Go Dancin' (Ooh La La La)" (featuring Jimmy Cliff with Bounty Killer)4:40
9."Straight Ahead" (featuring Jamelia)3:30
10."Steppin' Out" (featuring Beverley Knight)4:17
11."Hollywood Swingin'" (featuring Jamiroquai)4:14
12."Stressin'" (Kool & The Gang)4:47
13."Jones Vs Jones" (featuring Angie Stone)4:46
14."Summer Madness" (featuring Youssou N'Dour)4:05
15."Cherish" (featuring Natural)4:33

CD2

No.TitleLength
1."Jungle Boogie" (featuring Redman)3:23
2."Funky Stuff" (featuring Big Brovas)3:25
3."Take My Heart" (featuring Blu Cantrell)4:04
4."Ladies Night" (featuring Sean Paul with Spanner Banner)3:38
5."Where Da Boogie At!" (featuring R.O.C with Da Prince Hakim)3:39
6."In The Heart" (featuring D-Side)3:12
7."No Show" (featuring Blackstreet)5:58
8."Bigg Thangs" (featuring Da Prince Hakim)4:09
9."Jazziacs At The Kool Jazz Café" (Kool & The Gang)6:12
10."Jungle In My House" (featuring FM(23) with Rashid)4:06
11."Misled" (featuring Tony Hadley)4:09
12."Tonight" (featuring Indie Gregg)5:25
13."Cherish" (featuring Natural)4:33
14."Serious" (featuring Xavier Naidoo with Mousse T.)4:30

Other versions

The album has also been released in several other configurations under other album titles such as With Kool & the Gang (2013) and Kool & the Gang and Friends! (2016).

Charts

Chart (2004)Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop) [15] 50
France [8] 30
Germany [7] 26
Italy [6] 26
Switzerland (Hitparade) [5] 19
UK R&B Albums [4] 21

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberty X</span> British-Irish music group

Liberty X are an English/Irish pop group originally consisting of Michelle Heaton, Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young. Since 2017, Heaton, Taylor and Young have performed as a girl group trio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kool & the Gang</span> American R&B, soul and funk band

Kool & the Gang is an American R&B, soul, and funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964. Its founding members include brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell aka "Khalis Bayyan", Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, Sir Earl Toon, Woodrow "Woody" Sparrow, and Ricky Westfield. They have undergone numerous changes in personnel and have explored many musical styles throughout their history, including jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, disco, rock, and pop music. The group changed their name several times. Settling on Kool & the Gang, the group signed to De-Lite Records and released their debut album, Kool and the Gang (1969).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atomic Kitten</span> British girl group

Atomic Kitten were an English girl group formed in Liverpool in 1998, whose original lineup comprised Kerry Katona, Liz McClarnon, and Natasha Hamilton. The group was founded by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) members Andy McCluskey and Stuart Kershaw, who served as principal songwriters during Atomic Kitten's early years. The group's debut album Right Now was released in October 2000 and charted at number 39 in the United Kingdom. After five top ten singles, original member Katona quit – four weeks before "Whole Again" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart – and was replaced by former Precious singer Jenny Frost. "Whole Again" became the group's most successful single, staying at number one for four weeks in the UK and six weeks in Germany, and reaching number one in many other territories; in Britain, it was the 13th-best-selling single of the 2000s. The group re-released their debut album, with some tracks re-recorded with Frost's vocals: it peaked at number one in the UK and was certified double platinum after selling over 600,000 copies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tide Is High</span> 1967 single by the Paragons

"The Tide Is High" is a 1967 rocksteady song written by John Holt, originally produced by Duke Reid and performed by the Jamaican group the Paragons, with Holt as lead singer. The song gained international attention in 1980, when a cover version by the American band Blondie became a US and UK number one hit. The song topped the UK Singles Chart again in 2002 with a version by the British girl group Atomic Kitten, while Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall had a minor hit with his interpretation in 2008.

<i>Ladies Night</i> (Atomic Kitten album) 2003 studio album by Atomic Kitten

Ladies Night is the third studio album by English girl group Atomic Kitten. It was released by Innocent Records and Virgin Records on 10 November 2003 in the United Kingdom. Named after the same-titled 1979 song by American band Kool & the Gang, the trio reteamed with producers Ash Howes and Martin Harrington, both of whom had contributed to their previous album Feels So Good (2002), to work with them on the majority of the album, while additional production was provided by Ciaron Bell, Julian Gallagher, and Steve Robson, Richard "Biff" Stannard and The True North Music Company. Written and recorded in a time span of seven months, the band co-wrote on eight songs of the album's standard version, with Jenny Frost and Liz McClarnon each credited as songwriters on three tracks, while Natasha Hamilton co-wrote two.

<i>The Greatest Hits</i> (Atomic Kitten album) 2004 greatest hits album by Atomic Kitten

The Greatest Hits is the first compilation album by the English girl group Atomic Kitten. It was released by Innocent Records and Virgin Records on 5 April 2004 in the United Kingdom, following the announcement of their disbandment. Containing all of the group's chart hits from their first three studio albums Right Now (2000), Feels So Good (2002) and Ladies Night (2003), it reached the top five of the UK Albums Chart and number eight in New Zealand. "Someone like Me," initially recorded for Ladies Night, and "Right Now 2004," a re-recording of their debut single, were released as double single on 29 March 2004.

<i>Being Somebody</i> 2003 studio album by Liberty X

Being Somebody is the second studio album by English-Irish pop vocal group Liberty X. It was released on 3 November 2003 via V2 Records. The album was released a year-and-a-half after their debut release, Thinking It Over. The album peaked at number 12 on the UK Albums Chart, selling around 75,000 copies in its first week of release.

James "J.T." Warren Taylor is an American singer who achieved fame as the lead singer of Kool & the Gang between 1979 and 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celebration (Kool & the Gang song)</span> 1980 single by Kool & the Gang

"Celebration" is a 1980 song by American band Kool & the Gang. Released as the first single from their twelfth album, Celebrate! (1980), it was the band's first and only single to reach No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In 2016, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ladies' Night (song)</span> 1979 single by Kool & the Gang

"Ladies' Night" is a song by American band Kool & the Gang, released as the first single from their eleventh album of the same name (1979). It is a play on the popular use of "Ladies Nights" at bars and clubs that were meant to draw in more female patrons in order to draw in even more male clientele.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Get Down on It</span> 1981 single by Kool & the Gang

"Get Down on It" is a 1981 song by American band Kool & the Gang. It was originally released on their Something Special album in 1981. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atomic Kitten discography</span>

The discography of British girl group Atomic Kitten consists of three studio albums, seven compilation albums, four video albums, and twenty-one singles. The group's debut album, Right Now, was released by Virgin Records in the United Kingdom in October 2000. It reached number thirty-nine on the UK Albums Chart and spawned four top twenty singles; "Right Now", "See Ya", "I Want Your Love" and "Follow Me". The album's sales did not meet the expectations of the label, and the group were to be dropped. However, the group managed to persuade the label to let them release one more single, "Whole Again", which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks and number one in Germany for six weeks. Due to this success, all plans to drop the group were scrapped. The group then released "Eternal Flame", a cover of The Bangles hit, which also reached number one in the UK. Atomic Kitten then re-issued the album Right Now, and it topped the charts in the UK and was certified double Platinum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Last Goodbye (Atomic Kitten song)</span> 2002 single by Atomic Kitten

"The Last Goodbye" is a song by British girl group Atomic Kitten. It was written by Daniel Poku, Espen Lind, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Hallgeir Rustan, and Peter Björklund and recorded by the band for their second album Feels So Good (2002), while production of the song was overseen by Rustan, Eriksen and Hermansen under their under their production moniker Stargate. "The Last Goodbye" is built upon a flute motif and an acoustic guitar loop. Lyrically, the break-up song finds the trio thinking deeply over a relationship with their love interests from whom they parted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">If You Come to Me</span> 2003 single by Atomic Kitten

"If You Come to Me" is a song by British girl group Atomic Kitten. It was written by Julian Gallagher, Martin Harrington, Ash Howes, Sharon Murphy, and Richard "Biff" Stannard for their third studio album, Ladies Night (2003). Production was helmed by Gallagher and Stannard, with Harrington and Howes credited as additional producers. Recording of "If You Come to Me" took place at Stannard's recording studio, Biffco, in Dublin, Ireland. A romantic, soulful uptempo ballad, which the band labeled "classic Atomic Kitten", it talks about a woman's desire to be with her partner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Someone like Me (song)</span> 2004 single by Atomic Kitten

"Someone like Me" is a song by British girl group Atomic Kitten. Released on 29 March 2004 as the third and final single from their third studio album, Ladies Night (2003), the piano-driven track was issued as a double A-side with "Right Now 2004", a remixed version of their debut single, "Right Now". With the group having announced their split prior to the song's release, it was originally intended to be released as their final single, though they later released a further three one-off singles in 2005 and two charity singles in 2006 and 2008. The group reformed officially in September 2012 without Jenny Frost, who was replaced with original member Kerry Katona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Be with You (Atomic Kitten song)</span> 2002 single by Atomic Kitten

"Be with You" is a song by British girl group Atomic Kitten. It was written by songwriting trio Bionic, consisting of Greg Wilson, Tracey Carmen and Martin Foster, and recorded for the reissue of the band's second album Feels So Good (2002). Production was helmed by Ash Howes and Martin Harrington, based on Bionic's original track. The disco-fused dance pop song is an adaptation of "Last Train to London" (1979) by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra. Due to the inclusion of the sample, Jeff Lynne is also credited as a songwriter. Its lyrics refer to seducing someone in a nightclub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberty X discography</span>

The discography of Liberty X, a British pop band, consists of three studio albums, twelve singles and a number of other appearances. The group's first two singles "Thinking It Over" and "Doin' It" launched them to fame, "Thinking It Over" shot to number 5 and "Doin' It" peaked at number 14. Their third single, "Just a Little" took the band straight to the top of the UK charts, next single "Got to Have Your Love" peaked at number two. This release was preceded by their debut album, Thinking It Over peaking at number 3 in the UK. The final single to be taken from the album was "Holding On for You", released in December 2002 and which debuted and peaked at number 5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollywood Swinging</span> 1974 funk song by Kool & The Gang

"Hollywood Swinging" is a 1974 song by R&B/funk band Kool & the Gang from their album Wild and Peaceful. It was written by Robert "Kool" Bell, Ronald Bell, George M. Brown, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Claydes Charles Smith, Dennis R. Thomas and Rick A. Westfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fresh (Kool & the Gang song)</span> 1984 song by Kool & The Gang

"Fresh" is a song by the American group Kool & the Gang. Released as a single in 1984 from the album Emergency, the song peaked at #9 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart, and #11 on the UK chart. It also reached number one on both the U.S. R&B chart and U.S. Dance chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Too Hot (Kool & the Gang song)</span> 1980 single by Kool & the Gang

"Too Hot" is a song recorded by the American band Kool & the Gang for their first Platinum-selling 1979 album Ladies' Night. It was written by George Brown and Kool & the Gang and produced by Eumir Deodato and Kool & the Gang.

References

  1. Jeffries, David. Kool & the Gang – The Hits Reloaded: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "M2: ROCK & POP: TAKE 5 MIXES". Evening Mail. August 6, 2004. p. 43. ProQuest   322647972 . Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  3. Kool and the Gang. Edel Records. 2004.
  4. 1 2 "Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums chart". officialcharts.com. Official Charts. June 26, 2004.
  5. 1 2 3 "Kool & the Gang: The Hits Reloaded". hitparade.ch. Hitparade.
  6. 1 2 "Kool & the Gang: The Hits Reloaded". italiancharts.com. Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.
  7. 1 2 "Kool and The Gang: The Hits Reloaded". offiziellecharts.de. GfK Entertainment charts.
  8. 1 2 "Kool and The Gang: The Hits Reloaded". lescharts.com. Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  9. 1 2 3 "Full interview: Atomic Kitten". BBC Newsround . October 30, 2003. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  10. Ladies Night (UK CD album liner notes). Atomic Kitten. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 2003. 0724359562223.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. 1 2 3 "New Releases: Singles". Music Week . December 13, 2003. p. 23.
  12. Copsey, Rob (July 7, 2021). "Atomic Kitten's Official Top 10 biggest songs revealed". Official Charts Company . Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  13. "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 19th January 2004" (PDF). ARIA. January 19, 2004. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  14. "Director Videography". imvdb.com. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  15. "Kool and the Gang: The Hits Reloaded". Ultratop .