Working with master keyboardist-arranger-producer Eumir Deodato, Kool and the Gang, who pioneered the raucous, horn-sputtering "party music" that was an early prototype of late-Seventies disco, have compressed their jazzy exuberance into an understated and streamlined sound of impeccable polish. Something Special, these ex-rowdies' third album with Deodato, finds the band comfortably rehashing the successful pop-soul formula they launched with "Ladies' Night" and that culminated in last year's platinum single, "Celebration."

Kool and the Gang's sound–in which Deodato's layered synthesizer parts supply the principal texture beneath the compressed intensity of James "J.T." Taylor's insinuating vocals – sets an ideal groove for the dance-floor sweet talk that's become the group's signature attitude. But, as with most pop formulas, there's a thin line between sweet talk and sweet nothings. Something Special, though listenable, lacks an anthem as strong as "Celebration." Only "Steppin' Out," in which the band re-creates the aura of Shalamar's "The Second Time Around" (syndrums and all), and "Take My Heart," a showcase for Taylor's vocal flexing, rise above the formula – and then just barely. (RS 365)

STEPHEN HOLDEN