What Is Hip?: The Tower of Power Anthology

Tower Of Power

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 14, 1999)
• Original Release Date: September 14, 1999
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B00000JZAD
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #73,281 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Knock Yourself Out

2. Back on the Streets Again

3. Sparkling in the Sand

4. Down to the Nightclub

5. You're Still a Young Man

6. You Got to Funkifize

7. What Happened to the World That Day?

8. What Is Hip?

9. Will I Ever Find a Love?

10. This Time It's Real

See all 15 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Oakland Stroke

2. Don't Change Horses (In the Middle of a Stream)

3. Time Will Tell

4. It's Not the Crime

5. I Won't Leave Unless You Want Me To

6. Only So Much Oil in the Ground

7. Willing to Learn

8. You're So Wonderful, So Marvelous

9. Just Enough and Too Much

10. As Surley as I Stand Here

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Tower of Power blew--literally--out of the Bay Area's early-'70s scene at a time when hip black and white tastes were further diverging. The horn-heavy ensemble managed to find an audience of album buyers on both the soul and rock sides of the divide, though. The first disc of this chronological two-CD retrospective of tracks made between 1970 and 1997 holds most of the highlights--notably the wise, intensely grooving title track, which has only gained cachet in the quarter-century since its release, and "So Very Hard to Go," one of the classiest pop-soul singles this side of the Spinners. More a bunch of well-schooled musicians than truly inspired songwriters, Tower of Power often sounded better than its material and rarely if ever touched the magic of those cuts again. What Is Hip?'s second half shows the act's fuel running low even before it relaunched as a '90s lite-funk answer to hometown pals Huey Lewis and the News. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST for all T.O.P. Fans, February 8, 2000

By	T. Culver "cellox2" (West Suburban Chicago, IL.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This compilation has all the Tower of Power essentials and then some. Even though I own all their C.D.'s, their selection of tunes and the chronological order in which they're presented make you feel like you're enrolled in Funk & Soul 101. Tower of Power can pick you up with their upbeat funkifized tunes, then when you least expect it throw in a gorgeous balled with horn lines crafted by the talented Greg Adams. It's all here including a couple extras that you won't find on previously released material. The anthology booklet is filled with information tracing the bands history and with photos stretching their 30 year career. Well worth the money!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Soul Than You Can Control, November 14, 2005

By	El Lagarto (Ambler, PA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

A real treasure. T of P is a frequently overlooked band that has been keeping the funk alive for decades. Their horn section is legendary, the arrangements are just too tight, and all the big hits you want are here. Worth it for Back On the Streets Again, Squib Cakes, and Souled Out alone. Bring this 2-CD set to a party and watch your friends start dancing on the ceiling. A real value.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GET IT ! ! !, December 9, 1999

By	Eddie Landsberg "10 years reviewing on Amazon... (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This is the perfect Christmas (or whatever holiday/season/occasion is coming up)gift to get, and will probably break up your marriage if your spouse doesnt have the same musical tastes. You will refuse to take it out of the CD player. All the trays will be filled up with Tower of Power stuff and rather than cursing out the window during that gridlocked drive home from work, youll be singing in to the chorus to WHAT IS HIP. - - The TOP formula is SLICK OAKLAND SOUL... tight horns, bumpin grooves, a touch of MEMPHIS SOUL, a touch of JB - - Ballads like YOURE STILL A YOUNG MAN will last a lifetime... Smokers like KNOCK YOURSELF OUT will forever accompany you in the gym. After you get this, youll probably want to throw on your JAMES BROWN (Greatest Hits)COLD BLOOD and SAM & DAVE CDS. If you trust my judgement on this, check out a Japanese import CD called 5 1/2 by the group KOME KOME CLUB. (Youll have to trust me on that one... no RA available.)