Those who fail to understand funk often complain about its use of repetition, but funk enthusiasts will tell you that repetition (as James Brown showed us) is something to be savored. A first-class party band, Fatback knew quite well that the secret to effective funk is finding a killer groove and working it to death. That's exactly what happens much of the time on The Fattest of Fatback, a 1997 CD that spans 1975-1983 and boasts many of the New York band's essential hits. From "I Like Girls" and "Gotta Get My Hands on Some (Money)" to "Backstrokin'" and "The Girl Is Fine (So Fine)," this CD shows us how exciting Fatback could be when it found the right groove. With 1979's "King Tim III," Fatback became one of the first R&B acts to acknowledge rap, and the pessimistic sociopolitical number "Is This the Future?" was among 1983's most vital and compelling rap singles. Though Fatback was best known for funk, "Can't You See" and "Angel" demonstrate that the band was quite capable of delivering excellent soul ballads. For those checking out Fatback for the first time, The Fattest of Fatback is definitely the best starting point.