The All Music Guide says, "Anyone who is seriously interested in 70's soul and funk should own at least three or four Average White Band albums." I do not disagree. Though the self-titled second album (pictured above) is the one must-own-gotta-have record of the bunch, Cut The Cake (1975) and Soul Searching (1976) are also tremendous, and the musicianship displayed on the live album, Person To Person (1977), is practically death-defying. Those 'serious fans' will find that most AWB albums have been issued on CD at some point somewhere in the world - a few even bundled together on single CD.

Nevertheless, Rhino Records' collection Pickin' Up The Pieces: The Best Of The Average White Band is a fine sampler of their music from 1974 to 1980, and is as much as casual fans will need. This CD contains nearly every essential AWB song, and, even though the energy slacks off noticeably towards the end, I can't recommend it too strongly. Much the same can be said for Rhino's slightly more expensive and doubly expansive 2-CD set, Definitive Groove Collection (2006) - it's well worth the price.

As a footnote, I should mention that AWB are a true testament of how important it is to, in the words of the Godfather, "give the drummer some." Two of the finest drummers who have ever lived were in the Average White Band - the aforementioned MacIntosh and his replacement Steve Ferrone, who originally played with Bloodstone ("Natural High") and who later did time with Duran Duran (!) in addition to countless session gigs. No band can be funkier than their drummer, and the Average White Band were exceptionally funky. [top of page]