SHARPS & FLATS : KOKOMO DID SOUL, R&B RIGHT.

Byline: Fred Shuster

Kokomo.

To many, it's simply the name of a half-forgotten Beach Boys single from 1988. To others, it's a small city in central Indiana.

But it was also one of the greatest '70s soul revues you've never heard of.

Unfortunately, Kokomo had two strikes against it right off the bat. The musicians, a mix of seasoned session players and newcomers, were white and British - although they didn't sound like it.

From 1974 to 1982, when this supremely talented band cut three excellent yet hard-to-find platters for Columbia and toured the States opening for Average White Band, there just wasn't a huge demand for danceable funk and r&b, especially if the group on stage wasn't Earth, Wind & Fire, Kool & the Gang or Tower of Power.

But Kokomo had something special, including a tight, imaginative rhythm section, several first-rate soloists, world-class vocalists and an intuitive feel for fun and syncopation that extended to the audience.

Others felt the same way. Pink Floyd's manager, Steve O'Rourke, took the group under his wing.

The nine-member Kokomo boasted sophisticated originals like the gorgeous r&b ballad ``Anytime,'' penned by guitarist Neil Hubbard, who would play on a series of well-known records including the Roxy Music classic ``Avalon'' and several Bryan Ferry solo albums side by side with his longtime partner in funky rhythm, Kokomo bassist-leader Alan Spenner.

Much of the band's best material is collected on the anthology ``Kokomo: The Collection'' (Castle), which can be ordered through the online mail-order shop at NME.com. Perhaps the group's best-known track, an extended groove-alicious version of Bobby Womack's ``I Can Understand It,'' turned up on the pub-rock compilation ``Naughty Rhythms'' a couple of years back.

At the heart of Kokomo was Spenner, a wry wit and thrilling musician who acted as stoned master of ceremonies. After a 20-minute jam on an opening instrumental like Herbie Hancock's ``Chameleon'' or Funk Inc.'s ``Sister Jane,'' Spenner would introduce ``the girls,'' Kokomo's superb vocal trio of Frank Collins, Dyan Birch and Paddie McHugh.

Eventually, perennially late saxophonist Mel Collins, who went on to record and tour with Eric Clapton, would show up on stage at tightly packed London venues like the Hope & Anchor or Dingwall's just in time to take a wailing tenor solo.

Along with memorable numbers like ``Forever,'' ``It Ain't Cool to Be Cool No More,'' ``Rise & Shine'' and ``Feeling This Way,'' Kokomo made covers of Aretha Franklin's ``Angel,'' Joe Tex's ``A Mother's Prayer'' and the Pointer Sisters' ``Yes We Can Can'' their own.

Another of Kokomo's secret weapons was guitarist Jim Mullen, a powerfully built Scotsman who plucked a particularly soulful Telecaster with his thumb. Years earlier, when he was part of Brian Auger's Oblivion Express, Mullen was known as ``Jim the Thumb.'' Today, he leads a straight-ahead jazz quartet.

Ironically, the member of Kokomo to achieve the most recognition was Boston-born conga player Jody Linscott, who joined up with Robert Palmer, the Who and many others. She also penned a series of children's books that did well on both sides of the Atlantic.

There were other fine soul-funk outfits on the far side of the pond during those years - AWB, FBI, Cado Belle, Gonzalez and Moon, among them.

But when a Kokomo reunion that had begun turning up in British clubs in the late '80s grinded to a halt in 1991 when Spenner died, it was a sad end to one of soul music's most neglected yet inspirational bands.

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Photo: no caption (Kokomo)