Forget, if only for a moment, a world without hip hop. A world without endless samples of drums and loops. In 1975 this world existed*, and one of the true masters had just released a beast upon the world. "Take Me to The Mardis Gras," by Bob James. A song that was so bananas, that years later, when the culture of hip hop was born*, it was, and still is sampled by artists around the globe. In my personal opinion though, no matter how many hip hop producers try and take bits and pieces of this gem, by sampling it for either their own benefit, or in an attempt to pay homage, nothing will ever come close to the magnitude of genius behind this record. Nevermind the trademark bells that RUN-DMC used on "Rock the Bells", or the drums that too many artists  have sampled... just listen to those keys around 2:00 deep and tell me that whole shit doesn't go crazy. For real, Bob James is a genius and it's not my job to further hint that you all go and do your homework. peace