FunkCity.net is pleased to name ‘Cook’ from Lettuce as my Funk Album of the Year. In a year when there were several standout choices (see my Best of 2025 Coverage), ‘Cook’ was my favorite. It mixed hat tips to legends like the tunes “Rising to the “Top”—Frankie Beverly and “Keep “On”—Tower of Power, with relaxing vibe cuts like “Breathe” and lots more in between.
The band has now been around for more than 20 years and is hotter and funkier than ever. In fact, they had a second album, ‘Lettuce with the Colorado Symphony,’ that came out earlier in the year that was also a contender. They’ve been a longstanding favorite of mine bridging my past favorites with the funk that’s yet to be. I was fortunate to see fourteen sets this year, a personal record—including my own symphony set in Nashville and the incredible ‘House of Lett’ sessions in December to cap it off. I’m thrilled for them to be performing next year and can’t wait to see what’s to come.
My intro to the full ‘Cook’ album review is below, and the link for track-by-track coverage is there as well. And just below that, you can click on any track in the video gallery to give a listen. Congrats to a great band on this terrific album.
When I want to taste some funk, I listen to Lettuce ‘Cook‘! That’s the latest album the preminent funk torchbearers, Lettuce. Cook is, in my view, one of the top funk albums of the year and worthy of a Grammy. The continuously ups the ante and this album follows in the traditions of Tower of Power, Earth Wind and Fire, Frankie Beverly and Maze and Marvin Gaye while still blazing its own trail. Traces of the past mixed with heavy doses of future funk keep this album fresh through many servings. As usual, the tunes are mostly instrumental and they’re all sensational with the two vocal tracks showcasing Nigel Hall’s vocal’s to the max, especially Rising to the Top.
CLICK LINK TO COOK TRACK-BY-TRACK COVERAGE