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You have got to give James Alexander credit. The Bar-Kays had a gig as a Otis Redding’s concert band and a monster radio hit titled “Soul Finger” on the charts when the band, and Redding were tragically killed in a plane crash in the mid-1960s. Alexander, ironically, missed the plane, and soldiered on, releasing the occasional disc with an ever-changing assortment of players and making the transition from soul to funk. HOU$E PARTY will take some getting used to for those whose last, and perhaps only, exposure to the band was “Soul Finger”: while that track featured a bold, thunderous horn riff, HOU$E PARTY is primarily a keyboard, bass and drums affair that plays like a soundtrack to a South Birmingham strip club where the ladies on the poles are but a secondary attraction. What results, however, is a collection of slowly addicting tracks that in balance leans on ballads, occasionally stepping into hip-hop territory (“What Goes-N-Da-Club Stays In Da-Club”) while always remaining true to the band’s funk offshoots.

Alexander, a stalwart on bass, shows that the man --- excuse me, THE MAN --- has not let the years dim his vision or his fire. The Bar-Kays have always devoted a large part of their repertoire to topics related to “he-in’ and she-in,’” if you will, and HOU$E PARTY is no exception. Larry Dodson, vocalist for the band since the 1990s, can do it silky and sexy (“Superstar,” “Glad You‘re My Lady,” “Let‘s Get Bizzy,” “Holla If You Like That”) or tread into Zapp/Roger Troutman territory (“Hey Y’All,” “Barkays”) with a nod to The Isley Brothers (“Give Me My Heart Back”). While one might miss the horns, the spare arrangements make sense. Each instrument is given plenty of room in the mix, so that there is none of the clutter that troubles a lot of production these days.

The chorus of “Barkays,” the closing track, says it all: “We will always be Barkays.” Yes indeed. And as long as you are Bar-Kays, you will always have fans. Recommended.