The Gap Band’s core members were brothers Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, all multi-instrumentalists and singers (Charlie sang lead). They were as much about R&B and soul as they were groovin’, but ‘Outstanding’, from 1982's Gap Band IV, brought plenty of foottapping, headnodding funk. The song has been extensively sampled in hip-hop. Ice Cube used it for his ‘True to the Game’ (1991) and Redman for ‘Blow My Mind’ (1992).

The bassline is a great example of leaving space to make the notes that are played out stand out more. Most importantly, this gives the note on the One extra emphasis. Bassist Robert hits every other One. In the bridge (“You light my fire”), the bass melody changes, but the groove broadly the same. That’s true for the chorus too, which stands out for the extended syllables at the start of “Outstanding” and “Excited”. The chorus is interesting because both the One and are emphasised: the One with the deep, staccato bass note and drum kick, and the two with a trumpet shriek and the vocals.

The second verse is differentiated by the long “looooove” in “I really love the way you love me”. In the second bridge, the song feels fuller with Ronnie’s trumpet imitating the vocal melody.

In the verses, the band play a few chords, hitting G# almost every bar. In the bridge, we get C# for the first time, and there’s no G#, giving the section a really different feel. Then the chorus returns to G#, and it’s like coming back home.

‘Outstanding’ was written by drummer Raymond Calhoun. Calhoun-composed tracks were fairly rare for The Gap Band, but tended to steer away from the group’s vocal-focused songs in favour of groove. He wrote the funky ‘I Found My Baby’ (1984) and the more robotic, but still interesting ‘I Know We’ll Make It’ (1985).

Later in the song (2:37, 2:48, 2:53, and 2:59) the trumpet adds new melodies, helping to make the song feel like it’s progressing. But the groove remains the same, with the bass and drums providing a funky platform for Charle’s more free singing as the song nears its fadeout. From 2:30, he starts to let loose. “Girl, you know, you know, you know you knock me out / I really looove the way you way you knock me out”. From what was a restrained opening, with carefully delivered lines (“Wish that I could love you right / In a special way, girl”), the song now feels like it represents the overwhelming feeling those shrieks of trumpet hinted at since the first chorus.

Sheila Brody (previously known as Sheila Horne), who contributed backing vocals to ‘Outstanding’ (and also sang with Brides of Funkenstein, George Clinton & P-Funk All Stars), says, “It’s powerful to tell someone that they are outstanding”.