As on fire as Brown was through the previous two sets and the epic Apollo Concert of 1963 (I guess I should have posted that before this) he certainly takes a nose dive and comes up staggering on the majority of this stuff.
Brown had attempted to split from King and form his own Production company with Bobby Byrd. They signed with Mercury subsidiary Smash but King was not having it and went to court and won an injunction that prevented Brown from singing on record, he could only play organ. Three Smash vocal tracks came out prior to the injunction, one of which is actually pretty good, "Out Of Sight". Unfortunately also during this period King took advantage of the situation to empty their vaults of rejected songs, LP takes, and some MORON decide to take some perfectly good tracks and dub in crowd noise and screams in one of the most annoying production foibles ever.
To some extent you have to listen to disc one just to hear the train wreck, likely listening with horrified fascination, but at the end of the day if you ever want to hear any of it again, besides maybe tracks 13 and 16, I'd be surprised. Disc 2 does not begin any better and for 8 tracks it is more drek. I am reminded somehow of Roberto Duran in the first Sugar Ray Leonard fight. A guy who had previously seemed so terrifyingly invincible was suddenly lost and flailing about awkwardly, helpless, ineffective.
This image, however, is apparently to some extent artificially created by the record companies and the legal hassles. Behind this chaos JB and the band are still rocking monster shows and working out their new thang. That new thing finally comes to light when James and King make up and sign a new contract. On track nine of disc two the world is set right with "I Got You". After the mess that precedes it this track burns like a red hot coal, a blinding neon light that says HE'S BACK! Two tracks later you know it for sure because "PAPA'S GOT A BRAND NEW BAG"!
It is like someone has opened up the window, lean back and breath deep - a couple of pleasant tracks of organ playing James doing instrumentals of Try Me and Papa and then just in case you thought that first version of "I Got You" was lacking something, JB ups the ante big time on his second, utterly explosive version of the song. "I Can't Help It" continues the return to form but the final two tracks, while good, are marred by more potted in crowd noise.
One thing has become clear to me about the JB singles; I had intended to stop after this set but I can't leave The Godfather hanging like that, it just wouldn't be right, so Volume Four where he explodes upon the American conscious and becomes part of the sound of an era will be coming.
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Out of Sight, I Got You, Papa's Got A Brand New Bag...
Now that was a genuine R&B revolution.
GOOD GOD!
Please keep his music coming. I sent some songs from the earlier posts to a friend who remarked that he had no idea that Brown's range extended beyond funk. Brown has never had the play on mainstream radio that he deserved. I was fortunate that my mother loved James Brown (and Ray Charles). I still remember Brown's concert on Boston's public television on the night Dr. King was killed. Boston's mayor Kevin White persuaded a reluctant and justifiably angry Brown that his performance would save lives that would otherwise be lost in a riot because people would stay home to watch him. They and we did, and Boston was one of the few cities that was spared the post-assassination riots. Brown was a giant, a musical genius, and unfortunately the stories about his personal life and vices allowed the mainstream media to minimize his influence and portray him as a bit of a clown. But we in Boston remember that his great performance on WGBH (on black and white television) calmed a city after a truly horrific event.
Wonderful story Feilimid! I think Chuck Berry was minimized as well, particularily once he was exposed as a pervert. Tabloid-esque music media such as VH1 would add him to "lists" based on ridiculous credentials, and make him look like a fool to the younger generation. A real shame.
I can tell you that the first two volumes of The Singles were a revelation for me. I had never heard the earliest of Brown's material, outside of what was on my Star Time box set. I think guys like Brown, Ike Turner, and Brother Ray were great examples of the band leader tradition, in a more contemporary sense. All three ran tight ships musically.
As much as I dig the early JB, I do really love albums like Hell and The Payback. I also LOVE Maceo's solo work, particularily with "All The King's Men". After a nasty split where maceo and half the band left - tell me that name wasn't a double entendre.
And Preslives? I think it's... One time Maceo! Hit 'em hawd, good Gawd!!
Movin?
Yaa!
Groovin?
Yaa!
Heyyyy!!!!!
On the music side he was a gigantic presence but on the personal level he was still little better than the reform school thug he started out as. Brown's treatment of band members, girlfriends, rivals and associates is pure gangster. Brown's way of telling someone they were no longer needed in his life was to hit them in the head with a hammer. Rivals? He would take their woman, screw her silly then hit her in the head with a hammer and throw her in the street with nothing. These kind of stories are repeated over and over and yet the man also was generous with charities and always went to local schools and gave away tickets to his shows. Of course that also guaranteed a full house and made some lifelong fans too.
Brown's rocky relationships with his bands extends all the way back to the original Famous Flames who quit en-masse the first time the band is billed James Brown and the Famous Flames. His second and third Famous Flames are fired by him and all through his career the trend continued
Lucky for him he had a big, charming smile to offset these images. He's certainly not alone when it comes to being a major dick to work for - Buddy Rich and his infamous rant recording comes to mind.
The bottom line for me has always been to enjoy the artist and not concern myself with the man. Thinkin about someone like Micheal Jackson for example - never cared how many monkies were sleeping in his bed on his circus ranch - but I want Thriller up in my face til I die.
I guess when an artist is as big and influential as a Jackson or Brown, we can't help but want to know the man behind the artist. It's just such a damn dissapointment when they don't measure up equally. Like the saying; don't meet your heroes.
As you pointed out in your essay on Allen Touissaint. there is no correlation between talent and character. Brown was always the under-educated thuggish street kid but the mainstream media too often portrayed his flaws as racial stereotypes and wrote about them with a certain glee, rather than just leaving it that he was often a bastard in his personal life. Still, his contribution to rhythm and blues, soul, and funk is immeasurable. Equally important, he demanded and got incredibly tight performances from his bands. Every time I listen to Live At The Apollo, I am amazed and moved to the point where I am even willing to forgive what I regard as an obvious example of Brown's character deficiency, his endorsement of Richard Nixon for president. As the friend to whom I sent some of his music from your first two posts wrote, Brown was ahead of his time in so many ways. He was and remains an under-recognized innovator.
I also agree with Poppachubby about Chuck Berry. Berry played at my high school and embodied rock and roll energy. I cannot imagine rock and roll without him. Likewise, Bo Diddley has never received enough recognition. I tell my daughters that men like Berry and Diddley and women like Ruth Brown were true pioneers during an incredibly difficult era. The commemoration of the chitlin' circuit in the name of this blog and the fact that so many of the artists you post were forced to record as race record artists speaks volumes about their perseverance and dedication to their craft. We belatedly pay them tribute by still listening to their music and honoring their memories decades later. I sometimes wonder wistfully what more Otis Redding might have achieved had he not boarded that small plane in December 1967. I still remember when I first heard of the crash as a thirteen-year old high school freshman. My friends and I knew something great was gone. One only needs to listen to him perform Sam Cooke's A Change Is Gonna Come to understand that Redding transcended mere singing. I recall my friends and I huddled in one of their playrooms listening repeatedly to Otis Redding Live In Europe when it first came out. We were mesmerized by the intensity and joy of his performance.
As corroboration of your point about James Brown, I understand that he was a serious pain during negotiations with Boston mayor White and only begrudgingly agreed to perform after being paid handsomely. Still, his performance was incredible, and saved lives and prevented the city from being ravaged by flames and rioting as so many other cities were on that April night in 1968. There is an obvious and corny metaphor in the effort of White and Brown to save a city at a moment of severe crisis.
I am naive enough to think that Brown's music and performances reflect his better angels. Long after folks forget what a bastard he was, they will still be listening to his music. Call him the Ty Cobb of soul, an immense talent possessed by a deeply flawed character. However, if we look at where Brown started as a boy dancing in the streets for tips and where he ended up, his story is remarkable even if he was a deeply flawed man. When he performed at his best, he was a god incarnate.
OK, so he was the Abusive Godfather of Soul. But is that relevant at this point? He's dead. He can't hurt anyone anymore. He can't screw our wives and girlfriends, we can't get a gig with him, we can't hang with him. All we can do is listen to his music. And the music is great. Remember, Beethoven, Sinatra and Bill Monroe were all dicks, too.
Talk to Bootsy about James. Bootsy joined James at 17 and Brown was a father figure, but he was a very abusive surrogate dad. Brown was more pimp than gangster, manipulating his musicians as if they were his women, keeping them off balance and on edge with alternating angry threats, fines and all the other tools of the trade, tempering that with very reluctant mild praise. But Bootsy learned a lot from him and still loves him, and he was smart enough to know when it was time to go.
The Godfather is gone. The Soul remains.
Enjoy it, and always, always, "Keep it on the One."
I saw JB live in the early 90's. It was pretty good ticket; first Wilson Pickett and then waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting for JB. He was three hours late, although most of that time he spent sitting in a rented Rolls behind the scene. But it was worth the wait.
Indeed you are right Larry, but I shall never again hear the phrase "hit upside the head with a hammer" without thinking of JB, I suppose that's allright too - adds a layer of richness to the term
Actually Larry, his personal life is probaby more relevant now than when he was alive. People will want to know what kind of life inspired and created the musical legacy as time goes on. However, I hear what you are sayin'. I'm good with not worryin about it... haaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyeee!!!!!!
Gotta agree with you on this package KC. Disc 1 has the odd decent tune but it's pretty sterile overall. The songs simply lack the great dynamics which make the first two sets so amazing. Of course disc 2 goes out with a bang, almost as a needed selling point for the fourth set.
Most annoying was the crowd noise especially as it increases and swallows up the music at points. Perhaps it was this slump that facilitated what came next, so perhaps a neccesary evil?
Great discussion here, people!
For about a decade from 1964-1974, James Brown was more than a decade ahead of his time. His music was the future. Interestingly enough, back in the 70s, we already knew that. We already knew that Brown was way ahead of his time back then. And if we stumbled on a party that didn't have any James Brown records, we would go out and search for one that did. :)
James made his band feel like they were the ones who were doing it, and they were...as long as they were with Brown. When the Flames abandoned Brown in 69, they were sure that Brown was through without them. But Brown only got stronger with Bootsy, Catfish, and the JBs. Bootsy and Catfish though that Brown would be through after they left a year later. But as the 70s rolled on, it became more and more clear that the deepest grooves were coming from WHATEVER band the Godfather was fronting.
Have any of you guys seen JB in concert, from back in his heyday?
Ya Preslives, I think the pattern became pretty clear with JB but the simple fact was - what young ambitious black musician would have turned down the opportunity to back him?!? I think by the 70's he just had to do his thing, and the great players would come to him.
OK guys negatives aside - JB was the inventor of FUNK ! The most fab groove imaginable ! A party without SEX MACHINE is not a party - I'll leave it there
Poppa - I saw James Brown for the first time in the mid-1970s with the JBs in a small club in San Francisco. Killer! I don't know if that qualifies as his "heyday." JB was already moving around on stage a bit less by that time. But when he DID move...
Thanks for the James Brown Discs. i have a couple of Bootlegs (1974 from Zaire and 1992, San Francisco) and i have to say that no matter what song either band plays, The Godfather just makes it happen. A truly remarkable Show Band.
enoch
To me, the question comes down to is the music world a better place today because of Brown's contribution and could we imagine music without him. I think the answers are an unequivocal yes and no. He was a demanding and difficult person and taskmaster, no doubt, but I haven't read or heard anybody who played for him regret doing so. We want our heroes unmarred by flaws and instead have to contend with legends who are very human in their weaknesses and frailties. But what Brown created musically and the musicians who benefited from playing with him are his true legacy and we won't see his like again. The command of his voice and his dancing were wonders to behold. I could listen to his music for weeks on end and never get tired of it. The tension and drama in the best of it allow one to ascend new heights from just listening.
The first disc of this post is marred by the fake crowd noise, but the second and the prior two posts reflect raw genius in its development and I am grateful that I was around to watch and listen to him during that period.
I am also old enough to remember when Brown released his anthems of black pride in the 1960s. They had a profound influence on the self-perception of many of his fans, the perception of young white fans like my mother, and the culture at large. There was no one else like him at his zenith and I can't imagine Sly, George Clinton, Prince, Bootsy, Maceo, and so many others creating the music they created had Brown not preceded and inspired them, and created a whole genre and beat. With a look or gesture he could control his band and their tightness and cohesion were incredible. As Poppachubby noted, Brown was a band leader as much as a singer and I still feel exhilarated when I hear his singing.
I concur. Rather than express disappointment at his character (and there's certainly plenty that he did that's unpardonable), I say celebrate the fact that such divine music can stem from such intensely flawed individuals -- JB, Miles Davis, Beethoven, whoever. If anyone here hasn't read RJ Smith's recent JB biography, it's a must: the amount of insight into the nuts & bolts of what it took to become "James Brown" is fascinating.
And thanks a million for the music, KC, as always!
I agree with those here who are arguing that we must always keep in mind JB's undeniable contributions the music scene in general and R&B in particular. We all have our faults.
I read somewhere that there's been four geniuses in R&B; JB, Sly, George Clinton and Prince.
I remember well when I for the first time saw him doing his thing on a B&W TV. I was amazed and still am.
Those four geniuses are probably meant to be stated for Funk, not all R&B. For all R&B, we have to go back and start by giving consideration to people like Louis Jordan and T-Bone Walker. As for Funk geniuses, I would be inclinded to add at least Dr. Dre.
Certainly in R&B Ray Charles would have to be considered
Oh yes, Ray Charles really broke the mold and did the unthinkable by playing gospel in a secular style. Now there's an artist who boldly walked down the unknown road...
Yes, "the listing" was for more Funk oriented R&B, forgot to mention it. Ray is definitely one of the truly great ones. I would add Elmore James as well. His raw guitar playing just boggles the mind.
Really? Elmore? To me he was very much a one trick pony with almost no vocal range at all, once you have heard Dust My Broom you have heard all he has to offer as a vocalist. His guitar was exciting but also quite limited in range - he seemed to play the same solo for almost every tune so I have never heard enough variety there to hold my attention for more than a few tunes.
You are certainly not the first to express abiding love for EJ but I haven't seen anyone give much praise to his singing before. A year or so ago a close friend of mine went through a couple of months listening to a ton of Elmore and I was baffled what could be gained through different recordings because they all sounded the same to me. Taste is obviously a very subjective thing.
You can count me in the Elmore James fan club. I think that we should be cautious in applying the "One Trick Pony" label to Elmore James. Record companies were continually trying to cash in on the Dust My Broom riff, and that made his recorded output quite distorted from that point of view. But we have some recorded evidence of what he could do outside of that bag. "Done Somebody Wrong," for example, is an incredible performance by Elmore (IMO), both vocally and on guitar. And what can you say about "The Sky is Crying," "The Sun is Shining," or "Something Inside of Me?" Elmore's versions of "Look On Yonder's Wall" and "It Hurts Me Too" are also classic. His vocal range may have been narrow, but what he did was still quite effective.
It is too bad that we don't have concert recordings of Elmore James, or LPs programed as LPs, as that might have given us a greater appreciation of the diversity in his repetoire.
Interesting Cliff and I were talking about him this morning and my take is still that it is all consistently good but just about any 20 or 25 songs would encompass his scope, interestingly enough it almost wouldn't matter which 25 you chose
KC, taste is subjective and that's why this is such fun. As far as singing and R&B/Blues is concerned in my opinion the great ones, if judged by singing talents, pure and clean voice etc., wouldn't be so great at all. In addition to Elmore I could bring up Wolf and John Lee.
I have many friends who just can't stand such howling, growling, wailing and monotonous yelling. But I love it.
KC - I belive that Elmore only had the opportunity to record about 50-60 songs. Given that about half of them are variants of Dust My Broom, your 20-25 songs encompassing his scope on record makes perferct sense. :)
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