Clocking in at an impressive #24: respectively on the Rolling Stone's top 500 albums of all time, James Brown's seminal R&B live sets were captured one magical night in 1963 at the Appollo cinema in New York.
Despite containing no obvious hits of his, this album has aged perfectly. And despite clocking in at a mere 31 Minutes, it is loved and respected globally, by fans of R&B, Soul and Funk. Not to mention rock and all.
But is it really that good...?
The tracks:
#1:Introduction,
As stated, this is a mere introduction of the live set. It does have music in the back, but it's not actually a song. So therefore...
1 Star.
#2: I'll Go Crazy,
This is Jimmy B at his funkiest. Barely able to contain his excitment he roars at the start "You know I feel alright!" before the song swings into a timeless 12 barr blues / R&B approach. As the main vocals kick in "You never leave me..." the audience can be heard going wild for James. Notably, this song has a wickedly catchy chorus "You gotta live, for yerself, an' no-body else..". This is a standout, feel good, straight and narrow track. And relatively short, at a minimalistic, yet chart friendly, 2:05.
4 Stars, for sheer feel good factor :).
#3: Try Me,
This is a bit soppy of James actually. It's a warbler, "Ooh, try me..", it's not terrible, but then again, I wouldn't rave over it. The song does have a sweet "Highschool" feel to it, which is only cemented by the now clichéd jazz cum blues saxaphone line half way through it. Not a bad song, but not one to be writing home about either.
3 Stars.
#4: Instrumental Bridge #1,
This is a funky short blast of music, used to get a "half time" feel between songs. Having said that, it's 12 seconds long, so I feel inclined to give it a low rating.
1 Star.
#5: Think,
This is more like it! Cocky 12 bar blues, with suggestive dance moves and lyrics! James is in his spiritual home here, as he ravages down the funky drumbeats and guitar lines. Followed by a saxaphone break, this song is an ideal shakedown for any J.B disbelievers, that will have you jumping up and down all night. It is also the shortest "Song" on the album, clocking in at 1:45.
5 Stars.
#6: Instrumental Bridge #2,
Again, an instrumental bridge.
1 Star.
#7: Lost Someone,
James goes "highschool sweetheart" on us again! This is soppy, sure, but you have to be made of stone not to be moved the way James wraps him-self around the beatiful vocal sequence. The feel good vibe has all but disappeared, and is replaced by a solemn sounding, even hollow guitar, few horns and all but a backing singer or two. This effect gives the feeling that James is "bearing his soul", by stripping the music down to such an extent.
4 Stars.
#8: Instrumental Bridge #3,
Another quick instrumental bridge from James fantasticly versatile backing band.
1 Star.
#9: Lost Someone (extended),
Did he just do that...? Yes, he has re-recorded the same song. But with two twists. This one is 10:00+, and it's a lot more upbeat. This is one of the better songs on the album, as a whole. James really puts his whole soul into this, and it shows.
5 Stars.
#10: Medley: Please Please Please/You've Got the Power/I Found Someone,
Please Please Please is James (one of anyway..) biggest hit. He fuses this with the antidote to the last song in "I found someone" and the brilliantly funky and upbeat "You've got the power". This is such a random medley that it should work, but it does, with brilliant results.
5 Stars.
#11: Night Train {Closing}
Now we're in James territory. Dirty sweaty funk. And it's upbeat! What a song, and if I was there in NY in 1963, I couldn't think of a better closing song than Night Train. By the ammount of emotion J.B has put into the set so far, you'd be inclined to think that he'd be knackered by now. Not the case, he's on fire, and loving it. A brilliant song from a deffinitive live album.
5 Stars.
Understand, I'm not being lazy here, the albums Run Time is 31:34, which if you take away the "non-music" tracks, comes to less than thirty minutes. A lot is crammed here though, and it's a good buy. For fans of funk / soul / R&B anyway. :)
