Category Archives: JAMES BROWN

JAMES BROWN The Popcorn (1968) + Say It Live And Loud – Live In Dallas 08.26.68 (1998) – Two Albums, Same Day Sessions

April 23, 2013 – 13:30

The Popcorn (1968)
Say It Live And Loud – Live In Dallas 08.26.68 (1998)
Two Albums… One Night

On August 26th, James Brown recorded one of his many 1968 tour stops – this one at the Dallas Memorial Auditorium – with the idea of capturing his greatest live ensemble (to date) on tape, and to spotlight his newest, culturally charged composition, “Say It Loud (I’m Black And I’m Proud).” After the concert, Brown and his engineer decided to stick around and re-record instrumental portions of the show – to an empty auditorium – for the purpose of better capturing the horn players, who were often dancing in sync and blowing off mic during their performances. Except for a few tracks that have leaked out on various compilations over the years, the Live In Dallas show sat in the can for almost 30 years. But, those instrumental aftershow recordings were released back in 1968, as The Popcorn – an LP that writer Alan Leeds calls “Brown’s best instrumental album ever.” And he’s probably right. Get a taste of both releases below – just a single day in the life of James Brown, busy proving himself ‘The Hardest Working Man In Show Business.’ Big thanks to collectedpoems for sharing The Popcorn with us. If you like it (and you should), we’ve got a great 2CD comp of similar material, Soul Pride: The Instrumentals 1960-1969, (HERE), along with plenty more JB in the archives (HERE), including the soundtracks to Black Caesar, Slaughter’s Big Rip Off, The Payback, as well as Dead On The Heavy Funk 1975-83, Live At The Apollo, Live At The Apollo Volume II and Revolution Of The Mind: Live At The Apollo Volume III (not to mention a few tributes to JB by Chuck D, J. Rocc & MOJO). Get The Popcorn (HERE) and Live In Dallas (HERE) at Amazon.

The Popcorn
The Popcorn (3:03)
Why Am I Treated So Bad (6:05)
In The Middle (6:51)
Soul Pride (4:31)
A New Shift (3:40)
Sudsy (4:42)
The Chicken (4:04)
The Chase (0:30)

Say It Live And Loud – Live In Dallas 08.26.68
Show Introduction (0:38)
If I Ruled The World (3:45)
James Brown Thanks (0:49)
Introduction To Say It Loud, I’m Black And I’m Proud (1:34)
Say It Loud, I’m Black And I’m Proud (3:09)
I Guess I’ll Have To Cry, Cry, Cry (4:19)
Kansas City (4:14)
INTERMISSION
Suds (5:17)
Soul Pride (3:02)
Tighten Up (7:11)
STAR TIME
Introduction To Star Time! (0:43)
Licking Stick – Licking Stick (4:14)
Cold Sweat (12:52)
There Was A Time (4:58)
Medley: Try Me/Lost Someone/Bewildered (6:15)
Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag (0:31)
I Got The Feelin’ (2:44)
Maybe The Last Time (1:13)
I Got You (I Feel Good) (0:27)
Please, Please, Please (2:15)
I Can’t Stand Myself (When You Touch Me) (3:09)
Cold Sweat (Reprise) (0:47)
I Got The Feelin’ (Reprise) (0:27)
Say It Loud, I’m Black And I’m Proud (Reprise) (3:01)

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JAMES BROWN

JAMES BROWN Live At The Apollo (1963 Deluxe), Live At The Apollo Volume II (1967 Deluxe) & Revolution Of The Mind: Live At The Apollo, Vol. III (1971)

January 9, 2013 – 23:33

Live At The Apollo (1963 Deluxe Edition)
Live At The Apollo Volume II (1967 Deluxe Edition)
Revolution Of The Mind: Live At The Apollo, Vol. III (1971)

JB’s live work at the Apollo, from 1963, 1967 and 1971. The first is a classic, if a bit dated, that Brown had to pay for himself, because his label thought that (what would become) one of the 60′s greatest live albums was a bad idea. It makes you wonder if the powers-that-be ever even attended one of JB’s shows. This is the 2004 bonus track version featuring additional single edits. The original LP was so successful, JB went back to the well in 1967 for another volume. Brown was on the verge of transforming himself into the master of funk when it was released, so Volume II straddles the fence, still leaning more towards JB’s more conventional catalog of soul material. By 1971, things had changed radically, and Brown’s powerful grooves and societal messaging turned a new corner. Which explains why the third volume was entitled Revolution Of The Mind: Live At The Apollo, Vol. III. There is actually another volume of JB Apollo recordings from 1995, but I don’t own it and have never heard it, so you’re on your own on that one. Get Vol. 1, Vol. II and Vol. III at Amazon. Get Brown in the archives.

Live At The Apollo
Introduction by Fats Gonder/Opening Fanfare (1:48)
I’ll Go Crazy (2:05)
Try Me (2:27)
Think (1:58)
I Don’t Mind (2:39)
Lost Someone (10:44)
Medley: Please, Please, Please/You’ve Got the Power/I Found Someone (6:26)
Night Train (3:29)
Think (2:01) - Bonus Track Single Mix
Medley: I Found Someone/Why Do You Do Me/I Want You So Bad (2:10) - Bonus Track Single Mix
Lost Someone (2:43) - Bonus Track Single Mix
I’ll Go Crazy (2:18) - Bonus Track Single Mix

Live At The Apollo Volume II
1
Introduction By Frankie Crocker (0:32)
Think (2:55)
I Wanna Be Around (3:11)
James Brown (Thanks) (1:51)
That’s Life (4:40)
Kansas City (3:53)
Sweet Soul Music (2:38)
It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World (19:12)
Caravan (3:19)
2
Introduction To ‘Startime’ by Frankie Crocker (0:34)
Money Won’t Change You / Out Of Sight (0:43)
Bring It Up (4:40)
Try Me (3:13)
Let Yourself Go (1:43)
There Was A Time (8:53)
I Feel All Right (7:05)
Cold Sweat (6:03)
Prisoner Of Love (8:17)
My Girl (0:23)
Maybe The Last Time (4:36)
I Got You (I Feel Good) (0:29)
Please, Please, Please (3:02)
Bring It Up (1:13)

Revolution Of The Mind: Live At The Apollo, Vol. III
It’s A New Day So Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn (Intro) (3:49)
Bewildered 7:56)
Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine (5:06)
Escape-Ism (3:04)
Make It Funky (12:53)
Try Me (2:44)
Fast Medley: I Can’t Stand It / Mother Popcorn / I Got The Feelin’ (1:18)
Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose (2:23)
Call Me Super Bad (4:22)
Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved (3:21)
Soul Power (6:37)
Hot Pants (She Got To Use What She Got To Get What She Wants) (8:36)

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JAMES BROWN

JAMES BROWN Black Caesar & Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off (1973)

August 16, 2012 – 11:09

Black Caesar (1973)
Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off (1973)
Brownploitation

Blaxploitation soundtracks were all the rage in the early 70s, and James Brown jumped head first into the fray with 1973′s Black Caesar and Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off. He would quickly follow these two (only occasionally funky) soundtracks with the double LP, The Payback, music originally slated for the film, Hell Up In Harlem (the sequel to Black Caesar), which was – unbelievably – rejected by the film’s director. These two are not on par with the blaxploitation torch bearers of the day (Superfly, Shaft), but Brown’s mix of instrumentals, jams and vocal selections are worthy, if not terribly exciting. Being soundtracks, Brown’s funk attack is less showy (and, less powerful), as the music serves a different master here, leaving behind jazzy jams, bubbling instrumentals and watered-down variations on JB’s patented style(s). Not great, not bad, some good tracks, some not. Get Black Caesar and Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off @ Amazon. We’ve also got our archived JB re-upped, so grab some of these; The Payback, Soul Pride: The Instrumentals 1960-1969 & Dead On The Heavy Funk 1975-1983.

BLACK CAESAR
Down And Out In New York City
Blind Man Can See It
Sportin’ Life
Dirty Harri
The Boss
Make It Good To Yourself
Mama Feelgood (Lyn Collins)
Mama’s Dead
White Lightning (I Mean Moonshine)
Chase
Like It Is, Like It Was

SLAUGHTER’S BIG RIP-OFF
Slaughter Theme
Tryin’ To Get Over
Transmograpfication
Happy For The Poor
Brother Rap
Big Strong
Really, Really, Really
Sexy, Sexy, Sexy
To My Brother
How Long Can I Keep It Up
People Get Up And Drive Your Funky Soul
King Slaughter
Straight Ahead

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JAMES BROWN Wormholes

Enter The Wormhole

August 4, 2011 – 10:33

<—Click To Enter

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JAMES BROWN Soundtracks

JAMES BROWN The Payback (1974)

August 1, 2011 – 08:19

The Payback (1974)
One Of JB’s Coolest LPs

“Originally released in 1973 as a sprawling two-LP set, The Payback was one of James Brown’s most ambitious albums of the 1970′s, and also one of his best, with Brown and his band relentlessly exploring the outer possibilities of the James Brown groove. Stretching eight cuts out over the space of nearly 73 minutes, The Payback is long on extended rhythmic jamming, and by this time Brown and his band had become such a potent and nearly telepathic combination that the musicians were able pull out lengthy solos while still maintaining some of the most hypnotic funk to be found anywhere, and on the album’s best songs — the jazzy “Time Is Running Out Fast”, the relentless “Shoot Your Shot”, the tight-wound “Mind Power”, and the bitter revenge fantasy of the title cut — the tough, sinuous rhythms and the precise interplay between the players is nothing short of a wonder to behold. Quite simply, this is remarkable stuff. The Payback turned out to be one of James Brown’s last inarguably great albums before he hit a long fallow streak in the mid-to-late 70′s, but no one listening to this set would ever imagine that this was the work of an artist (or a band) about to run out of gas.” – The All Music Guide (@320) Amazon. Bonus JB in Comments.

The Payback (7:40)
Doing The Best I Can (7:42)
Take Some… Leave Some (8:34)
Shoot Your Shot (8:09)
Forever Suffering (5:52)
Time Is Running Out Fast (12:48)
Stone To The Bone (10:15)
Mind Power (12:05)

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ELVIS PRESLEY JAMES BROWN MOJO PRESENTS

MOJO Presents x 3

March 13, 2011 – 09:34

Three more free CD samplers from the UK’s MOJO Magazine. Panic is from the latest issue, dated April, 2011. We’ve got more MOJO‘s in the archives, so check ‘em out. These are promo-only releases, but the ones below are all at Amazon (for a few bucks or a few pennies) – James Brown’s Funky Summer & Hail To The King!. 3 more next Sunday.

MOJO PRESENTS: Panic (April, 2011)
MADNESS – Blue Skinned Beast (3:22)
ROBERT WYATT – Shipbuilding (3:00)
BILLY BRAGG – Which Side Are You On? (2:30)
THE THREE JOHNS – The World Of The Workers Is Wild (2:41)
GIRLS AT OUR BEST! – Getting Nowhere Fast (1:58)
HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT – National Shite Day (6:17)
PETE WYLIE & WAH! – The Day That Margaret Thatcher Dies (4:08)
ORANGE JUICE – Lean Period (3:09)
THE NIGHTINGALES – First My Job (3:23)
TELEVISION PERSONALITIES – Paradise Estate (4:11)
FELT – Grey Streets (3:41)
THE MEKONS – Abernant 1984/5 (2:18)
THE REDSKINS – Lev Bronstein (3:51)
McCARTHY – Red Sleeping Beauty (3:35)
THE BAND OF HOLY JOY – Who Snatched The Baby? (4:54)

MOJO: James Brown’s Funky Summer (August, 2006)
JAMES BROWN – Gut Bucket (3:24)
MACEO AND ALL THE KING’S MEN – Funky Women (5:35)
VICKI ANDERSON – If You Don’t Give Me What I Want (2:46)
LYN COLLINS – You Can’t Love Me If You Don’t Respect Me (3:12)
JAMES BROWN – Get On The Good Foot (2:58)
FRED WESLEY & THE HORNY HORNS – Between Two Sheets (6:41)
BOOTSY COLLINS – What So Never The Dance (3:54)
JAMES BROWN – Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved (7:01)
BOBBY BYRD – I Know You Got Soul (4:40)
TAMMI TERRELL – What A Good Man He Is (2:57)
SOUL SURVIVORS – Please Please Please (3:28)
ALBERT KING – Cold Sweat (5:17)
ROY BROWN – Love Don’t Love Nobody (2:41)
THE 5 ROYALES – Think (2:19)
BRAILLE – Antenna (4:02)

MOJO: Hail To The King! (May, 2006)
THE JEFF BECK GROUP – All Shook Up (4:49)
DUFFY POWER – Lawdy Miss Clawdy (1:59)
BETTY EVERETT – Hound Dog (2:26)
ALBERT KING – That’s All Right (4:08)
LITTLE RICHARD – Money Honey (2:17)
THE ROCKIN’ REBELS – Baby, Let’s Play House (2:18)
JOHNNY CASH – I Forgot To Remember To Forget (1:50)
LINK WRAY – Love Me Tender (2:32)
ROY ORBISON – Trying To Get to You (2:37)
CHRIS CLARK – In The Ghetto (2:50)
VEZ – It’s Now Or Never (5:07)
JERRY LEE LEWIS – Don’t Be Cruel (1:57)
THE FLAMIN’ GROOVIES – Milkcow Blues (3:53)
DEAN CARTER – Jailhouse Rock (2:12)
DEAD KENNEDYS – Viva Las Vegas (3:05)

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JAMES BROWN

JAMES BROWN Dead On The Heavy Funk 1975-83 (1998)

January 29, 2010 – 16:30

Dead On The Heavy Funk 1975-83 (1998)
Cherry Picking JB’s Lean Years

Covering a period when James Brown’s funk influence was waning in the face of machine-made disco, 1998′s Dead On The Heavy Funk provides a valuable service by cherry picking and organizing some of JB’s better late 70s/early 80s material. Sure, it’s not the legendary stuff from the 60s… or the essential funk from the early 70s, but it’s the best of an anemic and oft-ignored period and probably worth having. Especially since you don’t have many of JB’s individual albums from this era anyway. Mutha Nature, Hot, People… anyone? Grab this and you’ll likely make it through life without needing any of them (or a half dozen others). Only real issue? For a disco-era compilation, the title, Dead On The Heavy Funk, is more of a marketing moniker than an accurate description of what’s inside. (@320)

1
Sex Machine (Part 1 And 2) (11:59)
Hustle!!! (Dead On It) (5:03)
Your Love (4:10)
Hot (I Need To Be Loved, Loved, Loved, Loved) (5:59)
Woman (3:47)
Medley: Get Up Offa That Thing/Release The Pressure (9:17)
I Refuse To Lose (7″ Mix) (3:48)
Bodyheat (9:23)
Kiss In ’77 (8:39)
Give Me Some Skin (3:57)
Bessie (3:18)
If You Don’t Five A Doggone About It (6:28)

2
Jam 1980′s (7:14)
The Spank (7:10)
Nature Part 1 (3:58)
Eyesight (5:31)
I Never, Never, Will Forget (6:33)
For Goodness Sakes, Look At Those Cakes (11:04)
A Man Understands (8:31)
It’s Too Funky In Here (6:31)
Regrets (6:29)
Rap Payback (Where Iz Moses?) (10:01)
Bring It On … Bring It On (4:05)

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CHUCK D JAMES BROWN

CHUCK D Tribb To JB

January 27, 2010 – 16:33

Tribb To JB (2007)
Chuck D’s Got Ants In His Pants

Righteous tribute to James Brown from Public Enemy’s frontman Chuck D, Kyle Jason & The Banned and the Slamjamz Artist Review. There’s so much JB available, it almost seems pointless to cover any of it. Besides, who on Earth could do it better than James and his superstar sidemen? But Chuck D pulls it off, with just the right mix of live-in-the-studio hard funk, a smattering of rap and some expert sampling & scratch. The few elements that run contrary to JB’s limited focus seem to update the Godfather’s influence, not defile it. JB fans should be pleased.

Intro (0:44)
Soul Power (4:53)
Make It Funky (5:40)
Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved (4:15)
Say It Loud (I’m Black And I’m Proud) (4:11)
It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World (4:23)
King Heroin (4:55)
Talking Loud, Saying Nothing (4:53)
Think Mama For The Soul Sisters (4:54)
Super Bad (5:56)
Funky President (3:57)
Outro (King Heroin Live) (10:01)

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J. ROCC JAMES BROWN

J. ROCC "Say It Loud" James Brown & Friends Pt. 2

March 24, 2009 – 04:44

“Say It Loud” James
Brown & Friends Pt. 2
J. Rocc’s 2nd Extended JB Mix

One track, 74 minutes, a non-stop funk fest comprised of scratchy 45s and Lps from James Brown and a few of his many offshoot bands, as mixed and sampled by J. Rocc. This is Rocc’s second mix & match JB collection. Hear it all below. (170VBR)

Intro/The Boss
Gimme Some More (2 Times)
Hot Pants Road
Pass The Peas
More Peas
Ain’t It Funky
Soul Power ’74
Party
I’m Paying Taxes But What Am I Buying?
Mama Feelgood
I Got Ants In My Pants (And I Want To Dance)
Sex Machine
Cold Sweat
There Was A Time
Funky Drummer
Make It Funky
Blind Man Can See It
You Can Have Watergate But Gimme Some Bucks And I’ll Be Straight
Let A Man Come In And Do Popcorn
Lick It/How You Gonna Get Respect
Honky Tonk
Think (About It)
Mother Popcorn
Baby, Here I Come
Popcorn With A Feeling
Take Me, Just As I Am
Take Some Leave Some
Transmograpification
Same Beat