J. E FELL | Carterville, Illinois United States | 02/16/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I purchased this disk "Time Has Come Today: The Best Of The Chambers Brothers" to get a copy of the great song "Time Has Come Today" which is a combination of psychedelic rock and soul. I was pleasantly surprised with the rest of the songs on the disk. The Chambers Brothers were one of the first integrated rock groups and their music was a great combination of psychedelic rock, gospel, soul and funk. Besides the memorable "Time Has Come Today" cuts like "A New Time - A New Day" and "Love, Peace and Happiness" emphasize the more psychedelic aspects of the band and contain some nasty distorted guitar work. Cuts like "Uptown" and "I Can't Turn You Loose" are more soulful cuts. "People Get Ready" brings the band's gospel roots to the front with excellent harmony vocals and a touching rendition of this classic song. "All Strung Out Over You", "I Can't Stand It" and "Funky" have infectious danceable funky beats. The music is sort of a cross between Jimi Hendrix, James Brown and Sly & The Family Stone. The compilation from 1966-1970 contains some rare singles and soundtrack cuts as well as an additional alternate version of "Time Has Come Today". My only regret is that the disk is not longer. It is approximately 63 minutes so a number of additional cuts could have been added including the over 10 minute album version of "Time Has Come Today" rather than the single version included here. Do not let this deter you from purchasing this set. It is better than either of the other compilations listed on this site because it contains more cuts than either "Greatest Hits" or "Time". There are only 3 total songs from these other 2 compilations that do not appear on "Time Has Come:Best Of The Chamber's Brothers". This is a fine representation of how the musicians and bands of the sixties incorporated the influences of other genres of music into their own sound. It is a shame that this band is only known for "Time Has Come Today" because the Chambers Brothers deserve better as evidenced by this anthology."
Soul Rock Pioneers
David Kinney | San Francisco, Ca. United States | 09/03/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Soon after purchasing this wonderful collection of soulfully rockin' gems I mentioned it to my old highschool buddy Pat,who's a record collecting fiend. "Dang, I'd forgotten all about them" ,he said. Well, me too,and that was unfortunate because I missed out on hearing some great music for the past thirty years. The Chambers Brothers were arguably the first self contained,songwriting, African American rock band in America.With the addition of British drummer Brian Keenan they were one of the first integrated bands to have success.They pioneered the way for Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone so their historical value would be substantial even if they were mediocre.In fact they're terrific!Great gospel trained voices singing funky rock n' soul over big fat beats.This was the sound that lessers like Rare Earth and Pacific Gas and Electric were trying for,but they just did'nt have the moxie to pull it off.'Time Has Come Today' was the big hit,and the version that appears here benefits from having seven minutes of psychedelic frou-frou edited from the middle.What's left is a tight rockin' tick tockin' postcard from the swinging sixties. Every song on here is fun and swinging.The live "Wade In The Water" provides an excellent example of just how good these guys were in concert.So now I gotta have their live album too.After all I gotta make up for thirty years time.You should get yours now."
Where is the long version???
Philip L. Walsh Jr. | Island Heights, NJ | 01/05/2006
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Without the long version of "Time Has Come" how can this be the best of the Cambers Bros. Was very dissapointed. Pass this one up.
Look for the long version."
SONY/COLUMBIA: Generally shameful treatment of this great ba
donkey_shot | Switzerland | 12/05/2008
(2 out of 5 stars)
"The wonderful, multi-racial CHAMBERS BROTHERS are yet another example of the shameful way in which the major companies can treat a great musical heritage: Former band members have been in litigation against Columbia Records and its parent company, Sony for more than two decades now. Like many other artists of the 60s, the CHAMBERS have apparently not seen a dime from Columbia for many, many years.
All the while, Sony/Columbia has been repackaging CHAMBERS BROTHERS product in a bitpiece way since the advent of the cd format: one morsel here, another scrap there! After (commendably, surprisingly) re-releasing "The Time Has Come" with bonus tracks in 2000, no further material has been forthcoming; instead, fans are being treated to shoddy-at-best re-issues that often overlap - this "best of" collection being just another example of such heartless business policy. It is highly doubtful that former band members have seen any of Sony/Columbia`s cd sales profits diverted their way...
Meanwhile, none of the Columbia-era CHAMBERS BROTHERS albums (save the first, as mentioned) are currently in print: Used cd copies of "Love, Peace and Happiness", which was licensed by Columbia to GNP/Crescendo in the 90s sell on the internet for upwards of $100...and all the while, former members of this great psychedelic relic most likely have to scrape together a livelihood.
My personal experience with this fine vocal group BTW contrasts markedly with the stingy corporate policies I just described:
My (then-)girlfriend and I saw the CHAMBERS BROTHERS play a small L.A. club at the very tail-end of their career, in 1984. They performed in front of an audience of perhaps 5-10 patrons (!).
The CHAMBERS BROTHERS worked their way through material spanning their whole (even then!) mighty 25-year career - and they played their hearts out for 90 minutes in a display of pure professionalism: An experience I will not forget.
Oh yeah, right, "hearts": You people at corporate headquarters wouldn`t know what I`m talking about, now would you?"