Fight Against Drug Abuse (Public Service Anouncement)
The short-lived first incarnation of the JB's, with future Parliament-arian bassist Bootsy Collins, brother Catfish Collins on guitar, Jabo Starks and/or Clyde Stubblefield on drums, this is the edgiest, meanest, leanest l... more »ineup maestro James Brown ever assembled, and the music they made in this single year is still among the freshest, most soul-stirring funk on earth decades later. Check out James's pleas for tenor saxophonist Robert McCollough to "blow me some 'Trane, brother!" Expansive, incisive. This compilation, prepared and ideally notated by Harry Weinger and one-time JB manager Alan Leeds, is so full of groove it could doubtless sub for a faulty pacemaker. --John Corbett« less
The short-lived first incarnation of the JB's, with future Parliament-arian bassist Bootsy Collins, brother Catfish Collins on guitar, Jabo Starks and/or Clyde Stubblefield on drums, this is the edgiest, meanest, leanest lineup maestro James Brown ever assembled, and the music they made in this single year is still among the freshest, most soul-stirring funk on earth decades later. Check out James's pleas for tenor saxophonist Robert McCollough to "blow me some 'Trane, brother!" Expansive, incisive. This compilation, prepared and ideally notated by Harry Weinger and one-time JB manager Alan Leeds, is so full of groove it could doubtless sub for a faulty pacemaker. --John Corbett
CD Reviews
Absolutely relentless grooves
m_noland | Washington, DC United States | 09/09/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"By this point the story is well-known: in 1970 James Brown's band quit en masse, and he recruited a group of unpolished kids featuring the 18 year old Bootsy Collins to be his backing band. He would hold this band together for a year before Collins et al. would quit.This band was not without its weaknesses. The horn section was no match for Maceo Parker and the other 1960s veterans who had quit. The call-and-response was reduced to James and longtime sideman Bobby Byrd. But, heavens above, what grooves. They are absolutely relentless. If this music can't get you up, you'd better call the undertaker. Working with the resources at hand, pushing Bootsy's bass to the front, JB maximizes what he's got. The high point is a previously unreleased 15 minute version of "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing" in which JB goes into a rant on self-respect, race relations, taxes, drugs, and whatever else came into head that night -- "I don't want a cat tryin' to drive a plane who hasn't been to school!"If I wanted to explain to someone what America was, I'd hand 'em a copy of this CD. It's a true cultural artifact. It ought to be in the Smithsonian. It ought to be required listening in public schools. They ought to put JB on a postage stamp. Next time we send one of those vehicles into deep space we ought to broadcast this to anyone who's listening and help them get a groove on. Get on up! Get into it! Get involved! Get involved! Get involved!"
Talkin' loud and sayin' somethin'
katja_r | 10/19/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Wow! James Brown and little else. The music on this CD enhanced my appreciation of the legend. Long-time associate, Bobby Byrd, is the link between JB and the talented crew of uninitiated musicians, chief among them William "Bootsy" Collins. Bootsy would go on to become a legendary funk pioneer of his own with George Clinton so, it is interesting to hear him in his formative year with JB. The notes written by Alan Leeds, who worked for JB during this period, fill in the background. It's an exciting story, but I won't spoil it for you by repeating it here. Leeds describes the young band as "everything the classic Brown Bands were not -- loose, unpolished, occasionally out of tune and SMALL." All of this puts more pressure on Soul Brother No. 1. Adversity only increased the determination of the Hardest Workin' Man in Showbiz. THERE WAS A TIME is characteristic of the best of this collection. The band locks into a solid groove that makes me move. It is simple stuff which provides a platform for the rap of James Brown, which is awesome. How he maintains interest for over 7 minutes in this loose format is a tribute to his innate sense of performance. The longest track is nearly 15 minutes, TALKIN' LOUD AND SAYIN' NOTHING, yet, I am disappointed to hear it end. Five minutes into the song, in a demonstration of supreme confidence, James Brown does "something funny"; he stops real quick; then, he and Bobby Byrd engage in an unaccompanied call and response for a full 20 seconds. That is heartstopping funk. When the band starts up, again, the song is completely rejuvenated. At 7 minutes, James Brown has fun with his own mistake. "Shape, shape, shape, shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhape, shape, shape, (it's hard for me to say it sometimes), shhhhhhhhhhape. Shape up your thang, don't worry 'bout mine." Then, for a brief minute, I feel transported into JB's living room as he jokes with Bobby Byrd, which includes the Minister of Soul preaching a message of self-reliance before he seamlessly segues back into the song. If you are interested in the brief period when Bootsy Collins worked for James Brown, or if you want to hear incredible funk by a virtuoso performer, this CD will interest you."
Rump Shakin' Funk At It's Best!
dubeaumarchaix | Columbus, Ohio | 01/07/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If this CD doesn't make you want to get up and dance, you are surely not among the living. The JB's are a rawer, looser band than the Famous Flames--James Brown's band prior to this recording. This CD includes the full versions of classic JB tracks like "Super Bad" and "Soul Power." The band is in full-on funk mode, with the rock-solid Bootsy Collins providing the bottom end that will shake a million bottom ends. Jump back, I wanna kiss Polydor for re-issuing this monumental, classic music. This one is for anyone who likes it on the one."
Here's A Disc For Yo' Desert Island...
David Wayne | Santee, CA United States | 06/14/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Here's the story: While on the road, James Brown's band came to him with a list of demands, not the least of which was for more pay. James kicked them ALL to the curb (a drummer and a saxist thought better of it, and stayed). But James had been rehearsing a group of kids as a backup band up at King Studios in Cincinnati. He got on the phone to Bobby Byrd, and THAT NIGHT those kids were his new backing band! That's how the JB's were born. James recorded with this band, which featured Catfish and Bootsy Collins, for just over a year. What came of it? Only "Sex Machine," "Super Bad," "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved," "Soul Power," and "Talkin' Loud And Saying Nothin'"! That's all! In other words, five of James's baddest, most influential grooves. There is also a slew of other notable performances here. But the version of "I Got To Move" that's included here pales before the version on "In The Jungle Groove." Regardless, make sure to bring this disc with you anytime you plan on flying over the ocean. After your plane has crashed and you been reported missing and presumed dead; after 7 years have passed and they finally find you on that desert island, eating coconut and listening to this album on your discman, tell them, "Hell, no! I ain't goin' back! ""
Right On, People! Let It All Hang OUT!
dubeaumarchaix | 01/10/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've had this cd since it was released in 1996, but diving into it once again the other night inspired me to share a few thoughts. Somewhere in my old vinyl collection is a JB compilation issued in the early '80's entitled "Can Your Heart Stand It?" That would have made a better parenthetical title for this disk: Heart conditions and pacemakers would be severely tested by daring to listen to this--because there's absolutely no choice in the matter: You Must and you Will get on up and get into it! I mean, people, this cd does not stop; it's just one hard-hitting groove after another. The only tempo breaks are the few seconds between tracks--and those'll do you no good unless you have a superhuman ability to stop on a dime. Another reviewer mentioned the full-length version of "Talking Loud And Saying Nothing" as one of the highlights; I concur heartily.. I also love the full, nearly ten-minute version of "Super Bad," which, along with a relentless groove, features a couple of the most gut-splitting high-pitched screams the Godfather ever uttered. Even the anti-drug PSA is supported by the JB's getting and staying on a groove while the Minister tells you why you should stay away from the stuff. Oh yes, you do get a few seconds to catch your breath at the beginning of the alternate version of "Sex Machine"--but you will hear James moving what sounds like a metal-legged kitchen chair out of his way, so he can do his thang yet again. ..."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1