Hello, Into The Groove today and next week is all about the "Godfather", James Brown. He was one of the figures most responsible for turning R&B into soul and he was, most would agree, the figure most responsible for turning soul music into the funk of the late '60s and early '70s. He will be remembered as one of the greatest music artists of the 20th century, one that really did his "thang" with the full force of his convictions and being. James Brown first recorded professionally 50 years ago and from this first session came his first million seller "please, please, Please". 30 years later he was in the charts with Unity together with electro-funkateer Afrika Bambaata , inbetween he scored a 100 us hits, 40 million sellers. JB has cut some of the deepest grooves in popular music, and carved a legendary career , the total impact and importance of which will see the appreciation now that he's no more. (60 compilations released since his death)
*****
Brown's rags-to-riches-to-rags story has heroic and tragic dimensions of mythic resonance. Born into poverty in the South, he ran afoul of the law by the late '40s on an armed robbery conviction. With the help of singer Bobby Byrd's family, Brown gained parole and started a gospel group with Byrd, changing their focus to R&B as the rock revolution gained steam.
After the group's name was changed to The Flames, Brown and Byrd's group toured the Southern "chitlin' circuit", their first recording was the single "Please, Please, Please" (1956). The single was a #5 R&B hit, selling over a million copies. However, nine subsequent singles released by The Flames failed to live up to the success of their debut. Brown scored on the charts in the early 1960s with recordings such as his 1962 cover of "Night Train". While Brown's early singles were major hits across the southern United States and then regular R&B Top Ten hits, he and the Famous Flames were not successful nationally until his self-financed live show was captured on the 1963 LP Live at the Apollo. Brown financed the recording of the album himself, and it was released on King Records over the objections of label owner Syd Nathan, who saw no commercial potential in a live album containing no new songs. Defying Nathan's expectations, the album stayed on the pop charts for fourteen months, peaking at #2.
During the mid-1960s, two of Brown's signature tunes "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and "I Got You (I Feel Good)", both from 1965, were his first Top 10 pop hits, as well as major #1 R&B hits. These hits kicked off Brown's period of greatest commercial success and public visibility. From 1965 to the end of the decade, he was rarely off the R&B charts, often on the pop listings, and all over the concert circuit and national television. His music became even bolder and funkier, chunky rhythms and magnetic interplay between his vocals, horns, drums, and scratching electric guitar. The lyrics were not so much words as chanted, stream-of-consciousness slogans, often aligning themselves with black pride as well as good old-fashioned sex. Much of the credit for the sound he devised belonged to his top-notch supporting musicians such as saxophonists Maceo Parker, St. Clair Pinckney, and Pee Wee Ellis; guitarist Jimmy Nolen; backup singer and longtime loyal associate Bobby Byrd; and drummer Clyde Stubblefield.
Brown was both a brilliant bandleader and a stern taskmaster, the latter leading his band to walk out on him in late 1969. It turned out favourable, as he recruited a young outfit called the Pacemakers featuring guitarist Catfish Collins , bassist Bootsy Collins and trombonist and musical director Fred Wesley. This new backing band was dubbed "The J.B.'s", and the band made its debut on Brown's 1970 single "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine". Although they only stayed with him for about a year, they were crucial to Brown's evolution into even harder funk. The Colins brothers put their apprenticeship to good use, helping define '70s funk as members of the Parliament-Funkadelic axis.
In 1971, Brown began recording for Polydor Records which also took over distribution of Brown's King Records catalog. Many of his sidemen and supporting players, such as Fred Wesley & The J.B.'s, Bobby Byrd, Lyn Collins, Vicki Anderson and Hank Ballard, released records on the People label, an imprint founded by Brown that was purchased by Polydor as part of Brown's new contract. The recordings on the People label, almost all of which were produced by Brown himself, exemplified his "house style". Songs such as "I Know You Got Soul" by Bobby Byrd, "Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins and "Doing It to Death" by Fred Wesley & The J.B.'s are considered as much a part of Brown's recorded legacy as the recordings released under his own name. By the mid-1970s Brown's star-status was on the wane, and key musicians in his band such as Fred Wesley left to join Parliament-Funkadelic. The onslaught of the slickly commercial style of disco caught Brown off guard, as it superseded his raw style of funk music on the dance floor. His 1976 albums Get Up Offa That Thing and Bodyheat were Brown's first flirtations with disco rhythms and its slicker production techniques.
Brown's contract with Polydor expired in 1981, and his recording and touring schedule was somewhat reduced. Despite these events, Brown experienced something of a resurgence during the 1980s, effectively crossing over to a broader, more mainstream audience. He appeared in the feature films The Blues Brothers, Doctor Detroit and Rocky IV, as well as guest starring in the Miami Vice episode "Missing Hours" (1988). With the explosion of rap, however, which frequently sampled vintage J.B.'s records, Brown became hipper than ever. He collaborated with Afrika Bambaataa on the critical smash single "Unity" and reentered the Top Ten in 1986 with "Living in America." In 1988, Brown's personal life came crashing down in a well-publicized incident in which he was accused by his wife of assault and battery. After a year skirting hazy legal and personal troubles, he led the police on an interstate car chase after allegedly threatening people with a handgun. The episode ended in a six-year prison sentence that many felt was excessive; he was paroled after serving two years.
Throughout the '90s Brown continued to perform and release new material like Love Over-Due (1991), Universal James (1992), and I'm Back (1998). While none of these recordings could be considered as important as his earlier work and did little to increase his popularity, his classic catalog became more popular in the American mainstream during this time than it had been since the '70s, and not just among young rappers and samplers. One of the main reasons for this was a proper presentation of his recorded legacy.In 2004, Brown was diagnosed with prostate cancer but successfully fought the disease. By 2006, it was in remission and Brown, then 73, began a global tour dubbed the Seven Decades of Funk World Tour. Shortly after returning back home JB was admitted to the Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia on December 24, 2006 after a dentist visit where he was found to have severe pneumonia. Brown died the next day on December 25, 2006, around 1:45 a.m. at the age of 73.
JB 's sound, structure, the spirit of his monumental outpput was way ahead of it's time, a lot of what you hear in black music and pop offshoots is based on what JB layed down in the sixties. His self awareness, motivation and determination manifested when he assumed total command of his career in the sixties, with " I'm black and I'm proud" he showed coloured people a route out of the victimized trap.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
The CD of JB ( 85 ^ 99mb)
I posted this one 12/25/06, the day of his death, i repost an upgraded file here with 30% more bytes in his beats. First cd release of JB's sixties work in 1985, it enjoyed surprising commercial success . Rather than taking the standard greatest-hits approach, compiler Cliff White mixed familiar hits with rarities and even unreleased material, a shortened version of the later boxed-set formula. So, along with number one R&B hits like "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," "Super Bad," and "Mother Popcorn," one heard a previously unreleased version of "It's a Man's World," two years older than the better-known one, and "I Got You," an early version of "I Got You (I Feel Good)," culled from the withdrawn Out of Sight LP. The effect, especially for a first-time listener, was to whet the appetite for more....
01 - Doing it to Death (5:26)
02 - Super Bad (Mono) ( 3:02)
03 - Soul Power (Mono) ( 3:04)
04 - Think ( 3:16)
05 - It's a Man's World (Mono) ( 3:19)
06 - Try Me (I Need You) (Mono) ( 2:34)
07 - Bewildered (Mono) ( 2:28)
08 - Out of Sight ( 2:27)
09 - I Got You ( 2:31)
10 - Prisoner of Love ( 2:30)
11 - I Got the Feelin' (Mono) ( 2:45)
12 - Maybe the Last Time ( 3:04)
13 - Licking Stick - Licking Stick
14 - Mother Popcorn ( 3:15)
15 - Papa's Got a Brand New Bag (Mono) ( 2:10)
16 - Sex Machine ( 5:08)
17 - The Payback ( 3:25)
18 - Please, Please, Please (Mono) ( 2:44)
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
James Brown - Live At Studio 54, New York (81 ^ 95mb)
01 - Too Funky In Here (7:11)
02 - Funky Good Time (2:42)
03 - Get Up Off That Thing (6:04)
04 - Body Heat (5:06)
05 - Sex Machine (6:34)
06 - Try Me (4:21)
07 - Brown's Inferno (Bay Ridge Band) (3:03)
08 - Papa's Got A Brand New Bag (2:32)
09 - Good Foot (4:03)
James Brown - Live In New York 2 ( ^ 78mb)
10 - This Is A Man's World (14:44)
11 - Got That Feeling (2:39)
12 - Cold Sweat (3:12)
13 - Please, Please, Please (2:48)
14 - Jam (4:53)
15 - Bay Ridge Boogie (Bay Ridge Band) (2:09)
16 - Payback-Too Funky In Here (4:08)
lite version with Bay Ridge Band omitted
James Brown - Live At Studio 54, New York (81 * 98mb)
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Afrika Bambaataa & James Brown - Unity ( 84 ^ 86mb)
"the Godfather of Soul meets the Godfather of Hip Hop."
01 - Unity (Pt. 1 - The Third Coming) (3:20)
02 - Unity (Pt. 2 - Because It's Coming) (3:30)
03 - Unity (Pt. 3 - Nuclear Wild Style) (3:29)
04 - Unity (Pt. 4 - Can You See It) (6:47)
05 - Unity (Pt. 5 - The Light) (4:15)
06 - Unity (Pt. 6 - World War III) (2:44)
---Xs
07 - Hot ( I need to be loved, loved, loved, loved) ( 5:51)
08 - Froggy Mega Mix (6:19)
-----It's A Man's Man's World
-----Make It Funky
-----My Thang
-----Soul Power
-----Funky President (People It's Bad)
-----Say It Loud, I'm Black And I'm Proud
-----Give It Up, Or Turn It Loose
-----Honky Tonk
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
James Brown With Full Force - I'm Real (88 ^ 99mb)
A couple of years after Brown's return to the pop Top Ten with "Living In America," he decided to take a further shot at updating his sound with the help of the production team of Full Force. I'm Real is mostly a showcase for the writing and production of Full Force. Of course, since it's James Brown, some of the material is still worth hearing, but it's also clear why his comeback fizzled so quickly.
01 - Tribute (0:24)
02 - I'm Real (5:32)
03 - Static (Part 1 & 2) (4:52)
04 - Time To Get Busy (5:16)
05 - You & Me (4:37)
06 - She Looks All Types A' Good (5:23)
07 - Keep Keepin' (5:27)
08 - Can't Git Enuf (4:45)
09 - It's Your Money $ (5:36)
10 - Godfather Runnin' The Joint (2:31)
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
James Brown - Dynamite X ( 07 ^ 130mb)
Brown reinvented RnB as funk, where rhythm was the overwhelmingly dominant feature, and from which all modern dance music is directly descended. Unfortunately, many of the remixers on this album fail to acknowledge the importance of Brown’s music, opting instead to simply lay a James Brown vocal track over their own programmed beats. Dynamite X is an album for club dj's and dance music fans. For the home listener or closed minded funk purist it may all be a bit too much. Remix artists include Fantasista, Cornelius, Cay Taylan, Listen to Munro and more. Songs tackled include 'Funky Drummer', 'Call Me Superbad' and 'Sex Machine'. The 'Sex Machine' remix is a particular standout with it's funkier then funk punchy breakbeat loops. This album was recorded / compiled before JB's death, but released just after. Subsequently it sunk away with all attention on the real man and his music.
01 - Sex Machine (Readymade Jazz Defector Remix) (5:37)
02 - Soul Power (Jungle Funk Mix) (4:35)
03 - Call Me Superbad (Cay Taylan Remix) (5:01)
04 - Give It Up Or Turn It Lose (dZihan & Kamien Remix) (4:02)
05 - Funky Drummer (Listen To The Muro Mix) (4:35)
06 - Cold Sweat (Captain Funk Dry Mix) (4:02)
07 - Sunny (Funk Master J.B vs. Funk Master J.S Hardboiled Remix) (5:24)
08 - Give It Up Or Turn It Loose (Fantasista Re-Formation) (4:19)
09 - Get On The Good Foot (Mr Drunk Remix) (5:46)
10 - Soul Power (Co Fusion Mix) (4:08)
11 - Call Me Superbad (Cornelius Rework) (6:16)
James Brown - Dynamite X ( 07 * 99mb)
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !
*****
Brown's rags-to-riches-to-rags story has heroic and tragic dimensions of mythic resonance. Born into poverty in the South, he ran afoul of the law by the late '40s on an armed robbery conviction. With the help of singer Bobby Byrd's family, Brown gained parole and started a gospel group with Byrd, changing their focus to R&B as the rock revolution gained steam.
After the group's name was changed to The Flames, Brown and Byrd's group toured the Southern "chitlin' circuit", their first recording was the single "Please, Please, Please" (1956). The single was a #5 R&B hit, selling over a million copies. However, nine subsequent singles released by The Flames failed to live up to the success of their debut. Brown scored on the charts in the early 1960s with recordings such as his 1962 cover of "Night Train". While Brown's early singles were major hits across the southern United States and then regular R&B Top Ten hits, he and the Famous Flames were not successful nationally until his self-financed live show was captured on the 1963 LP Live at the Apollo. Brown financed the recording of the album himself, and it was released on King Records over the objections of label owner Syd Nathan, who saw no commercial potential in a live album containing no new songs. Defying Nathan's expectations, the album stayed on the pop charts for fourteen months, peaking at #2.
During the mid-1960s, two of Brown's signature tunes "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and "I Got You (I Feel Good)", both from 1965, were his first Top 10 pop hits, as well as major #1 R&B hits. These hits kicked off Brown's period of greatest commercial success and public visibility. From 1965 to the end of the decade, he was rarely off the R&B charts, often on the pop listings, and all over the concert circuit and national television. His music became even bolder and funkier, chunky rhythms and magnetic interplay between his vocals, horns, drums, and scratching electric guitar. The lyrics were not so much words as chanted, stream-of-consciousness slogans, often aligning themselves with black pride as well as good old-fashioned sex. Much of the credit for the sound he devised belonged to his top-notch supporting musicians such as saxophonists Maceo Parker, St. Clair Pinckney, and Pee Wee Ellis; guitarist Jimmy Nolen; backup singer and longtime loyal associate Bobby Byrd; and drummer Clyde Stubblefield.
Brown was both a brilliant bandleader and a stern taskmaster, the latter leading his band to walk out on him in late 1969. It turned out favourable, as he recruited a young outfit called the Pacemakers featuring guitarist Catfish Collins , bassist Bootsy Collins and trombonist and musical director Fred Wesley. This new backing band was dubbed "The J.B.'s", and the band made its debut on Brown's 1970 single "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine". Although they only stayed with him for about a year, they were crucial to Brown's evolution into even harder funk. The Colins brothers put their apprenticeship to good use, helping define '70s funk as members of the Parliament-Funkadelic axis.
In 1971, Brown began recording for Polydor Records which also took over distribution of Brown's King Records catalog. Many of his sidemen and supporting players, such as Fred Wesley & The J.B.'s, Bobby Byrd, Lyn Collins, Vicki Anderson and Hank Ballard, released records on the People label, an imprint founded by Brown that was purchased by Polydor as part of Brown's new contract. The recordings on the People label, almost all of which were produced by Brown himself, exemplified his "house style". Songs such as "I Know You Got Soul" by Bobby Byrd, "Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins and "Doing It to Death" by Fred Wesley & The J.B.'s are considered as much a part of Brown's recorded legacy as the recordings released under his own name. By the mid-1970s Brown's star-status was on the wane, and key musicians in his band such as Fred Wesley left to join Parliament-Funkadelic. The onslaught of the slickly commercial style of disco caught Brown off guard, as it superseded his raw style of funk music on the dance floor. His 1976 albums Get Up Offa That Thing and Bodyheat were Brown's first flirtations with disco rhythms and its slicker production techniques.
Brown's contract with Polydor expired in 1981, and his recording and touring schedule was somewhat reduced. Despite these events, Brown experienced something of a resurgence during the 1980s, effectively crossing over to a broader, more mainstream audience. He appeared in the feature films The Blues Brothers, Doctor Detroit and Rocky IV, as well as guest starring in the Miami Vice episode "Missing Hours" (1988). With the explosion of rap, however, which frequently sampled vintage J.B.'s records, Brown became hipper than ever. He collaborated with Afrika Bambaataa on the critical smash single "Unity" and reentered the Top Ten in 1986 with "Living in America." In 1988, Brown's personal life came crashing down in a well-publicized incident in which he was accused by his wife of assault and battery. After a year skirting hazy legal and personal troubles, he led the police on an interstate car chase after allegedly threatening people with a handgun. The episode ended in a six-year prison sentence that many felt was excessive; he was paroled after serving two years.
Throughout the '90s Brown continued to perform and release new material like Love Over-Due (1991), Universal James (1992), and I'm Back (1998). While none of these recordings could be considered as important as his earlier work and did little to increase his popularity, his classic catalog became more popular in the American mainstream during this time than it had been since the '70s, and not just among young rappers and samplers. One of the main reasons for this was a proper presentation of his recorded legacy.In 2004, Brown was diagnosed with prostate cancer but successfully fought the disease. By 2006, it was in remission and Brown, then 73, began a global tour dubbed the Seven Decades of Funk World Tour. Shortly after returning back home JB was admitted to the Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia on December 24, 2006 after a dentist visit where he was found to have severe pneumonia. Brown died the next day on December 25, 2006, around 1:45 a.m. at the age of 73.
JB 's sound, structure, the spirit of his monumental outpput was way ahead of it's time, a lot of what you hear in black music and pop offshoots is based on what JB layed down in the sixties. His self awareness, motivation and determination manifested when he assumed total command of his career in the sixties, with " I'm black and I'm proud" he showed coloured people a route out of the victimized trap.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
The CD of JB ( 85 ^ 99mb)
I posted this one 12/25/06, the day of his death, i repost an upgraded file here with 30% more bytes in his beats. First cd release of JB's sixties work in 1985, it enjoyed surprising commercial success . Rather than taking the standard greatest-hits approach, compiler Cliff White mixed familiar hits with rarities and even unreleased material, a shortened version of the later boxed-set formula. So, along with number one R&B hits like "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," "Super Bad," and "Mother Popcorn," one heard a previously unreleased version of "It's a Man's World," two years older than the better-known one, and "I Got You," an early version of "I Got You (I Feel Good)," culled from the withdrawn Out of Sight LP. The effect, especially for a first-time listener, was to whet the appetite for more....
01 - Doing it to Death (5:26)
02 - Super Bad (Mono) ( 3:02)
03 - Soul Power (Mono) ( 3:04)
04 - Think ( 3:16)
05 - It's a Man's World (Mono) ( 3:19)
06 - Try Me (I Need You) (Mono) ( 2:34)
07 - Bewildered (Mono) ( 2:28)
08 - Out of Sight ( 2:27)
09 - I Got You ( 2:31)
10 - Prisoner of Love ( 2:30)
11 - I Got the Feelin' (Mono) ( 2:45)
12 - Maybe the Last Time ( 3:04)
13 - Licking Stick - Licking Stick
14 - Mother Popcorn ( 3:15)
15 - Papa's Got a Brand New Bag (Mono) ( 2:10)
16 - Sex Machine ( 5:08)
17 - The Payback ( 3:25)
18 - Please, Please, Please (Mono) ( 2:44)
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
James Brown - Live At Studio 54, New York (81 ^ 95mb)
01 - Too Funky In Here (7:11)
02 - Funky Good Time (2:42)
03 - Get Up Off That Thing (6:04)
04 - Body Heat (5:06)
05 - Sex Machine (6:34)
06 - Try Me (4:21)
07 - Brown's Inferno (Bay Ridge Band) (3:03)
08 - Papa's Got A Brand New Bag (2:32)
09 - Good Foot (4:03)
James Brown - Live In New York 2 ( ^ 78mb)
10 - This Is A Man's World (14:44)
11 - Got That Feeling (2:39)
12 - Cold Sweat (3:12)
13 - Please, Please, Please (2:48)
14 - Jam (4:53)
15 - Bay Ridge Boogie (Bay Ridge Band) (2:09)
16 - Payback-Too Funky In Here (4:08)
lite version with Bay Ridge Band omitted
James Brown - Live At Studio 54, New York (81 * 98mb)
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Afrika Bambaataa & James Brown - Unity ( 84 ^ 86mb)
"the Godfather of Soul meets the Godfather of Hip Hop."
01 - Unity (Pt. 1 - The Third Coming) (3:20)
02 - Unity (Pt. 2 - Because It's Coming) (3:30)
03 - Unity (Pt. 3 - Nuclear Wild Style) (3:29)
04 - Unity (Pt. 4 - Can You See It) (6:47)
05 - Unity (Pt. 5 - The Light) (4:15)
06 - Unity (Pt. 6 - World War III) (2:44)
---Xs
07 - Hot ( I need to be loved, loved, loved, loved) ( 5:51)
08 - Froggy Mega Mix (6:19)
-----It's A Man's Man's World
-----Make It Funky
-----My Thang
-----Soul Power
-----Funky President (People It's Bad)
-----Say It Loud, I'm Black And I'm Proud
-----Give It Up, Or Turn It Loose
-----Honky Tonk
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
James Brown With Full Force - I'm Real (88 ^ 99mb)
A couple of years after Brown's return to the pop Top Ten with "Living In America," he decided to take a further shot at updating his sound with the help of the production team of Full Force. I'm Real is mostly a showcase for the writing and production of Full Force. Of course, since it's James Brown, some of the material is still worth hearing, but it's also clear why his comeback fizzled so quickly.
01 - Tribute (0:24)
02 - I'm Real (5:32)
03 - Static (Part 1 & 2) (4:52)
04 - Time To Get Busy (5:16)
05 - You & Me (4:37)
06 - She Looks All Types A' Good (5:23)
07 - Keep Keepin' (5:27)
08 - Can't Git Enuf (4:45)
09 - It's Your Money $ (5:36)
10 - Godfather Runnin' The Joint (2:31)
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
James Brown - Dynamite X ( 07 ^ 130mb)
Brown reinvented RnB as funk, where rhythm was the overwhelmingly dominant feature, and from which all modern dance music is directly descended. Unfortunately, many of the remixers on this album fail to acknowledge the importance of Brown’s music, opting instead to simply lay a James Brown vocal track over their own programmed beats. Dynamite X is an album for club dj's and dance music fans. For the home listener or closed minded funk purist it may all be a bit too much. Remix artists include Fantasista, Cornelius, Cay Taylan, Listen to Munro and more. Songs tackled include 'Funky Drummer', 'Call Me Superbad' and 'Sex Machine'. The 'Sex Machine' remix is a particular standout with it's funkier then funk punchy breakbeat loops. This album was recorded / compiled before JB's death, but released just after. Subsequently it sunk away with all attention on the real man and his music.
01 - Sex Machine (Readymade Jazz Defector Remix) (5:37)
02 - Soul Power (Jungle Funk Mix) (4:35)
03 - Call Me Superbad (Cay Taylan Remix) (5:01)
04 - Give It Up Or Turn It Lose (dZihan & Kamien Remix) (4:02)
05 - Funky Drummer (Listen To The Muro Mix) (4:35)
06 - Cold Sweat (Captain Funk Dry Mix) (4:02)
07 - Sunny (Funk Master J.B vs. Funk Master J.S Hardboiled Remix) (5:24)
08 - Give It Up Or Turn It Loose (Fantasista Re-Formation) (4:19)
09 - Get On The Good Foot (Mr Drunk Remix) (5:46)
10 - Soul Power (Co Fusion Mix) (4:08)
11 - Call Me Superbad (Cornelius Rework) (6:16)
James Brown - Dynamite X ( 07 * 99mb)
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !
