| S E X M A C H I N E |

Let me introduce myself before I do anything else. I am Chris, born early during the latter half of 1990, I had the opportunity to experience the late 90's with pretty good understanding of what was going on around me. But as far as music goes, my interests were prenatal: Stevie Wonder, Switch, Antonio Jobim, David Bowie, Fela Kuti, and Sugarfoot to name a few. With that said, I'll probably work all of my blog posts to highlight various artists within the spectrums of Jazz, Blues, Soul, Funk, New Jack Swing, Afrobeat, African Music, Hip-Hop, and the stuff that falls in-between, alternating between the contemporary and the classics. Mind you, this will probably be a big focus of the blogs I'll do, but I'm still open to exposing some music in the vein of House, Trip-Hop, Tango, Classical, etc.

This week, I'm going to focus on Mr. Dynamite, the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, Sex Machine, Mr. Please Please Please Her, The Godfather of Soul- Brotha James Brown.

This man is one of the early founders of funk - the other two being Sly Stone and George Clinton. James Brown came out on the scene in the late 50's, born 'n raised in the South and thusly influenced by the popular gospel-tinged R&B of Ray Charles and Little Richard. But it wasn't until the mid-sixties when James Brown really began to blow up around America, at first being limited mostly to Black venues and Black patronage. With hits such as "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "Out of Sight", James Brown began to attract the White audiences of America, earning him the leverage he needed for his future hits.

James Brown however galvanized music forever more with his smash hit, "Cold Sweat", oftentimes credited with being the first ever, true Funk Song. His surge in popularity was boosted even more by his appearances on the Soul Train (being interviewed by a young Al Sharpton himself), and his Civil Rights Movement-themed piece of "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)". Ironically, the chorus of "Say It Loud" led James Brown to recruit a few youths for the refrain and a majority of them were white or Asian with only a few Black children to sing in it. [I lol'd].

After James Brown had become a driving musical force in the late 60's, hit after hit was issued. "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", "I Got the Feelin'", "Mother Popcorn", "Super Bad", and least of all, "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine)" followed James Brown from the 60's into the duration of the 70's, his popularity waning into the 80's. But the 80's were far from devoid of James Brown's influence - Prince and Michael Jackson both being the most popular artists of the 80's, drawing upon James Brown vocal inflections and funk sensibilities.

So, to follow that quick run, I'mma review Brotha JB's album: Sex Machine.

"Shake your arms, then use your form/ stay on the scene like a sex machine./ You got to have the feeling - sure as you're born./ Get it together, right on, right on."

Tracklisting

o1. getup(ifeellikebeinga)sexmachine

o2. brotherrapp(pts1-2)

o3. bewildered

o4. igotthefeelin

o5. giveituporturnitloose

o6. idontwantnobodytogivemenothing(openupthedoorillgetitmyself)

o7. lickingstick--lickingstick

o8. lowdownpopcorn

o9. spinningwheel

1o. ifiruledtheworld

11. therewasatime

12. itsamansmansworld

13. pleasepleaseplease

14. icantstandmyself(whenyoutouchme)

15. motherpopcorn

This is one of the many compilations of James Brown's live tours throughout the decades - usually connecting a good two or three shows that he had performed a few days from one another. James Brown begins by asking if he can do his thing, really get into it, do his thing, get into it - then he counts it off. He tells you to "Get Up, Stay on the Scene, Like a Sex Machine" and you do as he says. When this album came out, James Brown had already formed his all-star band of the JB's. He already had the legendary Saxophonist and right-hand man, Maceo Parker, as well as the future legend of the P-Funk Collective, Bootsy Collins on bass. From the get go, as you can expect from a James Brown album, James Brown gets down with his bad self, staying on the one and keeping it funky from start to finish. He opens up with the legendary, "Get Up ( I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" and the track grooves on for a good eleven minutes. Without giving you time to catch a breath, he gets back into a groove with his "Brother Rapp" which lasts Five minutes. A quick montage previous hits follows with "Bewildered" as he references past hits. "I Got the Feelin'" was also a popular song, it being lip-synched in a particular episode of the Cosby Show with Theo mimicking James Brown (Awesome Episode btw).

What follows, however, lacks the in pocket groove of the earlier parts of the album. Not to say that the rest of the album is bad however. "Spinning Wheel" and "Lowdown Popcorn" are mostly instrumental grooves which show off the precision of James Brown's tight band. The following five tracks, "If I Ruled the World" through "I Can't Stand Myself ( When You Touch Me)" serve as the standard fare in a James Brown show - a medley of his most popular hits at the time. The Medley is composed of short snippets of his more soulful hits, reminding the audience that James Brown has vocal merit beyond his spine-chilling ululations and soul growls. But the reason I bought the album (other than for Sex Machine and rumors that it just is funking amazing) is for the track "Mother Popcorn" at the very end. This funk jam reminded me of the glory of "Cold Sweat".

James Brown's influence on music is evident as you listen to Sex Machine - the soulful screams of Prince, funky basslines of Bootsy Collins, Horny Horns of Parliament. James Brown epitomized Black Music and, for the most part, continues to do so. As time goes on, I might end up doing a review of another one of his records. But as it stands, next in line is probably going to be Fela Kuti - a legend that had come out of Nigeria and was to Africa, what James Brown was to America, Fela Kuti himself actually meeting James Brown and being directly influenced by the Godfather of Soul.


Well, that's all for this week's Funk. In the mean while, Get up offa that thing, shake it, you'll feel better!

Get up offa that thing - James Brown
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 { James Brown picture @ Consequence of Sound }

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