Customer Reviews

21 Essential Funk and Soul Classics

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

1. James Brown - "I Got You (I Feel Good)"
2. Chic - "Le Freak"
3. The Brothers Johnson - "Strawberry Letter 23"
4. Percy Sledge - "When a Man Loves a Woman"
5. The Stylistics - "You Are Everything"
6. James Brown - "Cold Sweat"
7. The Pointer Sisters - "Jump (For My Love)"
8. The Chi-Lites - "Have You Seen Her?"
9. The Dazz Band - "Let It Whip"
10. James Brown - "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"
11. Dionne Warwick - "Walk On By"
12. The Spinners - "I'll Be Around"
13. The Brothers Johnson - "Stomp!"
14. Chic - "Dance, Dance, Dance"
15. The Pointer Sisters - "Slow Hand"
16. The Spinners - "The Rubberband Man"
17. Dionne Warwick - "I Say a Little Prayer"
18. The Stylistics - "You Make Me Feel Brand New"
19. The Chi-Lites - "Oh Girl"
20. The Stylistics - "Betcha By Golly, Wow"
21. James Brown - "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"

No one can deny the impact of these singers and groups from the 1970s: James Brown, The Brothers Johnson, The Stylistics, The Pointer Sisters, The Spinners, Dionne Warwick, The Chi-Lites, Percy Sledge, and others. This collection, however, presents them in a variety of large concert settings 20 or 30 years past their prime, when age and gravity have taken their toll. Their voices are still strong and their backing is competent, so there's pleasure to be taken, but too often it feels like pledge night on PBS.

While the 21 songs on this disc are without exception big hits, most of them are performed in finales or medleys, so they're filled with introductions, singalongs, thank yous, curtain calls, and endless shots of the audience, all of which detract from the music. Also distracting is the mediocre camerawork, the inconsistent audio mix, and especially the editing, which chops medleys into short snippets that begin and end abruptly and are jumbled together in random order.

I love 70s soul music, but this DVD could have been much better recorded and assembled, so three stars is the highest rating I can give it. It includes a bonus video, a 15-minute European-made overview of James Brown's life and work.

A nice little collection of videos from stars of the 70's and 80's. If you're just starting a collection or if you just want to add a little something on the cheap, you'll find this one worth it.

Great quality for when it was made and sound quality was quite good too, very happy.

this is a winning hand if you are looking to get in on the funk collecton tip. the kind of jams that you will groove to and can play cards to and enjoy a Kool-Aid flavored cook out party. right on time jams here.