Customer Reviews

Funky Good Time: Anthology

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My gosh... there was a time when except for a couple of short compilations put out here and there by Polydor, it was really impossible to find most of this stuff, unless you intended to pay some heavy bread for the original 45s and albums... and even then without a good discography in hand and the right resources it was hard to track down. - - Then when the hip hop DJs discovered this stuff and started sampling it, the values of the records themselves went through the roof.... now, finally funkateers, here they are, the best stuff, all in one place on a double CD anthology. - - The JBs epitomize the heavy funk side of James Brown... If you're a die hard funk-a-haulic, there's no need to preach to the congregation... If you're hear because you just happened to type the keyword "James Brown" and you're looking for "I Feel Good" or "Living In America" - - its time to get hip to the real, deep heavy funk, my friend. - - Though JB productions, JB is definitely at the healm throughout most of these sessions... in fact, the impression you get, is many of these sessions were just out-takes from If you're down with Bootsy, Maceo, Fred and all the gang (circa their P-Funk days) and JB's sound circa The Payback, Hell, Good Foot and Body Heat... here's the instrumental side of it... and its even badda' and better !

While I have the utmost respect for TOP's horn charts, nothing on earth beats or will ever beat this compilation of superb funk, courtesy of none other than the JB's.

I've been updating my James Brown catalogue, and finally got around to picking this up, and now I don't know what took me so long. Rappers have been sampling off James Brown since forever, and "Funky Good Time" will make the scam one-stop shopping.

...almost every single track on here deserves it's place in the funk hall of fame--and for additional excellence, do check out JB's "Soul Pride; the Instrumentals 1960-1969" which is equally brilliant (if lesser in funky chops).

Back in college, when I had just started my heavy funk scavenging ways, Polydor had the impeccable timing to release the JB's Anthology. At the time, I had the Godfather's The Payback and Hell in my collection, but nothing could prepare me for the dead-on funky acrobatics of Fred, Maceo and Please, Please, Please let us not forget Johnny "Jabo" Starks - THE original and ultimate Funky Drummer.

I probably played 75% of this nastiness on my college radio show, but of them all, I'll never forget the way "The JB's Monorail" turned my white friends upside down on their ear. A damn funky tune, rooted, like many of these selections in Late 60's/early 70's politics.

This, my friends, is IT. When on the look out for dusty, hidden funk gems, you must know that the absolute high water mark for this inspired musical artform was from 1969-1973. Any recording from those 5 years or so (1974&75 were solid too) is safe to lay your earnings down on.

Funky horn charts from Fred on Trombone and Maceo on Sax. Jabo laying down the Same Beat, Bootsy with the rubber basslines. And all of it punctuated by the hardest working man in show business' [funky] attitude.

Naw, Tricky Dick Nixon got nothing on Da JB's.

This is the first and last word in FUNK.

This two CD set represents two things: 1) a side of James Brown many don't get to see, given the countless pop compilations of his Top 40 music, and 2)the very best of the JBs. I love this album so much that I have been hunting down anything that sounds like it since I first heard it six years ago. I've discovered that this IS the definitive collection of the JBs hard hitting, mostly instrumental funk. Left off of this album are the cheesy tunes contained on the worst JBs effort ever, "Bring the Funk On Down." If you have so much as an inkling that you like funky music, buy this set. Highlights: "My Brother, Pass the Peas, Hot Pants Road, Honky Tonk, Soul Power '74, All Aboard the Soul Funky Train." Enjoy.

Even the most funk-obsessed will find soul-satisfaction in this 2-CD anthology. Roll back the carpet and get on the good foot because these horns are ready to please, please, please. The Godfather is never too far from the action but he does step aside long enough for the J.B.'s to show why they're the premier funk band in the business. Maceo Parker is way up front, providing ample evidence of just how much his yakety sax contributed to James Brown's success. Fred Wesley, on trombone, occasionally runs out of ideas before he runs out of notes, but this is not the kind of compilation one scrutinizes with a micrometer - you just get it and get into it.

With 30 great-gosh-almighty-hit-me-one-more-time-again tracks to select from, you might imagine there are quite a few standouts, too many to mention them all. Blessed Blackness is especially nice, as are Dirty Harri, Parrty, Doing It To Death, and Pass The Peas. My personal favorite is I'm Payin' Taxes, What Am I Buyin' - almost 10 minutes of outstanding backbeat, tight horns, great singing - and that magic ingredient - it's okay what you say.

composed of b-sides, live recordings, singles, unreleased cuts and a few outakes, the j.b.'s anthology cds are a mixed blessing. recorded between 1971-1976, there's a steady groove throughout and when the band gets a hook, they won't let it go until the music is faded down. although solos are rare, fred wesley and maceo parker soar when they get the chance and james brown himself joins in on vocals and keys on many of the tracks (he also produced, wrote and arranged most, if not all, of the music). tracks like "givin' up food for funk", "damn right i'm somebody" and "soul power 74" really show off the band in their prime and can rival any of brown's best tracks. anthology has a couple of big problems though. first, too much of the music sounds like drawn out musical breaks. james brown breaks are usually great, and there are no exceptions here, but when you hear the same four bars over and over, it gets a little stale. a bigger problem than that is that almost all of the tracks sound identical. that's about 2 hours of thinking you just heard the same song. anthology is certainly comprehensive and has many fine moments, but maximum enjoyment will probably rely on listening to it in moderation.

The other reviews say it all about the music: this is a treasure trove. I will add that the booklet is excellent. Lots of cool photos, details of when and who for each track, and interesting biographical info about the band.

I grew up on this stuff in the 60's to early 70's before music went disco in 1975. This was the kind of music that when I was a little girl, at 2 or 3 in the morning on the weekend, I heard playing on the "record player" that my parents were having their weekend "cabaret" party to with their friends down in the basement. Listening to this stuff is like eating fried chicken, hot cornbread, and blackeyed peas on Sunday afternoon after church!!! You don't get no funkier than this!!! REAL MUSIC, REAL, REAL, FUNKY MUSIC, where it sounds so good, and even though I never understood nothing James' country azz was saying, it still sounded good!!! Rest In Peace, James - real soul music went with you, wherever you went!!!

It is physically impossible not to dance to the groove laid down by the JB's on these 2 disks. They may have changed their line-up and their name more times than James Brown has said "ow", but they always maintain the funk. Every track makes you get up and move, and the horns are phenomenal. Of course, you can never go wrong with Maceo Parker in your corner. The only negative thing I can say is that one track sounds like something out of Hawaii 5-0. But if that's the worst of it, who cares? A word of warning- everyone you know will want to borrow it!

This whole collection is funk on a platter. An orgy of funk. If you're not dancing by the end of the live version of "Gimme some more", you must be dead. Buy it now and find out where the rappers got it from.