Customer Reviews

Gravity

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

 

 

This album is just non-stop funky. I originally got it just because I loved Living In America when I first heard it- but I was pleasantly surprised to find the rest of the cd just as good. Check out Turn Me Loose I'm Dr. Feelgood, Let's Get Personal, and Gravity- they're among the best on the cd.

This was the LP (now CD) that put James back on the map in the 1980's. Performing "Living In America" in Rocky III gave Americans a patriotic jam to groove with. Even though one can tell that these are not all JB written songs, (for the most part)this turned out to be his last great album until "I'm Real" came out late in the decade with hits "Static" and "I'm Real". But that is another review. I love "Gravity", "Dr. Feelgood", and "Return To Me," but my favorite groove overall was "Goliath" because that was a hard moving groove with JB-like horns.

I had looked to replace this CD for years and was happy to find it. It is unlike JB's other music and I found it great to listen to. Upbeat and a great look at life.

Product was ordered and received in no time all. Thanks for a speedy transaction.

I've been looking for 'How Do You Stop' for quite some time. Finally realized it was on this disc. Thank you, James, for such a great song.

In addition to the soulful classics & funky dance moves that made him famous, he was also a great singer of many ballads...which is actually how his career began. I recall my Pops playing a catchy J.B. slow jam on a cassette tape back in the mid-80's, automatically took a liking to it & thought I would never hear it again...the song, "How Do You Stop" made this cd a must have for my collection. It's a great buy for a true J.B. fan. Long live his legacy and his music. Thanks for sharing your special gift with us in the Augusta, Ga. & surrounding areas...along with the rest of the world. You're the best ever.

... because you were the musical genius who brought James Brown back into the spotlight with a sound reminiscent of classic disco (the all-male background vocal chants are pure Village People)... while "Living In America" gets your feet tappin', it's "Goliath" with its irresistible deep house groove and smokin' horn charts that make it this album's obvious highlight. We'll miss you both - R.I.P., James and Dan.

When it was first released back in 1986 on the heels of the Godfather's huge comeback hit "Living in America," Gravity was well received by the general public--it even spawned a second hit, the ballad "How do you Stop," and further boosted the sales of the "America" single. Hardcore Godfather fans were split down the middle, however. Though happy to see their main man back on the top of the heap, it was disheartening that the album had been written and produced by others, using mostly-faceless studio musicians instead of JB's touring band. In other words, it wasn't True Godfather. And to top it off, the music wasn't all that funky, being more pop oriented. Godfather lite. And sadly, this was to be the standard operating procedure Scotti Brothers imposed on Brown for the most of the albums he recorded for the company.

However, twenty years down the line, "Gravity" is proving to have legs. Compared to the material created for later albums by flavor of the month hacks like Jazzy B, C&C Music Factory, and Full Force etc, the tunes and musicianship of white soulsters Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight seem bright and intelligent (the track "Goliath" is particularly excellent and should have been a single instead of the limper title track). AND James could actually sing the Hartman-Midnight songs well, something that can't be said for many of the tunes later producers slapped together for the man--with bland, strict vocal rhythms that didn't fit Brown's raucous, open, improvisitory style and in keys the godfather just wasn't comfortable in.
But JB sounds right at home for most of Gravity, and while it is not up to the standard of his soul classics of yore, it has proven to be a solid collection.

The Title Cut is Cool Let's Get Personal,Repeat The Beat is tight.How do You Stop is alright.I'm Glad Living In America Brought Me Back Cuz His Musical Importance SHould Never be FOrgotten but the song got Played way too much.The Problem with the Disc is that it's SOmebody else just Giving James James¬ Doing anything really different.it has it's Moments but nothing Like His 50's,60's,&&70's Funk Pioneering Sound.