Customer Reviews

James Brown Live At The Apollo, 1962

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October 24, 1962 is a date that will live in music infamy. For it was then at the midnight show at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater when James Brown recorded the album that fully introduced soul music to America and gave documented proof that he was indeed the greatest showman alive.

The story behind it is well known. Brown had a few R&B hits dating back to 1956, including the 1959 chart topper "Try Me", but was largely unheard of outside young black America and even with that success his singles career was maddeningly inconsistant in terms of sales and even musical direction. But in person it was a different story, for in front of an audience Brown tore it up night after night on the chitlin' circuit, an act no rival wanted to try and follow. It is safe to assume that anyone who saw his show live was instantly a fan for life.

Therefore what he wanted was to record a concert, much like Ray Charles had done at Newport a few years before, that would show people who hadn't yet bought a ticket just what they'd been missing. King Records chief Syd Nathan rejected it flatly, saying - and not without some merit - that albums did not sell well to the generally lower economic strata of R&B fans, and without even a single to garner from it the venture would be foolhardy at best. Naturally Brown ignored this dictive and paid for the recording himself, and thus with his own ego, reputation and perhaps career on the line gave the single greatest performance ever caught on tape. Nathan had no choice but to put it out.

Sales built slowly, spurred on by enormous word of mouth publicity and frequent airings of the entire album on the tiny R&B outposts at the far ends of the AM dial, until it became the "must have" LP of 1963. Consider this: at the time albums were strictly the realm of pop singers. For the year in question only two other rock LP's (both by the Beach Boys) even entered the Top Ten on the album charts, and before that only Elvis Presley among rockers had been able to sell LP's in sufficient quantities to make releasing them worthwhile. For Brown, who was still relatively unknown, singing in a style few Americans had ever heard of or thought possible, to crack that chart, spending a remarkable 66 weeks there and reaching #2 at one point, becoming the 32nd highest selling album of any kind that year, was absolutely inconceivable. To put it bluntly, THIS is what put James Brown on the map and let the world know that soul music, introduced in the early-50's by the "5" Royales, Dominoes and others, honed by Ray Charles in the mid-50's and polished for the masses by Sam Cooke in the late-50's, had a bold new leader. James Brown forever after was Soul Brother Number One.

If you've never heard it you're surely not ready for what awaits you, but that doesn't mean you should avoid it, just don't expect anything specific, for you'll have no reference points to compare it to because it truly is like nothing you've heard before. Frenetic to the point of lunacy, with an almost religious type fervor in the way he puts over the songs in shortened medley-esque fashion, never pausing for a breath, the tight band turning on the dime, high point after high point reached and then broken once again, all culminating in the extended gospel-like reading of the epic ballad "Lost Someone". It is during that performance where he fully hypnotizes the audience and the listener with a repeated desperate plea, as all the suffering, passion and ecstasy of soul music is delivered with a raw, almost naked, grab for their approval. His quavering voice fading with despair into the shadows, as the tension in the crowd rises to unbearable levels, he drains every ounce of emotion he can muster from himself, the song and the masses before suddenly offering release by exploding into "Please, Please, Please" which detonates the crowd like a nuclear bomb before carrying us all home with the chugging farewell, "Night Train". It is truly a one of a kind experience, yet magically one that can be repeated over and over again.

It will almost surely take you many listens to comprehend what is happening. But give it time. Listen to it in the dark, going to bed night after night, imagining yourself in the crowd that cold Wednesday in '62, seeing the future of R&B music unfolding before your eyes. Before long you too will be rhythmically intoning along to Fats Gonder's famed opening, "And now ladies and gentlemen, it's star time... Are you ready for Star Time?!!"

Are you?

They say if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. The Apollo was notorious for its tough audience, but in the case of James Brown, it was more like a command performance. James came north with a whole mess of down-home soul and he laid it all out, holding back nothing. This is still a very young James, even though he'd been recording for over a decade. It is this type of performance that froze a great front man like Mick Jagger (offstage during the taping of the T.A.M.I. show). The live audience shrieked with rapture throughout! This is the greatest live album ever. And it almost wasn't: Syd Nathan at King Records would not reach in his pocket to produce the live album. So James Brown did it himself. This album reached #2 on the U.S. pop chart... something that just was not done by a Black artist in those days. Black radio stations of the day would play the album like a two-sided single, playing all of side one, taking a commercial break, and coming right back with all of side two. How could you break up something so great? This is where James Brown was coming from, and it fostered a self-determination in Brown that led to him signing with Smash records and, eventually, winning artistic freedom and control from King Records.

It's hard remembering the impact of this classic James Brown live set nearly 40 years later. It was among the first soul music albums, live or studio, designed to be enjoyed start to finish in one listen (and was often played that way on early 60s radio, unheard of then). It went to #2 on the pop charts where traditional crooners like Andy Williams and Barbra Streisand normally nested.

What's striking is that JB and the Flames did little more here than at the 299 other shows they did nearly every year at his 60s peak. James' early R&B hits (heard on "Roots of A Revolution") were pleasant, if traditional, in the studio. But in front of an ecstatic Apollo Theatre crowd on a cold autumn night, they take on a fury and joy only JB brought to stage. Listen to the crowd interaction on the dynamic "Lost Someone," or the shreiks as JB wraps a hits medley around his signature song "Please, Please, Please," or the race to the finish of the thrilling "Night Train." Understanding James Brown's impact on pop music and culture starts here, with this recording of an event not so much a concert as a culmination and coronation. As Dave Marsh once put it, "If you could see James Brown dancing, it would be perfect."

JB wore out many a needle on my parents' turntable. And one can say that this particular recording holds a place in my memory as my first real introduction to SOUL.

Perhaps one of the best performances ever done at the historic Apollo, Brown is probably at his grittiest, his most dynamic, and his most emotional.

From the opening cheers of anticipation to the closing "hurrahs" of thunderous approval, the album is a triumph of one of the giants of that, and any era.

`Long live the "Godfather of Soul".

If you love R&B, soul, funk, and/or rock you simply must have this album. Believe all the superlatives, this is one of the best live recordings of them all. Superbly recorded (1962!), it captures the audience's excitement very well. Raw, soulful, bold, with one hit right after the other, he works the material like the master he is. Also recommended: The box set "Foundations of Funk: 1964-1969," also sold by Amazon.

This CD is just okay. The early JB ballads are the thing here. Gives you a good idea of a good chitlin' circuit performance as typically done for Black audiecnes in those days with approrpiate audience response. The standouts here include the extended version of "Lost Someone" which leads into "Please Please Please." Even without being able to see the infamous cape routine, it's quite entertaining. But overall, Vol. 2 is better since that CD plays up the more uptempo stuff that put JB on the map.

From the opening introduction, and throughout this CD, you've returned to 1962 with "The King Of Soul", Mister Dynamite!"
James Brown And The Famous Flames 100% absolute MUST have for all music 'afficianados!'
'Don't 'got-it', Suggestion: GET one, or better get a few an pass on the word, in 1962 JB had NO equal, and continued to out-perform most artists. Even The Rolling Stones waited, and watched JB perform on TAMI show 1964. Mick Jagger was a bit concerned about the 'then' Unheard-of Rolling Stones 'following' the absolute Power house JB performance it's WILD! TAMI is/was available on VHS. Try to locate the VHS, it's an absolute MUST!
Tami Show may be owned by Dave Clark productions, search the Internet!

JB and the Famous Flames live at the Apollo. That dummy Syd Nathan the owner of King Records, passed on doing this deal. Brown had a limited education, but understood that his fans would buy recordings of his live show. He paid for this "Apollo Live" sesion with his own money, about $5,000.00 for "Magna-Recorders" which were the only portable recording machines on the market at the time. The Apollo crowd at the time of this recording only paid one admission charge, and could stay all day. The Apollo Theatre at this time ran 5 to 6 complete shows a day, which could include as many as 6-8 performers. The patrons, for one fee could sit in the Theatre all day if they wanted.

Here is why you should buy this recording ( and I get nothing from the record company or JB). Brown had just fired most of the Flames a few weks before his manager Ben Bart booked him into the Apollo. "Try Me" was starting to chart, and Ben Bart saw a clear opportunity to showcase the boss. Bart was a master of booking "Race Music" into the proper venues, and he knew JB would be a hit. The Apollo was run by the Shiffman family and they had problems with JB over fees. JB had a "..." as it was for wanting to do what it wanted, especially as it related to working over theatre owners and recording firms (like King Records) and he made it happen.

Live at the Apollo is probably the BEST avenue for many to understand what was happening in the early 60's. Hell, JB could not get served food in most restaurants in the south . But he gutted it out. BUY this recording and you will get an understanding of how hot JB's early soul sounded like. The band is tight and message is clear - "Get on Up". This is clearly a classic, and the man (JB) knew what was going to become him.

But the 1967 "volume II", at least at the time I'm writing this; Amazon has goofed and attached the reviews for the former. Preview the Introduction for proof, where "most constructive single of 1966" (re Don't Be A Dropout) is spoken. Also, the 1962 set is short, lasting only about half-an-hour. That said, both are essential, as is the 1971 performance at the Olympia in Paris ("Love Power Peace").

This historic album deserves a place on the mantle more than on the CD rack: it represents an artistic and technical triumph. Ofcourse the "behind the scenes" story of the '62 event is widely known. Beside the quality of the music and the flawless presentation, it is remarkable as his best MIXED live effort - many other on-stage releases miss that special audience reaction which is vital to the recorded "atmosphere" - "Revolution of the Mind" (Apollo #3) was successful in including the excited crowd in the finished product, but the one major difference is that '62 was based on a single performance and '71 was a composite. I feel, however, that although the legendary album has musical precision and a certain "warmth" missing from later live JB efforts, it was not as progressive and, in fact, was mainly derived from '40s and '50s material. The '67 Latin Casino and Apollo #2 records are not as good technically but feature pioneering uptempo tunes. Apollo #1 is essentially an album-long medley of ballads. Maybe my attendance at the Madison Square Garden show of July, 1969 caused me to lean towards the "New Breed" JB. Still I encourage every single Rock or Soul, uptempo or ballad fan to check out "I Love You, Yes I Do" from 10-24-62. SAY OW!