Customer Reviews

In the Jungle Groove

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4 star:		(1)
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Sometime around 1985 I remember threatening to do bodily harm to myself if my father didn't let me get tickets to see my then (and pretty much still) idol James Brown way way way out in the suburbs of Philly at a place called The Valley Forge Music Fair. - - I was somewhat concerned though. At that time, there were two JB's - - JB, the funkiest man alive... and JB, the guy from Rocky IV who was trying to ride the wave of the unfunky '80s. - - I really wanted to hear all that rare JB funk from the early '70s, but back then, most of that stuff was THE PAST... JB was either the LIVING IN AMERICA guy, or MR. I FEEL GOOD. Maceo & Fred Wesley and the JBs were names of a distant past almost.

Well, I went to the concert... it was a very white audience and the coming attractions included a lot of country music stars like Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton... anyway, the show began... Wilson Pickett tour the roof off... then JB's band came out, and ..., they were kicking this type of Jazzed out JB funk that I'd never heard before, even on the albums... and when JB came out, the fun didn't stop there... he did a few of his greatest hits, but to the disdain of most the yuppie audience, he basically did an evening of extended grooves, even sitting in at the organ, playing drums, giving Maceo Parker (still with him and with Gherri Curls) lot's of long solos. - - THE ENTIRE AUDIENCE basically got up and left, but the show went on for 4 hours... and there were only a hand full of people at the end... yet I was in FUNK heaven.... but so miserably depressed that I'd probably never get to hear anything like that again.

Well to make a long story short, when this CD came out, it almost brough tears to my eyes, because the versions of those tunes that you hear on this CD is the type of stuff that JB was doing that night, against the popular tide ! ! ! - - Though there are plenty of great JB hit albums, when it comes to the overall groove and Jazzed out funk vibe of JB, this is the epitome of it... therefore, I can reccomend no CD more than this for the true funk efficianado.

Long live the Godfather !

this Album just Sizzles Period."FUnky Drummer"alone is the kind of Track that if you have any kind of Groove about you you have to have it ASAP.this is one of the Golden Era's in the Great Musical Evolution of James Brown.Grooves are tight on a Dime.THe Man&His Musical Vibe are truly One of a Kind.

In 2001, this album's contents will not cause a great stir with collectors or casual fans, as Polydor/Polygram has consistently released lost gems and reconstituted familiar sides since 1986, when this double album was issued. It was soon overshadowed by the single album "Motherlode", which was almost all previously unreleased stuff from '67 to '72(which should have been released). But this first in-depth effort is definitely worth hearing and having, if only for the much-sampled "Funky Drummer"; the studio recut sans overdubbed audience "Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose" - a mindblower in *any* generation; and for "I Got To Move", a kind of retooled "There Was A Time", recorded at the same session which included Mr. Bootsy Collins, and shelved for 17 years. Other tracks are readily available elsewhere.

This CD is an essential to have in your collection; it will be one of your favorites for years to come!

I first got this LP when I wasn't even a teenager yet, and figured out where all them rapper types found their beats. This was the eighties, while James Brown samples were en vogue but before he began policing those who sampled him. Public Enemy, Sweet Tee and Jazzy Joyce, Jewel-T, Grandmaster Flash, Boogie Down Productions, De La Soul, Big Daddy Kane, Steady-B, the Jungle Brothers, Kwame, Kid'n'Play, Kool G. Rap, Masta Ace, Spoonie Gee, Ultramagnetic MC's, Eric B & Rakim, Sinead O'Connor, Mantronik, Run DMC, and a busload of other hip-hop and dance producers have picked this album cleaner than a post-Thanksgiving turkey. The music begs to be sampled; it became the aural semantics that shaped the train of thought that hip-hop spray-painted and rode to popularity.
And given a loud stereo and someone to share the moment with, it's great dancing. You'll burn calories, ache, and get winded, but you won't stop. As a deejay, I've seen dancefloors go insane to "Give it up or Turnit a Loose". And the immortal grandaddy of all beat breaks, "Funky Drummer", a multi-textured rhythm defined by snare accents that are tighter than a skeeter's [bottom].... For over nine minutes, Clyde Stubblefield carries us on the wings of one of the most difficult beats to play, the cherry on top being his jazzy drum solo as the song ends. Fried chicken and beer, my friend.
The only negative thing I can say of this album is that it is my personal opinion that the original version of "Hot Pants" is superior to the one found here, which is a bit more polished around the edges. But tunes like "Get up, Get into it, Get Involved" and "Soul Power" are as raw as skint knees. Truly, your life can't help but be improved by this record.

oh my god. oh my god. oh my god. I apologise for the blatant blaspheming, but this album is enough to ignite a whole continent with its funkiness.

It's only fitting that this compilation should have been the first issued on The Godfather in the CD era. Yes, some of its content has been since included in later collections, but if you are new to James Brown, there is no better place to begin. By the time of the first track on this set (It's A New Day, 1969), JB was doing what no one else could. Virtually everything he put out went straight to the top of the charts. James would assemble his players, in some cases in the empty auditorium where the show had just ended, and lay down a mutha track in just one take. Listen as the rhymes come non-stop. The interplay between James and the original JB's (when they were young and hungry) is astounding. Just check out James' social commentaries on "Talking Loud and Saying Nothin'", "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved", and "Soul Power". And dig this, the version of "Funky Drummer" included here is the funkiest of all the issued versions! This cut of "I Got To Move" is superior in all ways to that included on "Funk Power". And let's not forget the over-the-top re-recording of "Hot Pants", with the tambourine helping James to seek out your mind and not let it go. Both versions are great. If you have some of that new software, try making a mega-mix of the two! If you THOUGHT you didn't have soul, you'll think again after getting into this album. Once you've had this Intro to the Funk, you'll be ready to get deeper into James Brown! UPDATE: In The Jungle Groove has been re-issued (2003) in a re-mastered version, featuring an extended cut of "Blind Man Can See It," the jazzy-hip instrumental from the Black Caesar soundtrack.

James Brown - Godfather of Soul. What are they talking about? It should be: Godfather of FUNK! And this album is not only one of the most important in the history of music, but, unlike many so called 'important' albums, it is actually fabulous to listen to and to groove to. Make it funky. Buy this album. Invite your friends. Hell, invite your enemies too...

I bought this on vinyl when it came out in '86 and wore the groove right off it. Good thing CDs last forever. "Funky Drummer" must be the single most sampled song on the planet. Everybody in the world has used it, even Sinead O'Connor! The version of "Give it up or turn it loose" that appears on this is so good, it will make you want to slap your momma down! (In Southern parlance, that's damn good) If you listen to this CD, the "Star Time" box set and one or two of the "Live at The Apollo" CDs, you'll know that God exists, because James Brown was no accident.

There is not a lame track on here, everyone is a timeless classic bursting to the brim with heavy funk. Especially with Bootsy and Clyde pounding out the beat.

If this doesn't move you, you must be dead!!!!