Customer Reviews

Live at the Apollo 1962

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Whenever I pass by the Apollo,my mind goes back and recalls this recording and as the liner notes make clear this CD released in 1963 is a tidal wave of raw emotion that sold millions without a hit single, JB's 1st hit album and was voted internationally by critics as one of the Top 20 albums of all time..with reason.
This CD is the meat and potatoes of JB, a representation of his live show that brought him into the spotlight on this cold night with a hot band.
All his accolades, The Hardest Working Man In Show Business, Godfather Of Soul,Soul Brother # 1 are all here on this 30 minute live CD.
The CD itself was remastered in 1990, prepared from the original,undubbed stereo master tape.

Let me just start out by saying this isn't the greatest live album. It is influential, and proved that people would pay money to own a live recording, which is the main reason why it's often considored the best. However, there are many subsequent live recordings that are much better than this. However, it's still pretty damn good, and is a fun listen that warrents repeated plays. James Brown's stage show was legendary for his gyrations and refusal to stand still, and you can picture what a good night was like for him with the help of this. It is certainly better than any of his studio albums. The songs themselves are performed greatly, both due to Brown's incredible soul voice and the magnificent back-up band themselves. Worth a purchase, due to it's importance in American popular music.

It is a given that this JB performance is a must-have, but the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's 1993 gold disc (http://amzn.com/B000000ISP) has much better sound quality even though it has sound on the left and right but none in the middle. This mainstream release tried to shift the left and right into the middle, but in doing so the sound became irritating and JB's voice lost depth. The bonus tracks sound bad and add nothing. Get the MFSL version if you can find it.

Can you imagine hearing this music again for the first time? That's what I did about 6 months ago when I listened to this CD for the very first time, even though I've been a music junkie for years! This has been one of those CDs that has simply grown on me since that first time that I listened to it. There is such a raw, emotional sense of urgency to this CD, which alone makes it an essential purchase, and the songs themselves are great, too. I've known of this CD for years, and I'm kicking myself for taking so long to buy it -- better late than never, I suppose.

I just had the misfortune of clicking on the link for "Live at the Apollo," the seminal 1963 recording from the Godfather of Soul. I then tried to download it.

BE WARNED!!!! What I actually downloaded was a 2009 album called "James Brown: Live" released in 2009. This is NOT the album I thought I was ordering. I'm not sure when this album was recorded -- it contains several '70s era songs, but was likely recorded much later. The album is ok, I suppose, but is most definitely not the album I thought I was getting.

Check the track list to be sure!

If there's a single document that proves James Brown deserves to be known as the "Hardest Working Man in Show Business", this is it. After Fats Gonder announces Brown's string of hits and an instrumental that sounds like a collision of the Ventures and Sly and the Family Stone's brass section, Brown takes control and rushes you through a roller-coaster ride that rockets straight up. It's 31 minutes of sheer aural ecstasy and you can tell the audience is eating out of Brown's hands for the duration, right up through the moment they ride the "Night Train" home.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Choosing the best bits is difficult because this is really high quality, but the horn riff in "Think" is one of the best here. "Try Me" is beautiful in its desperation. The moment in the epic "Lost Someone" when James tells the audience that "And when I tell you something that make you feel good inside, And when I say that little thing, I say that little part that might sting you in your heart,now, I wanna hear you scream.." (now you know where the rappers stole the idea from). The 7 song medley, bookended by "Please Please Please", is also choice.

LOWS:
If there's any drawback to the disc, it's that you wish it would go on longer. The half hour flies by....

BOTTOM LINE:
The 1,500 that were in the audience at the Apollo October 24,1962 were lucky @&$?!#!%$@!#&!*^#! Thankfully, we can experience it secondhand at least. This is ESSENTIAL soul music.

owwwwwwiie i felt good when this one dropped on my doormat. o.k. the first c.d. version was already in the early 90's but this one is remastered and has new linenotes and beautiful rare picture's of soulbrother no.1. also detailed information about finding the mastertrack of this recording and info about the band then. the sound is superb and you will think that james brown and the famous flames are playing just for you in your house !!! the bonustracks are just remixes nothing new under the sun

a must buy it item !!!!!!

(...)

I just listened to the preview cuts and immediately realized that these are NOT on the album listed- none of them!! Beware! The cuts are from a no. of years later, and represent a different era and style in Brown's music and performance This is not the album you think you're buying (and while it may be good, it doesn't match the art and power of the original Live At The Apollo, which is what you really want here...).

Don't buy this if you want to hear the original Live At The Apollo- a mistake has been made with the listing.

For a lot of reasons this album is pretty much what made James Brown not just an icon of his day.. but for many days to come... and these reasons have to do with politics, as well as music so I'll stay away from them,.. however James Brown is certainly a name that willl never be forgotten at Harlems Apollo Theater.
This album was recorded live in 1962, when James Brown was still exclusively The Soul Brother no.1. He hadn't started developing his funk yet, however had already been tearing up the charts for sometime (mid fifties?) and was rapidly building a reputation as an amazing live performer. In order to prove that it wasn't just hype, Brown recorded this show at The Apollo (an excellent way to nationalize their name in the process, I'd have to say) and released it about a year later.
It's true that James Brown had a solid run of hit singles on the radio for over ten years.. but to hear that stuff in comparison to his live recordings always pales. No matter what era of James Brown you listen to.. the hit singles just ain't half as exciting as a complete live show.. and this proves it. I'LL GO CRAZY is amazing, one of the all time best performances of a song, ever.. and from here we go into a non stop frenzy, which, if you are seasoned to James Brown, may sound a little out dated, but no doubt as wild as his squeeeezieest funk juices. In typical James Brown fashion the songs just keep coming,..no breaks, constant motion. The crowd gets involved too, screaming and clawin'.... songs meld into other songs, then back into the original songs, and then into medleys, that meld with other medleys.. and then finally it all finishes back at the start with I'll GO CRAZY, as if you never left it to begin with. The way James Brown put on a show in 1962 would eventually become the influence for not only any good soul show, but rock, jazz, funk, dance, etc.... they all wanted his chops... and that is mainly because of what is contained on this record.... Enter the Hardest working man in showbiz....

BUY THIS ALBUM!!! "Live At The Apollo" is James Brown's 1962 tour de force album that won him popular and critical acclaim. If you're an R&B fan you've probably already heard this amazing album in it's original form. If you want to hear this digitally remastered show in it's entirety (the original was edited for l.p. time constraints)then pick this one up. But even if you are not a big R&B fan this album will knock your socks off! For ten bucks you can't afford to NOT have this album in your collection.