Customer Reviews

Make It Funky: Big Payback 1971-1975

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James Brown sounds so good on this album that when I hear his name, I don't immediately think of "I Feel Good" or "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"...instead, I think of this CD. It's quite simply the purest, coolest, relentlessly funky music I've ever heard. Even the long songs like "Make It Funky" (12:45) and "Papa Don't Take No Mess"(13:50) never get old. The rhythms and hooks or every track are hypnotising and uplifting at the same time. It doens't get any better than this. No James Brown fan, new or old, should be without it!

For those who likes James, but does not want to invest heavily to purchase the dozens and dozens of JB albums, this is the one for you. On disc 1, you have all four parts of "Make It Funky", "Get on the Good Foot", "There It Is" and possibly the greatest JB groove ever "Hot Pants, Parts 1 & 2". And if the first disc wasn't funky enough for you, you have "My Thang", "The Payback", "Coldblooded", and "Papa Don't Take No Mess" and a live hot version of "Hot Pants". I could try to take you through groove by groove, but we only have 1000 words for the review. A general overview is still the great "Star Time" CD, but for an extensive funky portion of his career, you can not go wrong with this one.

If you just associate the name "James Brown" with the popular single "I Feel Good", then you've got to listen to this CD to save your soul. It will open your mind! James Brown is amazing... essence of funk... unbelievable groove. If you love a mean groove, love rhythm, there's just nothing else like this.

If you are going to buy one James Brown CD then this dual CD "Make it funky, the big payback" has to be it. This is JB at his finest, accompanied by a first class line up. Every track swings, as the godfather of soul cooks the funk in true James Brown style. CD 1, it's all good baby. "Hot pants" has a positively infectious groove from the onset driven by Robert Coleman's slick guitar riff and John Starks struttin' drums. The Bridge section of "Make it funky" shows how good bass can be, sure, Fred Thomas's riff is simple, but when it sounds so good why change it. Track 5, "King Heroin" is JB's stand against drugs in the form of a beautiful poetic, spoken word piece. Track 8, "get on the good foot" Gives Fred Thomas the freedom on the bass he deserves, and the track benefits from this greatly. By now if your not shaking your booty, or something, you must be dead! It's funk liberation, and were only 8 tracks in. Steve Gadd (drums) joins in the fun at track 11 and 12, both tracks are sweet gems to help finish off CD 1. After quickly inserting CD 2, you are rewarded with "The Payback" track 1, this funk is straight outa '74 and its still as fresh as a daisy. In "Stoned to the Bone" we hear the legend, Maceo Parker on Sax for the first time in the comp. It's worth the wait, and he contributes along side the usual suspects for most of this CD. James Brown is busting with energy throughout the entire set. He deserves every accolade he gets and this album demonstrates why in every word, yelp, and affirmation in all 26 tracks. The godfather turned on the funk in '71 and it still flows are pure today as it did then. Classic!

I enjoy the music on this CD immensely. Mr. James Brown (b1928) is the most charted artist alive, with a total of 98 Top 40 hits on the R&B charts. This collection demonstrates how the "Hardest Working Man in Showbiz" refused to rest on his laurels, but instead created and nurtured a brand new style, namely Funk. The notes provide the events during the period of 1971-75. Mr Alan Leeds, a long-time associate of Mr Brown, writes, "But for the veteran fan professing to appreciate the entire career, nothing is more eye-opening than the generation which defines Brown by seventies hits like 'The Payback' and 'Funky President'. The seventies - from hippies to psychedelia to disco - kept James Brown on his toes." These Super Heavy Funk rhythms certainly do that for me. The songs follow the format of a solid groove with Mr Brown rapping. It sounds easy, but no one else has been able to match it for excitement. All of the songs get me moving. "I'm a Greedy Man" is a bit faster than the rest, and "Make it Funky, Part 4" shows Mr Brown having fun with his musicians. He also has a serious side in an anti-drug song "King Heroin" and "Down and Out in New York City". Among those influenced by Mr Brown are Mrrs George Clinton (Parliment), Bootsy Collins, and Prince. If you are interested in Block Rockin' Super Heavy Funk, this CD will be interesting to you.

If anyone was making this music today it would be as fresh and hip as it was in the day. Timeless, classic, funk. There are single cuts on this collection worth the price of the cd. I own tons of James Brown, but did not have this until recently. If you appreciate some of the best music ever made on this planet then you must buy this cd!

A few years before disco would rob pop music of it's soul, there were artists like Brother James dishing out hard and heavy grooves with a sense of urgency. Though this era from 1971-75 pales in comparison to his classic 60's hits to many, this CD proved that James was continuing to work out his grooves at a high level. Even without milestone singles like "I feel Good" and "Papa Got a brand New Bag" in this complimation, this is his most potent batch of funk jams (in my opinion). This complimation finds James settled into his style. As a result his music is harder and looser than his earlier funk hits.

No disrespect to his 60's era which is also great, If I had to pick a favorite era of songs, it would have to be this era. Brother James was not only the Minister of Super New New Heavy Funk, his music was the bible of the genre (and hip hop).

I picked this album up as part of my studies into American music. I had played guitar for many years, and I kept reading about how deep these people got into the groove. The Red Hot Chili Peppers Frusciante steered me towards this piece as the ultimate lesson in what funk could say.

I was not prepared for how life changing this album became for me. It, honestly, spent one entire year in the disc changer in my car. My son, who was 5 at the time, knows every song by heart.

What is simply amazing to me is that this is a group of people who recorded almost electronically precise grooves live, in the studio, feeding off the energy James Brown poured out of himself. Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker are the very greatest players of funk horns every and the JB's under Fred's direction bring the most incredible sense of rythm and swing to the locked down grooves of the rotating JBs guitar/bass/drums combo that has ever been recoreded. It might have been equaled (although I would be impressed to hear it), but it will never be surpassed. Ever.

You will recognized pieces of this album because half of the Hip-Hop recorded in the 90s sampled the grooves created by this group of funkmeisters.

There is nothing in your musical experience that will equal this. Stand back, take off your watch and ring, and listen to the originators of Funk in all their glory.

The only thing sweeter than Payback is the hard and nasty grooves JB was dishin out at this time. Sure, this era didn't have the big hits of his late 60's era, but JB was still hittin' folks with classics on the one! Before the funk was hijacked by the Mothership(for the better mind you), this music along with the best from Kool & the Gang contributed the final classics to the "Pure Funk" era. According the liner notes, James was tryin to move his music deeper into the mainstream but, these jams sound more street than anything he recorded. It also sound harder and looser.

If you got the Startime box set, you have a great deal of these tracks already. This anthology has a edge for the fact many of his well known hits from this era are in longer versions compared to the original 45's. "Make it Funky Pts. 1-4" and "Papa don't take no Mess" are streched out to give listeners max impact of the funk (the horn and blues solo of the former got to be heard to be believed). Along with the relatively short era with Bootsy in the band, this was also the era where JB made several tracks by just talkin' through it (or rappin' as they called it back then). Tracks like "Escape-ism" is classic becasue the impromptu feel he brought to it by rappin' and askin for feedback from his band about if the song is goin' to be a hit or not(hehe). Him, Barry, and Issac are the only soul giants who can get away with doin' that! (they just had it like that). This was also the era where JB began recyling his past glories but, it's done to a great degree here (such as the case with remakes of "Think" and "I can't stand It"). His most recongnizable song from this era is also present; the gettin' even anthem "The Payback".

After this period, times would past the minister of funk by. Although that was a temporary (and short term) thang as the hip hop generation made him relevant again. Not to mention that he was still recieving royalty checks from oldies radio stations keepin his jams in heavy rotation.

If you own Startime, Foundations of Funk, and Funk Power, this is equally necessary. If you got ants in your Pants, throw this on and shake it off on the Good Foot!

F.I.P.(FUNK IN PEACE) JAMES.

People you know how you buy a best of cd and the songs that are on the cd are the short verson and not only that they don,t have the songs you want on it.well never fear this is the very very very best of the master i love the live verson hot pants it is and will always be a masterpiece.james brown will always be miss he was ,is, and will always be the king enjoy!