Customer Reviews

Revolution Of The Mind( Live At The Apollo, Vol. III)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This may be my favorite live album from back when vinyl albums ruled the day. There are certainly a handful of live albums which capture the spirit of THE place to be (like Aretha at the Filmore, among others). Back in the day, just about every night at the Apollo was the place to be. This was never more true than when James was in the House, without a doubt.

This album just whets the appetite for more of the Godfather of Soul. His J.B. Fast Medley (almost a redundancy considering his work) is a phenom. This has a lot of his late 60's, early 70's classics, like Super Bad, Hot Pants, Sex Machine, Get Involved, and a handful of others that make you just want to move.

The crowd screaming, clapping and singing along (actually, more like yelling, considering who has the lead) helps generate some of the excitement that seeing J.B. live holds. Be forewarned though, there is NOTHING like seeing J.B. live. No live album can do him the true justice. Better appreciated, I think, by those who have some familiarity with the studio cuts. Still no doubt great stuff.

buy this cd if you want to experience that back in the day funk. this cd is worth it just for tracks 4/5; i don't know if it gets any funkier!

Any fan of the funk must have this recording! It is a classic live album by one of the funkiest bands ever. This was done at the mecca of soul music at the epitome of his career. Twenty years later, it is still amazing. I have been looking for this recording on cd for years and it is now available. This is my all-time favorite James Brown album.

I have yet to hear the James Brown live recording that surpasses "Love, Power, Peace" for sheer energy, band chops, and raw funk, and I figured that this album would at least give it a run for it's money, but I was disappointed with the production.

Don't mistake this for a reason NOT to buy this album; if you check out the medley of 'Escape-ism/Make it Funky' (which contains one of the best onstage raps/grooves JB ever put out) and the intense 'Bewildered', it makes it worth picking up. But I've got to pop the subwoofer up a notch to hear the basslines as they should be heard.

Whether it was a soundboard recording or not matters little... I love James Brown, but his bands were generally as good as he was, and they deserve to be heard on equal footing, and they're too low in the mix on this album.

Still, the versions of the aforementioned tunes, along with a slinky 'Sex Machine', 'It's a New Day', and 'Soul Power' make this a great addition/addiction to your funk/soul collection.

The newest James Brown fans, who possibly have not seen his live clips from the '60s, or have heard some of his best live recordings, are in for a shock - this is one bonafied smoker from Cut One To Twelve! Although there are some issues, namely that Cut Four, "Escapism"/"Make It Funky", (containing elements found in a future full-length version of the studio track), according to the excellent written notes by Harry Weinger, was actually a show opener; that the guitars and bass have little aural impact; and that in too many spots the soulful concedes to the sexual, "Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose", "Super Bad", "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved" and others make up for any technical or artistic shortcomings as they throw off alot more heat than just the July, '71 sun. It's an explosion of sound, of passion, every note carrying the message: baby, you'll never be the same after digging this.
This session, Volume Three in a series, begs for the same "Deluxe" reissue treatment that Volume Two recieved. (Then maybe the most exciting album ever released, "James Brown - Live At The Garden", will follow in similiar fashion and give us a chance to actually *hear* his 1967 band!).

After 19 years I'm still amazed by the intensity of his performance. However, over time, hearing better mixed live JB (on record & TV clips) I have to say the band is too far back - in 2K we want need to hear Griggs up front! I've read that this l.p. utilized about 8 shows - so far only one alternate track has been issued. Although there couldn't be a hotter "Hot Pants" out there!

After 19 years I'm still amazed by the intensity of his performance. However, over time, hearing better mixed live JB (on record & TV clips) I have to say the band is too far back - in 2K we want need to hear Griggs up front! I've read that this l.p. utilized about 8 shows - so far only one alternate track has been issued. Although there couldn't be a hotter "Hot Pants" out there!

anybody that knows of james brown knows that his music was way before its time.these are timeless tunes that are still being used today in the hip-hop world.timeless music and culture.

James Brown deserves to be ranked with Beethoven, Bach, Coltrane, Miles, Hendrix, the Beatles, the Temptations and the Stones as cornerstones of music as we know it.

Even though I prefer "Sex Machine"/Live At The Apollo Vol. II as his best live disc, this one is tremendous! One should own all three to cover his prime period(s).

At the height of very early funk, there was only one band who could even approach truly matching him. I used to deliver beer in the Philly area to black taprooms in the late 60's/ very early 70's. They all had top flight soul music jukeboxes. By far the most played song was James Brown's "There Was A Time".

But coming in number two was Dyke & The Blazers' "Funky Broadway". If you love JB as much as I do, check out Dyke. His funk was dirtier than James. His band was looser and not as polished. But those in the know are aware that Dyke & The Blazers was the only band that James even remotely feared.

Baby, I go to the church of James. After you hear cut #1,"Can a Man come in and do the Popcorn", the sermon is over and you are firmly delivered. I get my life lessons from this cut alone. The man was an avatar, he came and delivered some of the best music known to man. His interplay with the band on this album is not to be believed. Listen and find out why there was a Sly Stone, Parliment, and that man named Prince. James set the gold standard.