Sex Machine [Live]

James Brown | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 23, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Polydor / Umgd
• ASIN: B000001E0S
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,427 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #39 in Music > R&B > Classic R&B

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The sounds of freedom, July 23, 2005

By 

Wheelchair Assassin (The Great Concavity) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sex Machine (Audio CD)

For those tired of today's mainstream music scene, which seems to combine the worst of both worlds with its mix of the pointlessly offensive and the blandly sanitized, James Brown's Sex Machine is a rousing shot of pure energy, a reminder that music can have the ability to move its listeners in more ways than one. Sex Machine is a supreme distillation of decades worth of black music, compressing rock, soul, and R&B into a lean, frighteningly efficient sound that's had hips shaking since its release. Regardless of your age, race, or any other irrelevant superficial characteristic, this hour-plus-long live recording's raw, sweaty power effortlessly comes accross in every dizzyingly nimble horn inflection, every razor-sharp guitar line, and every intricate polyrhythm. And of course, towering over it all is the singular presence of James himself, exhibiting his unmistakable charisma as he shouts, howls, and wails his upbeat, liberating lyrics.

This album's finest moments are to be found in its tightly-played, compulsively danceable funk numbers, most notably the opening Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine, Brother Rapp (Part I & Part II), I Got the Feelin', and the high-octane closer Mother Popcorn. Driven by propulsive grooves and frenetic arrangements, these tracks and others like them all prove extremely effective when it comes to loosening inhibitions and provoking unconscious spasms of head-bobbing and foot-tapping. However, that's not to discount the record's emotional, horn-fueled balladry, led by the supremely soulful and musically complex Bewildered and If I Ruled the World. This set also throws in the instrumental double-shot of Lowdown Popcorn, which allows you to hear the band's instrumental chops if they weren't apparent already. All in all, Sex Machine is an essential document of the career of one of popular music's most important performers, and a must-buy for non-lame-o's everywhere.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The real thing - totally hot, genuine and funky, December 25, 2006

By 

Charles O'Meara "Charles O'Meara" (guilford, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sex Machine (Audio CD)

Maybe the reason i don't like hip-hop is because i heard this album (and many others) by the master of minimalism and soul. James Brown released a lot of hot albums, but this one oozes sweat and energy. That simple. Listening to this album is like standing at a primordial swamp at the dawn of creation: a TON of contemporary black music is directly indebted to and descended from J.B and especially this album. Just *$^@+++$&&!&!~ing buy it already

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars **** Slack Jawed ! ****, October 22, 2006

By 

Frank Booth "Vanilla Thunder" (Oz) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sex Machine (Audio CD)

As a long time fan of Mr. Dynamite , I have collected a LOT of his recordings, and although I do especially love the Live Apollo shows especially 62 and 67 , THIS recording IMO runs circles around those two. It's the JB's with Bootsy and Catfish Collins and Bobby Byrd and Fred Wesley that make this record SMOKE !.........It's actually from two different dates and two different bands , but it ALL works !!!........If your a fan or a newcomer who wants to hear what " The Hardest Working Man in Showbusiness " is REALLY all about , then pick this record up ........You'll soon understand what all the fuss is about ....Enjoy !