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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
JB After Hours?, October 7, 2005
The title of this Verve-King reissue suggests the expected funk and fire of James Brown during his 1967-73 period of ascendence, indeed the title is shouted during "Cold Sweat", his only (recognizable) vocal on a very familiar JB classic, but the song titles suggest a much quieter, introspective side, and quieter it is: with the Dee Felice Trio. [A mellow, jazz-inflected back-up gig with Brown on "Playboy After Dark" comes to mind].
Last year Verve gave us "Soul On Top" - ofcourse Jazz and Soul, but in a "Big Band" setting. Here...a small band. And it works.
The highlight is the opener - "Sunny" - with JB harmonizing up a storm with Marva Whitney. This is his only released version (apparently issued on CD only one time before on an Australian collection). The intro. is slow, voices in a whisper; then into the verse with a passion. No screams here...just Soul in a different light. [Not long after this issue, it appears Brown introduced the song as a set-list piece. It's been written that it remains an unissued track from the "Love, Power, Peace" set from '71].
"That's Life" is very subdued compared to the version heard on a couple of 1968 TV Specials; although the two released Apollo versions were more in the "Gettin' Down..." vein. Some nice improvizations on this one. Nothing to return to very often but well worth hearing.
"All The Way" is tremendous. This is perhaps his most *controlled* vocal...ever. On The Louis Bellson album mentioned above there are occasional uncomfortable sudden shifts in the decibel level and the track as a whole suffers. On this cut a great singer gets a chance to stretch and invites the initiated to relax and enjoy the change of pace.
The mix is fine, however, I would have preferred a bit more echo on most of the numbers; also a slower tempo in a lower key, here and there.
This is an important release. It also serves as a reminder to the historians collectors that there's still plenty of never-on-CD JB in the files, including some titles that a Jazz-Blues label like Verve might not touch, namely "Live At The Garden", an incredible live set at a New Jersey venue. Let's hope this notable set begets a few items not exactly similiar in content but in...Soul!!!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
James Brown - "Gettin' Down To It" (1969) & "Soul On Top" (1970), June 14, 2006
Better known for a personal assembly of different black music styles in what was to be called `funky' music, James Brown, also known as `Mr Dynamite' or the Godfather of Soul has two diamonds in his discography that have remained mostly unnoticed, despite the stunning performances there recorded.
The first time I heard of them was when I caught one of my jazz teachers singing a fragment of "Sunny". Seeing my astonished face -I had always thought of it as a soul hit-, he explained me he hat been listening to a recording where James Brown sang jazz classics with the accompaniment of a jazz trio. He didn't tell me anymore, just the impression that hearing Mr Dynamite squeezing his voice in a funky fashion in the middle of a jazz standard produced to him. No title, no more clues... Since then, I've spent four years of my life looking for it -well, maybe it's saying too much. Anytime I entered a record shop I asked unsuccessfully for it. My internet researches were unlucky too. Finally this year I had news about the reedition of "Gettin' Down To It" (1969) and I went for it. But, what a surprise I had when it came across that this wasn't Mr. Brown's only jazz incursion. One year later, in 1970, the Godfather of Soul hadn't had enough jazz and hired a big band to go further in "Soul On Top".
The first thing that draws your attention into the music is how comfortable Brown seems to be in an environment that, anyway is not that strange to him. Used to repetitive rhythms, he moves softly but also firmly along the swinging scales and notes of jazz. Anyway, he can't help rowing to his port, so that some jazz standards become funky exhibitions, especially those supported by the big band. Then, Mr Dynamite's throat, playful in the slow tempos, climb higher and higher, in a desperate need for generating faster frequencies. That shouldn't be the goal. Mr Brown is capable of doing better. He's got the technique, a gifted voice and an enormous musical talent that allows him to explore softer registers. Shouting is not expressing.
However, on the other hand, the experience of dragging a jazz trio into funky grooves is a kind of illumination. James Brown shows able to keep the powerful performances of his funky combos with just a piano, a bass and the drums. Though stripped, the Godfather of Soul sounds powerful, and even richer in musical shades. Just an experience to take into account.
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2.0 out of 5 stars
shoddy, September 6, 2008
The Cd is missing thet last 2 songs on side 2. Gone-nowhere. I love the old, JB vinyl version. Love all JB's stuff, anyway he does it, but these folks are ripping us off. Don't buy it.
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