Simple question.

[Rich Hero]

...James Brown production? It seems that Soul Brother Number 1. gets overlooked now that rarity and obscurity are king, but his musical legacy is still as great as it ever was (is there anyone who doesn't like JB's music?) so pick a tune. Just one...

Mine's Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved. Partly because it's the first James Brown 45 I ever owned. Partly because whenever I play it I can hear so many fantastic tracks that sampled it. But mostly because it's great, from Bobby Byrd's vocals, to the rumbling bass and the squealing guitar in the breakdown.



(Obviously, I'll change my mind and pick a different favourite tomorrow).

[LDJB]

Fred Wesley - "Blow Your Head" - does it for me every time. Apparantly Fred didn't like the fact that JB overdubbed his moog wibblings over the top of his completed tune and was one of the reasons he left. Personally, having heard the wibble-less version I say JB made the right call!

[sermad]

Hmmm Im not very well versed in the world of James Brown but I do know that 'Hot pants rd' and 'Pass the peas' make me wanna grab the nearest laydee and do the batty grind!!

One lp that does it in different ways...is 'Sho Is Funky Down Here'. I *really* need this! Check the snippets.

Tough funky organ rock.

You also can't forget his OST work - Slaughters big rip off and Black Caesar are very very good.

[theeman]

yeah, sermad's right - his two OSTs are excellent, but mainly because he wasn't that interested in them and left Fred to do his own thing (hence some great latin-influenced and jazzy cuts)

i'm still up for hank ballard's 'from the love side' - absolute stone cold killer groove (wasn't the backing track used on summat else too?)

[Nick Cope]

Sermad, fella down the Kilburn fair last weekend had a copy of Sho Nuff for £25... Dunno who he was, but all his records had these info stickers very similar to those you see in Rough Trade...

As for fav JB productions, mine's a tie between I Can't Stand It and Answer to Mother Popcorn

[Sie Vulture]

Fave JB production...

Like Rich said, it's more like "fave this week" than all time fave...

At the minute, a cheeky 45 I've got called "Popcorn With A Feelin'" by Steve Soul (allegedly this is a pseudonym for the great man himself ??) is really rockin' the spot, it's a slow fat organ groove over some typically JB's style guitar pickin' and tight drums. The flip side is called "Interview With Soul Brother Number One" and is a cut-up interview very much in the style of "The Impeachment Story" or "Superfly Meets Shaft" (as featured in the Cut'n'Paste article in GrandSlam).

All time JB fave has to be ....

"Give It Up Or Turn It Loose" - the fat B-Boy anthem version... "...clap yer hands-huh, stomp yer feet-huh..." Man, when those drums drop, I go buck-wild !!  

Sermad's on the money too - "Black Caesar" is a great soundtrack... not to be sniffed at...

[sermad]

If we are talking about 'give it up or turn it loose'...then the remix on the urban 12 (The one with the coldcut payback mix) is better in my eyes (ears)

Or is that heresy to you sie?? Burn him at the stake  

[Rich Hero]

What version is it on the Urban 12"? I think Sie's talking about the live version from Sex Machine (correct me if I'm wrong) rather than the original and I guess that's the one that Urban would have used. Which is indeed cracking - the bass reminds me of Funky Nassau.

And I'd heard that about Steve Soul too.  Nice tune (cheers for putting it on your Chrimble mix Sie ).

[pokester]

The best thing for me is not realy a record but a documentary, where he's playning a live set with bootsy and bobby and he get's behind the the organ. (such a great piece of film)..

[Sie Vulture]

Yeah guys, it's the "Sex Machine" version that really makes me bust a move....

... I forgot I dropped that Steve Soul 45 on your Xmas mix Rich

... I'm not gonna knock those Urban 12"s either. Some of those releases were real eye-openers to a young 16-yr old lad who was fresh into clubs, Public Enemy and rare groove. And have you seen some of the prices those records now command... !!

[bigdaddydan]

Bill Doggett's Honky Tonk Popcorn for me, widdout no doubt.
And if anyone has a 7" of the rock version of Talking Loud, Saying Something I will trade trade trade.

[sermad]

I never knew honky tonk was a james brown production. The album goes for proper cheddar.

I know cos I long for it on ebay but don't have that sort of bank account. If anyone has a spare 45 I would love to try and trade for it.

[alanmck]

clap your hands, uhhh, stomp your feet-ah.
clap your hands, uhhh, stomp your feet-ah.
in the jungle brother

the drums are just fantastic.

others that have yet to be mentioned and are close to my heart:

elsie mae "do you really want to rescue me" Pt 1.
mister ballard "hang ups we don't need" or "from the love side"
the version of "in the middle" on the flipside of "tit for tat"

oh, the list goes on for a while, but that should do for now.

[TOWNY]

The Devils - The Exorcist
Followed closely by -

Lynn Collins - Think
Followed even closer by -

JB's - Blow your head

Sorry thats cheatin'

[theeman]

talking of JB, i can't recommend enough a crazy, brilliant drum tuition vid called 'Soul of the funky drummers'. It features Jabo Starks and Clyde Stubblefield gettin' down and showing you how to play their best-known grooves. They play some solo grooves, play together, then play with a killer house band including the organist from Medeski etc etc, Fred Wesley, John Scofield, and Fred Thomas. 1 1/2 hrs of pure heavy duty funk!

SUPERB. it rocks whether you play drums or not. the tragic thing about it is that those guys obviously don't get much work... their phone numbers are given in the credits...