19. James Brown - Live at the Apollo.
You don't get a classic nickname like the "Godfather of Soul" for being unremarkable. There is no doubt that James Brown is an entertainer of the highest order. This live recording is proof of that. The MC lets us know that it is Star time, then rhymes off a list of songs. The horns ring out and the crowd responds with increasing vigour as each song is named. When he finally introduces Mr. James Brown and the Famous Flames, the crowd is ready for anything. The band starts in with a funky guitar riff and horns blaring, and screaming from the crowd can be heard, likely when James Brown himself appears on the stage.
Suddenly the music stops and James lets us know that he is in charge of this situation. He lets us know that he feels alright, then gets down to business. The flow of the show is rather manic. Which I suppose is the problem with recording live music, it is impossible to capture the ebb and flow of the performance from the point of view of a member of the audience. You can't see the little things that make it so special, the drummer twirling a drumstick, the choreographed moves of the horn section, and the feel of the rest of the crowd reacting to the same spectacle that you are experiencing. After the anticipation of getting tickets, and watching the opening acts, when "Star Time" comes around, you are zoned in on the main event. So he can do whatever he wants with you. Well, James Brown could, he exudes showmanship, even without the visual cues. The proof is in the pudding, the audience is very vocal several times throughout the show.
He intersperses rather short vocal driven soul ballads with seemingly erratic breaks which remind me of the Vegas era footage of Elvis I have seen. The gears are switched between most of the songs, probably to keep things upbeat while he performs down-tempo love songs and designed to keep the crowd on it's toes. Once the breaks end, he goes right into another song the audience has been waiting for. He works the crowd into a frenzy during the ten minute long "Lost Someone". I'm pretty sure he got laid that night. His vocals are gentle and sincere, almost confidential, one minute and the next he is wailing and growling like a madman. He even goes so far as to let the crowd know he is singing for them. He wants them to say OWWW. So they do. Then he chastises them. "Don't just say OWWW, say OWWWWW." They respond, as clearly they are putty in his hands.
An aside about showmanship, it dawned on me after seeing the Headstones, a Canadian punk band, at Barrymore's Music Hall in Ottawa. If you are confident enough, and trust in your crowd to go along wherever you are going to try to take them, you can pretty much do whatever you want on stage. Hugh Dillon was the front man, and he came onto the stage, and simulated firing an air shotgun into the crowd, reloaded, then shot again. It was fantastic. He looked so cool doing it. He believed what he was doing, and we ate it up. Afterwards, I imagined walking out on stage trying to pull something like that off. I'd look like a fool. There is a fine line there, and some people just have it, others don't.
James Brown definitely has it. He puts together a roller coaster medley of eight songs beginning and ending with "Please Please Please" which puts the crowd almost over the edge. It is a performance within the performance, complete with the neck-breaking tempo changes as he heads in different directions. Finally we go on a speed fueled ride on the "Night Train", then suddenly, it is over. The sensory deprivation is palpable.
I have heard that James Brown was a task master with his band. It shows. The musicianship and backup vocals are impeccable. They rock it out one minute, and the next, they lay back and let the Godfather do his thing. Seamlessly. Every listen, I find I like it more and more. At first the tempo changes were a little jerky, like sitting in the passenger seat while someone is trying to master switching from first to second in a standard transmission vehicle. Once you are used to that, it is smooth sailing. My favourite track is "Try Me". The vocals work together nicely, and the horns are rather subdued in comparison to the rest of the album. The ladies in the audience seem to like this one too. Maybe I have more in common with young black women than I thought. This musical journey is broadening my horizons.
Anyhow, Rolling Stone magazine obviously took into account the influence this album had on performances in it's wake. They ranked it at number 25 on the list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. That seems like a pretty generous ranking to me. It is definitely a good album, even great, and it is growing on me each listen, but it just seems a little high to me. The tracks are early songs, not his blockbuster hits like "Sex Machine", "Papa's got a Brand New Bag", or " I Feel Good". So if that is what you are looking for, you may be disappointed. This is a younger James Brown coming into his own. Definitely not the later version we see in Rocky IV performing "Living in America". Rocky? Well, there are a bunch of movies about this boxer. Never mind that now. Maybe later.
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Suddenly the music stops and James lets us know that he is in charge of this situation. He lets us know that he feels alright, then gets down to business. The flow of the show is rather manic. Which I suppose is the problem with recording live music, it is impossible to capture the ebb and flow of the performance from the point of view of a member of the audience. You can't see the little things that make it so special, the drummer twirling a drumstick, the choreographed moves of the horn section, and the feel of the rest of the crowd reacting to the same spectacle that you are experiencing. After the anticipation of getting tickets, and watching the opening acts, when "Star Time" comes around, you are zoned in on the main event. So he can do whatever he wants with you. Well, James Brown could, he exudes showmanship, even without the visual cues. The proof is in the pudding, the audience is very vocal several times throughout the show.
He intersperses rather short vocal driven soul ballads with seemingly erratic breaks which remind me of the Vegas era footage of Elvis I have seen. The gears are switched between most of the songs, probably to keep things upbeat while he performs down-tempo love songs and designed to keep the crowd on it's toes. Once the breaks end, he goes right into another song the audience has been waiting for. He works the crowd into a frenzy during the ten minute long "Lost Someone". I'm pretty sure he got laid that night. His vocals are gentle and sincere, almost confidential, one minute and the next he is wailing and growling like a madman. He even goes so far as to let the crowd know he is singing for them. He wants them to say OWWW. So they do. Then he chastises them. "Don't just say OWWW, say OWWWWW." They respond, as clearly they are putty in his hands.
An aside about showmanship, it dawned on me after seeing the Headstones, a Canadian punk band, at Barrymore's Music Hall in Ottawa. If you are confident enough, and trust in your crowd to go along wherever you are going to try to take them, you can pretty much do whatever you want on stage. Hugh Dillon was the front man, and he came onto the stage, and simulated firing an air shotgun into the crowd, reloaded, then shot again. It was fantastic. He looked so cool doing it. He believed what he was doing, and we ate it up. Afterwards, I imagined walking out on stage trying to pull something like that off. I'd look like a fool. There is a fine line there, and some people just have it, others don't.
James Brown definitely has it. He puts together a roller coaster medley of eight songs beginning and ending with "Please Please Please" which puts the crowd almost over the edge. It is a performance within the performance, complete with the neck-breaking tempo changes as he heads in different directions. Finally we go on a speed fueled ride on the "Night Train", then suddenly, it is over. The sensory deprivation is palpable.
I have heard that James Brown was a task master with his band. It shows. The musicianship and backup vocals are impeccable. They rock it out one minute, and the next, they lay back and let the Godfather do his thing. Seamlessly. Every listen, I find I like it more and more. At first the tempo changes were a little jerky, like sitting in the passenger seat while someone is trying to master switching from first to second in a standard transmission vehicle. Once you are used to that, it is smooth sailing. My favourite track is "Try Me". The vocals work together nicely, and the horns are rather subdued in comparison to the rest of the album. The ladies in the audience seem to like this one too. Maybe I have more in common with young black women than I thought. This musical journey is broadening my horizons.
Anyhow, Rolling Stone magazine obviously took into account the influence this album had on performances in it's wake. They ranked it at number 25 on the list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. That seems like a pretty generous ranking to me. It is definitely a good album, even great, and it is growing on me each listen, but it just seems a little high to me. The tracks are early songs, not his blockbuster hits like "Sex Machine", "Papa's got a Brand New Bag", or " I Feel Good". So if that is what you are looking for, you may be disappointed. This is a younger James Brown coming into his own. Definitely not the later version we see in Rocky IV performing "Living in America". Rocky? Well, there are a bunch of movies about this boxer. Never mind that now. Maybe later.
Buy it here.
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