James Brown – Rocks
Bear Family BCD 17775
That Dood It – I Feel That Old Feeling Coming On – And I Do Just What I Want – Tell Me What I Did Wrong – Shout And Shimmy – This Old Heart – You Don’t Have To Go – Chonnie-On-Chon – There Must Be A Reason – Come Over Here – I’ll Go Crazy – Love Don’t Love Nobody – Good Good Lovin’ – I’ll Never, Never Let You Go – Signed, Sealed And Delivered – No, No, No, No – Three Hearts In A Tangle – Can’t Be The Same – Think – Hold It – Just You And Me, Darling – Night Flying – Don’t Let It Happen To Me – Dancin’ Little Thing – Let’s Make It – Choo-Choo – Baby Cries Over The Ocean – Mashed Potatoes U.S.A. – I Got You (I Feel Good) – Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag
While everyone knows the James “the Godfather of soul” Brown from the 1970s and 80s and his soul-funk hits, with his flamboyant costumes, the liters of sweat he poured out on stage, and his colorful appearances in films like The Blues Brothers and Rocky IV, the artist’s early years are perhaps less well-known. It’s these early years, through the lens of the most rhythmic tracks recorded for King and Federal, that Bear Family invites us to explore.
This compilation therefore covers the years from 1956, the date of the recording of I Feel That Old Feeling Coming On and Chonnie-On-Chon, which seem to have come straight from the repertoire of Little Richard, to 1962, with as a coda two unstoppable hits from 1965, judiciously placed at the end of the record, namely I Got You (I Feel Good) and Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag (the latter already laying the foundations of funk). This reminder at the end of the album allows us to appreciate the evolution and innovation of the singer and his band.
These early years were therefore formative and developmental for Brown, during which, under the combined influence of Little Richard, Hank Ballard, and Ray Charles, and supported by a powerful and fervent voice rooted in Gospel, the charismatic singer sought, defined, and refined his style, gradually moving away from the traditional codes of Rock and Roll and Rhythm and Blues to become Mr. Dynamite. Sometimes Brown and the Famous Flames learned by “borrowing” already known songs, making them their own. For example, Shout & Shimmy strongly recalls Shout by the Isley Brothers, and Night Flying inevitably evokes Bill Doggett’s Honky Tonk. But the personal elements that would become his trademark quickly took shape: a sharp guitar, a prominent bass line underpinned by staccato brass.
The music of Brown and the Famous Flame is a fusion, resulting in a more edgy, less lush, ultra-groovy Rhythm and Blues, played by a band that’s a veritable clockwork mechanism. The selection wisely includes instrumentals from the album James Brown Presents His Band, allowing for an even greater appreciation of the group’s masterful craftsmanship.
There’s absolutely nothing to skip on these thirty tracks, and it’s hard to resist the allure of this music and remain comfortably seated while listening to this album.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis
