Foundations Of Funk

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Total Tracks: 27   Total Length: 149:28

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Douglas Wolk

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Douglas Wolk writes about pop music and comic books for Time, the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Wired and elsewhere. He's the author of Reading Comics: How Gra...more »

11.16.10
The early stages of a funk revolution
1996 | Label: Universal Motown Records Group

The 1964 single "Out of Sight" was a huge breakthrough for James Brown on a couple of fronts. Nat Jones' slashing start-and-stop arrangement seemed to be carved out of negative space; its fadeout was a single phrase repeated, over and over, while Brown shouted and pleaded. For the next two years, Brown and Jones pushed further into that territory, with records like "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and "Let Yourself Go," and even scored one of his most enduring pop hits in "I Got You (I Feel Good)."

This '64-'69 retrospective of Brown's biggest hits really catches fire, though, with the 1967 arrival of bandleader Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis. Beginning with that summer's landmark single "Cold Sweat," Brown and his band kicked out a string of the hardest, hottest, wildest dance records anybody had ever made, usually spread over two sides of a single. Old-fashioned melody went out the window: funk was about finding a perfectly sparse groove, locking into it, and making everything from Brown's voice to Jimmy Nolen's guitar a percussion instrument. When Brown yelled "give the drummer some!" on "Cold Sweat" and let Clyde Stubblefield loose, the breakbeat was born; when he built the near-instrumental vamp "Funky… read more »

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They Say All Music Guide

There are several worthy James Brown compilations. But this is the one, more than any other, that presents his most fertile and innovative soul and funk material. From 1964′s “Out of Sight” through 1969′s “Mother Popcorn,” this was Brown at the apex of his creativity, turning soul into funk in the mid-’60s, then pushing the rhythm even more to the forefront. Most of his hit singles from this five-year explosion of white heat are on this 27-track, two-CD set, including “Out of Sight,” “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” “I Got You (I Feel Good),” “Say It Loud–I’m Black and I’m Proud,” and “Cold Sweat.” There are some minor omissions that could be questioned (the absence of the studio version of “Bring It Up,” for instance), and big James Brown fans will already have the lion’s share of tracks, on the Star Time box and other releases. It does, however, contain minor but significant bonuses: an alternate take of “Cold Sweat,” a previously unreleased live medley of “Out of Sight” and “Bring It Up,” and a previously unreleased live version of “Licking Stick–Licking Stick.” There are also longer versions of “I Don’t Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing” (ten minutes!), “I Got the Feelin’,” “The Popcorn,” and “Brother Rapp” that were edited when they were prepared for official release. – Richie Unterberger

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