Convince me: James Brown!

[bottomzone]

Kwesi, if any music, regardless of the artist and their place in history, doesn't move you, then that's cool! You don't need to be convinced that you have to feel james Brown to validate you as a bass player. I'm not a huge Beatles fan and it doesn't bother me at all. I do appreciate Paul's abilities as a bass player and his overall contribution to music. But I don't have a single Beatles CD/cassette/LP in my collection-and I'm cool with that!


A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

 

[KimblesNimble]

I hardly listen to JB as a leader / singer, it's all about the band man. You must have the bass OFF

 

[Ric5]

I dig James Brown.

 

[CapnSev]

I've always liked JB, but as soon as I joined a band that played a lot of JB tunes I learned to love JB. Every single song that we cover has so much energy, and the pocket is so tight, that it just slays the crowd every time- probably more than any other songs we do.

 

[jazzmonkey]

WOW! I almost couldn't believe what I was reading! JB is the funk standard IMHO. Maybe you haven't heard the right album yet. Maybe you need to get into some JBs first. You can't go wrong with the JBs anthology, 'bout as raw as it gets! I don't think it was mentioned here yet, but Black Ceasar was an old 70s movie that JB did the sountrack for, and that soundtrack is excellent, check that one out, maybe it will suit you more than the standard "simple grooves that make ya backbone slip" that JB is so famous for.

And also, many have said it is all about the band, I agree, JB always had the baddest band backing him up, especially in the JBs years.

 

[pedro]

To the OP there is no law that requires you to like anybody. I give you credit at least for giving JB credit for his influence on the folks that you do like. I don't think that's unusual by any means.

I am a huge fan of James Brown and think he tip-toed the lines between funk (which I think he invented) and soul. Much of what is called 'funk' to me is danceable but doesn't have much depth. Soul OTOH earned its name.

Anyhoo, I'll leave you with two videos that might spike your appreciation of James. The first will be obvious but the second perhaps not so much. But watch all the way thru and you'll see James Brown's influence.

 

[FilterFunk]

I hardly listen to JB as a leader / singer, it's all about the band man. You must have the bass OFF

I have to respectfully disagree. Obviously, the band was awesome, but I think that's putting the cart before the horse. James Brown created the groove, and although I'm sure those musicians could have done wonderful things on their own, the funk was James Brown's baby! I'm also sure that JB's leadership, and simply watching and listening to him perform - the tight, punctuated vocals, the incredible dance moves, the unmatched energy - inspired the band, and made them even better!

 

[pedro]

I have to respectfully disagree. Obviously, the band was awesome, but I think that's putting the cart before the horse. James Brown created the groove, and although I'm sure those musicians could have done wonderful things on their own, the funk was James Brown's baby! I'm also sure that JB's leadership, and simply watching and listening to him perform - the tight, punctuated vocals, the incredible dance moves, the unmatched energy - inspired the band, and made them even better!

FWIW, James said he could take any group of musicians who had some command of their instrument and turn them into his band. He did it a lot over the course of his career.

 

[One Drop]

He was a control freak that made sure everyone played exactly the way he wanted, and he hired players who had the sound and feel (and/or malleability) he wanted. Apparently he only started easing up a bit and letting the players have more input around the time Bootsy had been playing with him a little while.

I was just watching the TAMI show again, fascinating to imagine what it would have been like to see and hear this for the first time in '64. He was so far ahead of his time it hurts, and you can hear two songs on either side of the blues/soul/funk continuum he helped create, a foot in the past and a foot in the future:



Looking back it's easy to miss how influential an artist was; he set the agenda for well over a decade and produced amazing music for a lot longer. And he did everything better than anyone out there, costumes, singing, dancing, stage show, sound (usually two drummers, two bassists live), et al. He just worked harder than almost everyone else, and it shows.

Anyone who wants to play the man's music would do themselves a great favour by buying Alan 'Dr. Licks' Slutsky's book 'The Great James Brown Rhythm Sections'. It's a potted history, and has tabs and transcriptions of bass, drums and guitars, and explains the evolution of his sound and the bands he created it with.