FUNK POWER
JAMES BROWN & THE JBS
(1970-71)
A1: GET UP I FEEL LIKE BEING A SEX MACHINE (5:16); A2: SUPER BAD (9:03); A3: SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE (4:58); A4: GIVE IT UP OR TURN IT LOOSE (6:24); A5: THERE WAS A TIME (I GOT TO MOVE) (7:20).
B1: GET UP, GET INTO IT, GET INVOLVED (7:06); B2: TALKIN’ LOUD AND SAYIN’ NOTHING (14:42); B3: SOUL POWER (12:05).
CATEGORY: FUNK | DURATION: 67 MINUTES
A rare example of a compilation album done right by a major label, Funk Power (Polydor 31453-1684-2, 1996) is an 8-track, chronological collection of all vital recordings made by James Brown with the original JBs, a short-lived but seminal super-heavy funk band which included future Parliament and Funkadelic bass-player Bootsy Collins (the original CD-only release also contains two unnecessary “bonus” tracks, omitted here). Only one song, “Soul Power”, dates from (January) 1971. The music on Funk Power represents the first full flowering of Brown’s experiments in funk, which began around 1968; from the all-time classic “Sex Machine” onwards, this is music that changed the world.
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ROBERT YOUNG (1964-2014)
“ÆTERNUM VORTICE LACRIMARUM SOMNIAT”