Contrast Agent

I have about 2100 songs in my iTune library,  many of them organized into playlists, but I often like listening via shuffle to see what the algorithm reveals.  Recently these two songs came up in sequence, tunes about as different as can be musically and lyrically.  I enjoy them both, which is why they're in my library, but the only other thing they have in common was both were released in the early 1970s.

First up was James Brown's Down and Out in New York City.  And then came The Fountain of Salmacis from Nursery Cryme, one of the best albums from Genesis.  The former a tale of contemporary New York, the latter the retelling of an ancient Greek myth.

Mother Popcorn

 A rhythmic contrast to our prior entry.  James Brown at his peak.  What a tight band!

Out Of Sight

James Brown and the Famous Flames performing Out Of Sight at the 1964 T.A.M.I Show.  Lots of us kids in the suburbs had never seen anything like that before.  The concert was held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in October 1964 and released as a film two months later, which is how I saw it.

Like many shows of the 1964-66 era it was a grab bag of musical styles that you would never see in one place today.  Along with Brown, performers included The Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, Marvin Gaye, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Jan & Dean (that's them introducing Brown), Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Supremes, and The Rolling Stones.

The T.A.M.I. Show is also featured in the fine biopic, Get On Up, in which Brown is portrayed by the late, great, Chadwick Boseman.  According to Wikipedia, T.A.M.I stands for both "Teenage Awards Music International" and "Teen Age Music International".

True

You may be cool but you'll never be James Brown standing next to his private jet cool. pic.twitter.com/abTDLihc7s

— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) January 10, 2022

 

And you never sang with Pavarotti! 

Down & Out in New York City

James Brown from the soundtrack of the 1973 film Black Caesar, starring Fred Williamson.  Unlike most of Brown's hits which were composed by him, this song is from Barry de Vorzon and Bodie Chandler but I suspect most of the "oomph" of the track is due to Brown's arrangement.

That New Breed Thing

He ain't no drag
Papa's got a brand new bag

Released in July 1965, Papa's Got A Brand New Bag was James Brown's first single to hit the Top Ten in Billboard's Hot 100.  It had a different sound than any Top Ten song to that date.  With its emphasis on the first beat ("The One"), Brown delivered a brand new bag of Funk.

Coming To America

 
On this date in 1905, my grandfather Louis, fleeing Czarist Russia, landed in Boston.  Six weeks later he enlisted in the US Army, serving for six years.  You can read more about him at RMS Republic & Our Grandfather Louis.

God bless America!

And once you reach America, you need to learn what it's like Living In America.  Here's Mr James Brown to help you with that:

Get On Up

(from New Yorker.com) 

(Chadwick Boseman)

Chadwick Boseman's first leading movie roles have been as Jackie Robinson in 42 and James Brown in Get On Up, which we saw yesterday.  So where does he go from here to top these roles?  Boseman is remarkable in Get On Up.  Physically bearing little resemblance to Brown he captures the persona, the speech, the look and the dynamic singing and dancing of The Godfather of Soul in a performance that is precisely the opposite of what was called for in his role as Jackie Robinson.

Boseman is aided by a touching performance from Nelsan Ellis as Bobby Byrd, his long time (and suffering) friend, and Dan Ackroyd as manager Ben Bart.
(both pix from collider.com)
Best of all there is a lot of James Brown music and performances that are recreated and fully capture the experience of seeing him in his prime.  These are some of the finest movie recreations THC has ever seen of any performer.  It also takes the time to show some of the detail of how Brown invented modern funk in one of my favorite scenes (and here's the first true funk song - Cold Sweat, Pt. 1 (1967)).  The thrilling performance scenes are, in part, attributable to Mick Jagger, who served as a producer and was heavily involved in the musical aspects of the film.

The movie jumps around time wise, which is a good touch and shows the extreme poverty in which Brown was raised in the Georgia of the 1930s and early 1940s as well as his horrible home life but this is not exactly the normal redemptive story arc of many biopics.  Brown was certainly a brilliant artist but is portrayed as someone who, throughout his life, you would not want to be in a relationship with nor be a musician working for him.  He treated a lot of people very poorly. 

There are some awkward and dragging standard biopic scenes in the film but Boseman's performance and the music scenes make Get On Up well worth seeing.

For those who haven't seen much of James Brown at his peak, this is his legendary performance at the T.A.M.I. show in 1964, performing for a mostly white audience.  The Rolling Stones had to close the show after this performance which was the first time Brown and Jagger met.  If you don't have time to watch the entire 18 minutes, start the video at about the 13 minute mark and watch it from there.  The duo introducing Brown are Jan & Dean, known for their hits The Little Old Lady From Pasadena and Surf City.

(Brown & Jagger, backstage at TAMI)

And here you can watch a more mellow Brown performing a duet on It's A Man's World with Luciano Pavarotti about ten years ago shortly before both of them passed away. 

Dancing With James

James Brown, that is.  Now that I'm (mostly) retired, I can spend hours practicing my dance moves following the instructions of the master!  Check it out.  
And this is James Brown in one of the best duets you will ever hear - with Luciano Pavarotti.

Great Duets

An unlikely pairing - James Brown and Luciano Pavarotti doing "It's A Man's World" at a concert in Pavarotti's hometown of Modena, Italy in the spring of 2002.  Both were in their late 60s at the time and both have passed away since this performance.

The duet works even though both performers stay within their genres - they don't try to accommodate each other by modifying their styles. Brown looks like he knew he needed to be at the top of his game vocally for this and he's clearly enjoying himself - a joyous performance.  Pavarotti looks wax-like and pasted in place but the power of his voice is unabated.