Everybody Over Here! (Funk Power)
Afrika Bambaataa & The Godfather Of Soul James Brown – UnityTommy Boy – TB 847Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, US, 1984
25 minutes of James Brown diving head first into hip hop ala 1984, brought to the party by his greatest NYC disciple, Afrika Bambaataa. They rap against cold war greed and violence and the virtues of funk over live breakbeats supplied by some of my favorite musicians. It's a shame this record isn't more remembered, it's a gem.
The '80s weren't packed with new highlights in the James Brown discography, but hanging out with the Universal Zulu Nation brought something out in him and the Godfather of Soul gives a great performance on Unity. Maybe he enjoyed hearing his music being kept fresh. Maybe he was moved by Bambaataa's obvious joy at getting to record with his hero. Or maybe he was just feeling inspired to preach that day on the power of funk, the dangers of nuclear war, the importance of education and the gospel of "peace, unity, love and having fun!" I haven't really researched it, but I'm also pretty sure this record is the only place to find a recording of James Brown screaming "Punk Rock! New Wave!"
The backing band here is brilliant- essentially the Sugarhill Band (including the Chops horns section) riffing on classic JBs breaks. You get the soon to be Tackhead/Fats Comet crew playing "Get Up, Get Into It and Get Involved," "Give It Up or Turnit Loose," "Soul Power" and probably a few other references that got past me in one of their best and funkiest arrangements. Doug Wimbish's bass work is particularly brilliant and listen to Part 3 for extra Keith LeBlanc drum breaks. Part 5 is mostly instrumental and in Part 6 you'll find the acapella, source of more than a few classic vocal samples you may recognize. ("Shake your rump-uh!")
This stuff is great, '80s electro message music at its finest. The record has some noisy moments and some sibilance and other distortion at parts, especially on the vocals, that had me checking the needle on my turntable. I'm pretty sure most of it isn't me, but a combination of a worn record, a bad pressing, and Tommy Boy letting JB and Bam get just a little too excited screaming into the studio mics. Close listening pays off: The record includes snippets of the two of them talking in the studio between songs. Listen closely while Brown announces how bad the track they just cut was and you'll hear what I assume is Afrika Bambaataa giggling like a child, giddy to have JAMES BROWN bragging on him. And in the acapella, there's a steady thumping during Brown's vocal. I'd like to think the mic caught the Godfather's inner b-boy coming out, picking up his stomping feet, dancing his ass off while singing his parts of Unity.
(very) Belated thanks for what looks like a little slice of Heaven, the Godfather in Electro-land.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog BTW
Glad you found it! Hope you enjoyed the record. It's one of those moments where so many of my musical loves converge in one place. I still really think this one is fun.
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