The first in the wildly popular three-disc series,
James Brown's Funky People
is an outstandingly chunky collection that spotlights some of the many talented musicians associated with
James Brown
and his early- to mid-'70s
People Records
imprint. The material comprising this disc is split primarily between
the J.B.'s
,
Fred Wesley
both with and without
, and one of
funk
's original divas,
Lyn Collins
.
"Gimme Some More,"
"Pass the Peas,"
"Givin' up Food for Funk (Part 1),"
and
"Hot Pants Road"
are
' offerings, spectacular studio recordings that highlight some of the band's best material for the label -- material which at the time was often passed over in favor of their "proper"
recordings.
, meanwhile, weighs in with the CD-only long version of
"Damn Right, I Am Somebody (Parts 1 & 2),"
before joining
on three more tracks, including the epic
"(It's Not the Express) It's the J.B.'s Monaurail (Part 1)."
This particular song, credited to
Fred and the New J.B.'s
, was recorded during one of the more traumatic times in the
camp and, when compared to the other classics on this CD, doesn't have the same spark or fire. And if anyone questioned the odd spelling in the title, the band's request that if you don't know what a monorail is "check out Seattle" clears up any doubt. The
tracks feature a mono version of
"Mama Feelgood"
and the outstanding
"Think (About It),"
a song that would become an iconoclastic symbol of the
era, heavily sampled by over 40 artists during the 1980s and 1990s. Included, too, is the bonus
"Same Beat (Part 1),"
recorded by
Wesley
on September 7, 1973, in New York. ~ Amy Hanson