James Brown: On Film and Vinyl
The Godfather of Soul
For the trainspotters in the crowd, this is the 1970 Capitol Record Club issue of ‘Ain’t It Funky Now’
Listen/Download James Brown and the James Brown Band – Use Your Mother
Listen/Download James Brown and the James Brown Band – Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose (Inst)
Greetings all
I had something else planned for today, but then the Missus and I took in a showing of ‘Get On Up’ at the local cinematheque, and those plans changed.
Back some months ago, when trailers started to emerge for the James Brown biopic ‘Get On Up’, I was both excited, and filled with trepidation.
I mean, someone was finally working on a biopic of the Minister of the Super Heavy Funk.
On the flip side of that coin was the thought, ‘Oh, shit, how many ways are there to fuck up such an undertaking?”
Since the last week saw reports from trusted sources start to dribble in, so we decided to catch a matinee.
I am here to tell you that – in the words of the corporate world left behind – my expectations were met, and exceeded.
The first thing you should know about ‘Get On Up’, is that it is quite good.
It certainly had weak spots from time to time, but I have to admit that it stood up relatively well to my own high level of James Brown nitpicking.
Chadwick Boseman, who plays Brown, was amazing, and if he’s not nominated for an Oscar, they need to turn out the lights and shut the doors on that operation.
The performance sequences of the film are fantastic, and beautifully filmed.
The supporting cast, especially Nelsan Ellis as Bobby Byrd, was excellent.
If I had a fairly substantial beef with the movie, it would be that whatever (or more importantly, whoever’s) source material was used had an axe to grind with Maceo Parker*.
The way he is portrayed in ‘Get On Up’ seems at the very least unfair. Though it was Parker that led the (just) band revolt against Brown, he is portrayed not only as an incessant complainer, but also seemingly oblivious to the evolution of the funk.
There’s a scene in the film regarding a rehearsal of ‘Cold Sweat’ in which Parker has to be stepped through the paces of the song like some kind of amateur, which makes no sense at all.
My suggestion would be that readers check out Maceo’s book ‘98% Funky Stuff’ for a look at his side of the story.
That said, I thought that Brown’s own story was exceptionally well told, with a pretty serious level of detail, considering that this is a major motion picture, and not a multi-part documentary (which he certainly deserves).
I’d like to hear what those of you that saw the movie thought about it, as well.
Since I’m writing about the movie, I thought that this was an excellent time to dip into the crates and pull out some little-heard James Brown (and band).
The 1970 LP ‘Ain’t It Funky Now’ – credited to ‘James Brown and the James Brown Band’ – is a collection of mostly instrumental tracks (some original, others like ‘Cold Sweat’ existing tracks with overdubbed guitar**), some dating to 1966.
The tracks run from long-form funk vamps like ‘Ain’t It Funky Now’, to bluesy cuts like ‘Fat Wood’.
There are a couple of exceptional tracks, that never appeared (as far as I can tell) anywhere else.
The first of these is the funky ‘Use Your Mother’, with some tasty horns and a superb rolling bass line. It has the feel of a slightly underdeveloped James Brown funk 45 of the classic era.
The second, is an extended instrumental take of ‘Give It Up or Turnit A Loose’ with some exceptional guitar work from Jimmy ‘Chank’ Nolen and Alphonso ‘Country’ Kellum. This is one of at least three different LP versions of the tune released in 1970 alone!***
While I wouldn’t describe ‘Ain’t It Funky Now’ as essential, if you find it, grab it, if only for these cuts.
I mean, come on, it’s James Brown.
That said, dig the tracks, see the movie, and I’ll see you all on Friday.
Keep the faith
Larry
* I have a suspicion that we may have litigation to blame for some of the omissions in the film
** There are several times on the album where JB’s original vocals bleed through into the instrumental track
***On ‘Ain’t It Funky Now’, ‘It’s a New Day So Let a Man Come In’ and ‘Sex Machine’
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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).
Drums, Funk, Funky16Corners, Instrumental, James Brown, LP tracks, Movies
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Funk, Funky16Corners, James Brown, Soul
Themocracy
I saw it last night after we went out to diner. I thought it was a great movie. The going in and out of different time periods was a bit jarring at first. Probably won’t be after watching it again.
You are right about Maceo. They did not portray him good at all which is a shame. I would have like to have seen them show how Maceo got back with JB and how they resolve their differences in 1972.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the movie Larry!
I can’t wait to catch it when the film is eventually released over here.
By the way, when you were referring to Chadwick Boseman’s Oscar-worthy performance, surely you meant “cut off the lights, and call the law”, right? 😉
Haven’t visited in a while but what a coincidence I visited tonight, since I just caught the 8:20 showing of Get On Up with my sisters, both of whom enjoyed it. I REALLY enjoyed it and thought it was really well done. The Maceo sequence was strange and unfortunate, since he was one of James’s most important sidemen (MACEO!) but at least Craig Robinson looked the part, as did Boseman, who does deserve to be nominated, as does Nelsan Ellis. Surprising that such a good movie was released during the dog days of summer. I hope it makes a mint and gets a dozen nominations.