439. James Brown, "Sex Machine"

 

Good God, this is a jam.  You can literally feel the heat and the sweat from the crowd on every song.  It all purports to be a live album, but it turns out the first two sides, including the incredible, 10-minute "Get Up" and the second side's "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose," were recorded in studio and then crowd sounds were added.  No matter, because James Brown and his band in studio rock harder than 95% of bands live.

The second disc was recorded in Brown's hometown, Augusta, Georgia, at the Bell Auditorium.  Feast your eyes on this beauty.  This is what venues used to look like.

I urge you to listen to this album, not only because the band (including Bootsy Collins on bass and, on the live tracks, Maceo Parker on sax, and other legends) is incredibly tight and punchy, but also because you really have to appreciate the artistry of James Brown using his voice not only as a vehicle to deliver a song but also as an instrument of the band as well, just as vital as the guitar or organ or anything else.  It's really something.

Everyone knows "It's a Man's Man's Man's World," but you have to hear this version to really get that it's not a boast about how Men Rule the World or whatever but a lament that men have elevated themselves over women, to their own detriment.  Brown doesn't sing it like a war whoop but as a cry of despair.

Then, of course, there's also "Mother Popcorn," extolling the virtues of women on quite a different level.  But no matter; this whole album is just a blast.