James Brown Funk Power - 1970: A Brand New Thang

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Track List

1. Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine (5:16)
2. Super Bad (9:03) - (mono)
3. Since You Been Gone (4:58) - (original mix, previously unreleased, mono)
4. Give It Up Or Turn It Loose (6:24) - (undubbed unedited mix)
5. There Was A Time (I Got To Move) (7:20) - (previously unreleased)
6. Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Nothing (14:42) - (previously unreleased, complete version)
7. Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved (7:06)
8. Soul Power (12:05) - (previously unreleased, mono, complete version)
9. Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine (10:31) - (undubbed mix)
10.Fight Against Drugs - Public Service Announcement (:34) - (promotional single release)

Originally recorded between April 25th, 1970 and January 26th, 1971, the short-lived first incarnation of the JB's, with future Parliament-arian bassist Bootsy Collins, brother Catfish Collins on guitar, Jabo Starks and/or Clyde Stubblefield on drums, this was one of the edgiest, meanest, leanest lineup maestro James Brown ever assembled, and the music they made in this single year is still among the freshest, most soul-stirring funk on earth decades later.

By this point the story is well-known: in 1970 James Brown's band quit en masse, and he recruited a group of unpolished kids featuring the 18 year old Bootsy Collins to be his backing band. He would hold this band together for a year before Collins et al. would quit. This band was not without its weaknesses. The horn section was no match for Maceo Parker and the other 1960s veterans who had quit.

Working with the resources at hand, pushing Bootsy's bass to the front, JB maximizes what he's got. The high point is a previously unreleased 15 minute version of "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing" in which JB goes into a rant on self-respect, race relations, taxes, drugs, and whatever else came into head that night -- "I don't want a cat tryin' to drive a plane who hasn't been to school!"

In liner notes written by Alan Leeds, he describes the young band as "everything the classic Brown Bands were not -- loose, unpolished, occasionally out of tune and SMALL." All of this puts more pressure on James. Adversity only increased the determination of the Hardest Workin' Man in Showbiz. The longest track is nearly 15 minutes, TALKIN' LOUD AND SAYIN' NOTHING. Five minutes into the song, in a demonstration of supreme confidence, James Brown does "something funny"; he stops real quick; then, he and Bobby Byrd engage in an unaccompanied call and response for a full 20 seconds. That is heartstopping funk. When the band starts up, again, the song is completely rejuvenated. At 7 minutes, James Brown has fun with his own mistake. "Shape, shape, shape, shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhape, shape, shape, (it's hard for me to say it sometimes), shhhhhhhhhhape. Shape up your thang, don't worry 'bout mine." Then, for a brief minute, one feels transported into JB's living room as he jokes with Bobby Byrd, which includes the Minister of Soul preaching a message of self-reliance before he seamlessly segues back into the song.


The selections on this collection feature numerous previously unreleased unedited takes and alternate mixes. Brown recorded at a furious pace, with "Sex Machine" bringing him out of a commercial slump. However, barely a year later, the Hardest Working Man in Show Business was again without a band when Bootsy quit, taking most of the other members with him.

Import pressing of his 1996 compilation that's unavailable domestically. This compilation, prepared and ideally notated by Harry Weinger and one-time JB manager Alan Leeds, is so full of groove it could doubtless sub for a faulty pacemaker

Digitally remastered by Gary N. Mayo (Polygram Studios).

Recorded at Starday Studios, Nashville, Tennessee; King Studios, Cincinnati, Ohio; Bobby Smith Studios, Macon, Georgia; Rodel Studios, Washington, DC between April 25, 1970 and January 26, 1971. Includes liner notes by Alan Leeds.

Engineers include: Ron Lenhoff.

Personnel: James Brown (vocals, piano); Bobby Byrd (vocals, organ); Hearlon "Cheese" Martin (guitar); Robert McCollough (tenor saxophone); St. Clair Pinckney (baritone saxophone); Clayton "Chicken" Gunnells, Darryl "Hasaan" Jamison (trumpet); Fred Wesley (trombone); Clyde Stubblefield, John Starks (drums); Johnny Griggs (congas).

Audio Mixer: Joseph M. Palmaccio.

Liner Note Author: Alan Leeds.

Recording information: Bobby Smith Studios, Macon, GA (04/25/1970-01/26/1971); King Studios, Cincinnati, OH (04/25/1970-01/26/1971); Rodel Studios, WA (04/25/1970-01/26/1971); Starday Studios, Nashville, TN (04/25/1970-01/26/1971).

Photographers: Guy Ferrell; Charles Stewart ; Bootsy Collins.

Subtitled 1970: A BRAND NEW THANG, this year was indeed a pivotal one for James Brown. His entire band quit and he quickly assembled a new and much smaller outfit centered around 18-year-old bass whiz Bootsy Collins. Where his previous Flames had been choreographed to turn or stop on a dime both on stage and on record, this youthful new combo, dubbed the J.B.'s, had an unruly quality; they were an edgier, scruffier lot.

Personnel: James Brown (vocals, piano); Bobby Byrd (vocals, organ); Phelps "Catfish" Collins, Hearlon "Cheese" Martin, Bobby Roach (guitar); Robert "Chopper" McCollough (tenor saxophone); St. Clair Pinckney (baritone saxophone); Jerone "Jasaan" Sanford, Clayton "Chicken" Gunnels, Daryl "Hasaan" Jamison (trumpet); Fred Wesley (trombone); William "Bootsy" Collins (bass); John "Jabo" Starks, Clyde Stubblefield (drums); Johnny Griggs (congas).

Compilation producers: Harry Weinger, Alan Leeds.

Down Beat (2/97, p.56) - 5 Stars (out of 5) - "...The feel is indeed different from his needle-sharp earlier band, but the funk gets longer, shaggier, messier--and not in a bad way....More pure, gritty joy-juice."
JazzTimes (12/96, p.111) - "...a crucial disc. Besides containing some of the Godfather's deadliest grooves, it traces the genesis of one of the '70s' most influential bands, i.e. Brown's original J.B.'s..."