James Brown

The Singles Volume 2: 1960–1963

Hip-O Select

originally published June 13, 2007

A successor to 2006’s Singles Volume 1: The Federal Years, Singles Volume 2: 1960–1963 presents a young, confident James Brown as he was beginning to carve out a unique and commanding identity of his own. Years before his pleas for civil rights, his progression into a “superbad” funk icon and eventual decline into self-parody, the two-disc set zooms in on a wealth of the Godfather’s untarnished early sides.

In the timeframe between Singles Vol. 1 and 2, Brown had moved up the ladder from the offshoot Federal label to the main roster of King Records, and the bump-up in recognition translates throughout these recordings. The arrangements of tracks like "The Bells” and “Three Hearts In a Tangle” are tighter and more pronounced. Brown’s faultless backing band Famous Flames laid down some seriously aerodynamic rhythms and Brown had begun to sharply split his recording persona between party anthem kingpin and sincere, emotionally-charged balladeer.

Try finding a missed note or weak change in “Mashed Potatoes U.S.A” or the essential after-hours instrumental “Night Train.” Try not to foolishly mimic the electric pleading of a lovelorn screamer like “Oh Baby Don’t You Weep” or “Come On Over Here.” At 40 tracks, complete with detailed liner notes, Singles Volume 2 paints a vivid portrait of why Brown scaled both the R&B and, eventually, pop ladders so fervently and why his recordings from this and subsequent eras are still regarded as some of the most important of their day. The emotive live wires had been sparked, the rhythm section was, as always, spot-on and the royal cape was waiting in the wings as Brown built his iconic rep, one small town, and one monster single, at a time.

Michael Andrews

Femi Kuti

The Definitive Collection

Wrasse

originally published June 13, 2007

Femi Kuti’s father, Afro-beat pioneer Fela Kuti, was both influenced by James Brown’s unique approach to his craft and influenced Brown, himself, in return. Still several years away from fulfilling a truly “definitive” collection of his own, this collection, nonetheless, provides snapshots of the junior Kuti’s work thus far, as well as his legacy-in-the-making. Like Spearhead’s Michael Franti, Kuti’s music is a bouillabaisse of complementary influences: sounds of his native Nigeria meld with percussive jazz, socially-conscious hip-hop and lyrics most always delivered with a decidedly humanitarian slant. Humanitarian or not, there’s little glad-handing done,or peace offerings made here, as Kuti is one serious customer. From the defiant call-outs of “Traitors of Africa,” to the wounds bared by “1997,” which recounts the life-altering year in which Kuti’s father, cousin and sister all passed away due to AIDS and other illnesses, he carves a formidable presence both as emcee and bandleader.

Definitive’s second disc presents remixes of Kuti cuts - an expansion on the American hip-hop slant of Kuti’s collaborations with artists like Mos Def, Macy Gray and D’Angelo that appear on disc one. The steamy lover’s rock “Beng, Beng, Beng” gets a fitting tropical facelift courtesy of U.K. mix duo De Lata, while others like The Roots, French genre-benders Seven Dub and others contribute to the additional reworkings. Though the second-generation Afrobeat icon may not be ready for the archive files just yet, it doesn’t look like he’ll be ready to lay down his lyrically sharpened weapon of choice anytime soon.

Michael Andrews

Town Criers

Live In San Francisco

Collector’s Choice

originally published June 13, 2007

A San Francisco folk quartet that featured future Jefferson Airplane singer Marty Balin, it’s little surprise that the Town Criers favored dramatic folk anthems in the Pete Seeger/ Tom Paxton vein. It’s also little surprise that most all the cuts on the brief Live In San Francisco, culled from various club performances dated 1963–64, are sung in the typical over-pronounced Folksmen tone that went along with much of the genre.

Still, the brief eight-song time capsule is an informative find, particularly for diehard Airplane fans, as it presents Balin (along with fellow Criers Bill Collins, Jan Ellickson and Larry Vargo) slugging it out Hootenanny-style before LSD and flower power rode into town. Plus, Balin’s incoherent, almost antagonistic song introductions provide an unintentionally comic counterpart to the pokerfaced track listing that includes at least one gambling song (“Daddy Roll ‘Em”), train song (“Hellbound Train”) and, of course, a requisite killin’ song (“99 Years to Go”).

Michael Andrews

Ray Price

Essential Ray Price

Columbia/ Legacy

originally published June 13, 2007

Ray Price’s fiddle-driven, diehard Texan country songs are truly essential, both to the legacy of Texas music and culture, and to that of country music as a whole. Equipped with a resounding voice that would get leagues deeper as the years went on, Price’s sturdy string of sawdust-floor-ready weepers begat a king’s list of songwriting countrymen including Doug Sahm, Lyle Lovett and Willie Nelson for starters.

Thirty years of Price’s career, up to 1980, get an especially thorough overview with his entry into Sony’s Essentials series. Early honky-tonking cuts like “Crazy Arms,” “City Lights” and “Invitation To the Blues” pave the way for Price’s extended residence in Balladeerland, best exemplified by such classic country radio staples as "For The Good Times,” “Make The World Go Away” and the Nelson co-penned “I’ve Just Destroyed the World (I’m Living In).”

Though Price’s approach got a little softer as time progressed, this release makes the case that the parameters of country music changed more than Price as an individual performer, as several early sides like “Release Me” mirror the more comfortable tone of Price’s later work. In the land where every good song is kicked off with a sharp two-note fiddle lick, as is much of this Essentials set, Ray Price still stands heads and pointy boots above the flock.

Michael Andrews