"…Lowdown Popcorn...and...Funky Drummer…"
The 39-Tracks of "The
Singles Volume 6..." in this stunning 11 Volume Series picks up where
Volume 5 left off (five having covered
November 1967 through to March 1969).
Featuring all his King 45
sides as well as one on Federal and another on Bethlehem – we get pairings of
every A&B-side released betwixt late March 1969 and June 1970 along with
many withdrawn issues, promo-only DJ mixes, 45s available only through magazine
advert promotion coupons etc. Volume Six has the same spectacular Audio and
beautifully presented 28-page fact-filled booklet on Soul Brother No. 1 that
all these volumes have - with a feast of fan-pleasing details and memorabilia
provided by a team of experts on all things JB Productions (printed on a sort
of sepia feel paper).
Make no mistake - all eleven
volumes of "The Singles" Series are superlative 2CD Reissues and
along with the 'Motown' and 'Chess' Book Set Reissues has gone a long way to
emblazoning 'Hip-O Select' as a reissue label dear to collector's hearts. Here
are the Top Of The Stack details...
USA released 5 December 2008
(22 June 2009 in the UK) - "The Singles Volume 6: 1969-1970" by JAMES
BROWN on Hip-O Select/Polydor B0012204-02 (Barcode 602517873599) offers
39-tracks Remastered on 2CDs. All catalogue numbers are US 7" singles
unless otherwise noted and beneath the discography info are the US R&B and
Pop Chart placing (no entry means it didn't chart). It breaks down as follows...
Disc 1, 20 Tracks, 66:06
minutes:
1. You've Got To Have A
Mother For Me - Pt. 1 (King 6223, unreleased)
2. The Little Groove Maker Me
(King 6223 and King 6235, both unreleased
3. You Got To Have A Mother
For Me (Long Version) (King 6223DJ, unreleased)
4. I Don't Want Nobody To
Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I'll Get It Myself) (Part 1)
5. I Don't Want Nobody To
Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I'll Get It Myself) (Part 2)
Tracks 4 and 5 are the
A&B-sides of King 6224, released March 1969 - Charted No. 3 R&B, No. 20
Pop
6. I Love You
7. Maybe I'll Understand
Tracks 6 and 7 are a King 45
(no catalogue no.) from April 1969 - available only through "Jet"
magazine with a coupon
8. Any Day Now
9. I'm Shook (King 6235,
unreleased)
10. The Popcorn
11. The Chicken (Tracks 10
and 11 are the A&B-sides of King 6240, May 1969 - charted No. 11 R&B
and 30 Pop)
12. Mother Popcorn (You've
Got To Have A Mother For Me) Part 1
13. Mother Popcorn (You've
Got To Have A Mother For Me) Part 2
Tracks 12 and 13 are the
A&B-sides of King 6245, May 1969 - charted No. 1 R&B and No. 11 Pop
14. Lowdown Popcorn
15. Top Of The Stack (Tracks
14 & 15 are the A&B-sides of King 6250, July 1969 - charted No. 16
R&B, 41 Pop)
16. World (Part 1)
17. World (Part 2) (Tracks 16
& 17 are the A&B-sides of King 6250, July 1969 - charted No. 16
R&B, No. 41 Pop)
18. Let A Man Come In And Do
The Popcorn - Part One
19. Sometime (Tracks 18 and
19 are the A&B-sides of King 6255, September 1969 - charted No. 2 R&B,
No. 21 Pop)
20. I'm Not Demanding (Pt. 1)
- King 6273 and 6322 unreleased - (Pt. 2) King 6273 unreleased
Disc 2, 19 Tracks, 66:40
minutes:
1. It's Christmas (Part 1)
2. It's Christmas (Part 2) -
Tracks 1 & 2 are the A&B-sides of King 6277, October 1969 - both cuts
non-album
3. Ain't It Funky Now (Part
1)
4. Ain't It Funky Now (Part
2)
Tracks 3 & 4 are the
A&B-sides of King 6280, October 1969 - charted No. 3 R&B, No. 24 Pop
5. Popcorn With A Feeling
Track 5 is the B-side of
Federal 12551 ("Soul President" is the A), October 1069 as by STEVE
SOUL
6. Part Two (Let A Man Come
In And Do The Popcorn)
7. Gittin' A Little Hipper
(Part 2)
Tracks 6 and 7 are the
A&B-sides of King 6275, November 1969 - first song to introduce the trumpet
of Fred Wesley - later synonymous with the JB's and Brown's backing band
8. The Brother Got To Rap
(Part 1)
9. The Brother Got To Rap
(Part 2) - King 6285, unreleased
10. It's A New Day (Part 1)
& (Part 2)
11. Georgia On My Mind
Tracks 10 and 11 are the
A&B-sides of King 6292, January 1970 - charted No. 3 R&B, No. 32 Pop
12. Funky Drummer (Part 1)
13. Funky Drummer (Part 2)
Tracks 12 and 13 are the
A&B-sides of King 6290, February 1970 - charted No. 20 R&B, No. 51 Pop
14. Let It Be Me - King 6293,
April 1970 as VICKI ANDERSON and JAMES BROWN
15. Talkin' Loud And Saying
Nothin' Pt. 1 & Pt. 2 - King 6300, King P6359 - unreleased
16. Bewildered - King 6300
unreleased, King 6310 released April 1970 as by JAMES BROWN
17. Brother Rapp (Part 1)
& (Part 2)
Track 17 is the 2-Part A-side
of King 6310, released April 1970 with Track 16 "Bewildered" as the
B-side
Charted No. 2 R&B, No. 32
Pop
18. A Man Has To Go Back To
The Crossroads
19. The Drunk
Tracks 18 and 19 are the
A&B-sides of Bethlehem 3098, June 1970 - B-side featured in the Falstaff
Beer commercial and was written by DAVID MATTHEWS
Like all 11 Volumes in this
Hip-O Select 2CD series, the 28-page booklet by noted JB expert and former tour
manager ALAN LEEDS and is a joy to look at — a hugely informative read that's
packed to the gills with track histories, concert posters, trade adverts,
magazine covers and a thoroughly detailed recording Sessionography. Produced
with affection and firsthand knowledge by HARRY WEINGER and ALAN LEEDS - the
inlay beneath the see-through CD tray has an Apollo Theatre Advert for SOUL BROTHER
No. 1 and his Show beginning Wednesday 10 December 1969. Photos include a King
acetate for Brother Rapp, an Official Tour Program, the sign outside the
International Hotel in Las Vegas advertising Brown as the headline act in
January 1970, photos of him in his offices on the phone, snaps of him with key
people like Promoter Bob Patton and nods to songwriters like Dave Matthews.
There is even the King 45 (without catalogue number) for I Love You available
only with coupons for a laundry detergent advertised in the top African
American mag of the day. Cool and smart attention to detail that shows that
both compilers know what fans want - for instance the song by song
Sessionography in the last few pages provides master numbers, band personnel,
45 and LPs with catalogue numbers noted, Disc and Track location etc. For
instance Notes will tell you that "Ain't It Funky Now" was
mechanically sped up for the King 1092 LP version therefore differentiating the
mixes for die-hard collectors. Its thorough and then some...
And again, as in previous
issues, SETH FOSTER has transferred the first-generation master tapes for the
single mixes and he's done a truly superlative job — warm, clear and fabulously
alive. The Mono and Stereo music jumps out of the speakers at you — gorgeous
sound. The only cut mastered from mint vinyl is "Let It Be Me"
probably due to tape loss. The word "Limited Edition" is embossed in
gold lettering on the rear inlay – numbers are not stated but presumably it's a
worldwide limited edition of 5000 copies like its predecessor. Now to the music
- a mixture of killer vs. filler, withdrawn tracks not usually heard and Fred
Wesley making his mark...
Apart from some very famous
late 60ts miniskirt jiggling Popcorn grooves and one legendary drum-break
sample, is the number of unreleased and withdrawn 45s – and to my surprise –
the properly great quality of them. There are eleven and this twofer opens with
a cracking threesome – two mixes of "You Got To Have A Mother For
Me..." with the Long Version clocking in at a pleasing 5:22 minutes while
the cool "Groove Maker" would re reassigned to "Any Day
Now" on King 6235 - itself cancelled though 35,000 RCA pressed copies made
their way into the marketplace when King was liquidated in 1972. "Give me
communication! Give me better books!", the great man shouts on his message
song "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing..." - a wickedly good
groove that deserved its No. 3 R&B chart placing (check out that Maceo
Parker Sax Solo in Part 2). A King Records single with no catalogue number nor
the usual JB face logo gives us the surprisingly good pairing of "I Love
You" and "Maybe I'll Understand" - available only through a
magazine mail-order promotion for Cold Power detergent - Jimmy Nolen's guitar
flicks so damn good. A Bob Hilliard and Burt Bacharach song first covered by
the classy Soul Man Chuck Jackson, "Any Day Now" is however the first
clunker - it’s just awful and JB seemed to know it. Though it brought him into
contact with arranger and songwriter David Matthews (features on Disc 2) - at
least the flipside "I'm Shook" rescues the pairing.
But all of that is floored by
the stunning twofer instrumental "The Popcorn" b/w "The
Chicken" - both sides showcasing a lethal line-up of horn players tighter
than a Vatican Tax Evasion form - Saxophonists Maceo Parker and Pee Wee Ellis,
Fred Wesley on Trumpet with Guitarist Jimmy Nolen and Bassist Alfonzo Kellum
(the B-side was written by Pee Wee Ellis). Yet even that masterclass is trumped
by May 1969's No. 1 on King 6245 - "Mother Popcorn..." - a near two
million selling belter bearing more than an uncanny resemblance to "Cold
Sweat". Hell it even contains JB's officially longest scream. And New
Breed Mods would surely shake a talcum-powdered tail-feather to the fab combo
of "Lowdown Popcorn" b/w "Top Of The Stack" - a genuinely
great A&B-side 45 presented here with fantastic audio. Guitarist Arthur
Adams guest on JB's message song "World" that didn't take with the
public as much as he hoped it would - perhaps his "...please give a
damn..." lyrics coming over as too preachy. Quickly back to Funk business
with the fabulous groove of "Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn Part
One" b/w "Sometime" - a brand new mini dress hip-wiggler that
thoroughly deserved its No. 2 R&B chart placing.
Disc 2 only accentuates the realization
that JB was relentless. The Funk just kept on coming. At times it appears he
was actually released a 45 every single month - from the slow churchy organ of
"It's Christmas Time" to the give-it-some rhythm section for
"Ain't It Funky" complete with its 'hit me' break - Maceo slinking it
that Horn Solo while drummer "Jabo" Sparks rap-scats with JB at the
mike. Brown threw Flute into the superb groove of "Popcorn With A Feeling"
(St. Clair Pickney is the player) - a single edit from the 13-minute jam for
"Mother Popcorn" actually credited on the 45 label to Alabama DJ
STEVE SOUL although he doesn't actually play on it at all. With Part One still tearing up the charts, JB
decided to issue Part Two of "Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn"
as an A-side with "Gittin' A Little Hipper (Part 2)" on the flipside
but not surprisingly, it was overkill and got lost. In the final stretch I'd
have to admit that the vocal duet with Vikki Anderson is another non-no for me
but that's more than compensated by stunners like "Talkin' Loud...",
"Brother Rapp" and the failure that wasn't a failure - "Funky
Drummer" - a song with a legend and history akin to War and Peace.
Although it made the relatively lowly spot of No. 20 on the R&B charts and
No. 51 on Pop - when hippity-hoppity kids in the 80s and 90s went looking for
'breaks' - they found da biz-e-ness in Part 2 - when at 2:42 minutes (after
JB's instructions) - Clyde
Stubblefield gives it some - 10-seconds
of Funky Nirvana. Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, Sinead
O'Connor and George Michael are just some of the Dr. Dre types to have used the
sample. And it ends on the forgotten but equally brilliant "A Man Has Got
To Go Back To The Crossroads", a smoocher ballad similar to "It’s A
Mans World..." of old. Fab...
By the end of the Seventies,
James Brown wasn’t troubling the national charts too much - but at its outset
and towards the tail-end of The Sixties (as evidenced here) - he still had
tigers in his tanks and a new band/tight sound that would inspire and influence
generations to come.
I've diligently collected
this entire series of 11 x 2CD 'Singles' sets for JAMES BROWN - first released
Stateside in September 2006 by Universal's highly collectable mail-order wing -
Hip-O Select. Stunning is a word often overused - but on these wickedly good
Remasters, it hardly does these twofer peaches justice. Volume 6 may have a few
misses but the good stuff is absolutely corking (five stars) and for those
wanting to know why Funk happened - its an absolute must own...
