Search - James Brown :: Love Power Peace (Live Paris 1971)

THE BROTHER GOT TO RAP: An Astonishing Achievement!

M. Allen Greenbaum | California | 05/23/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Absolutely sensational, this is as good as "Live at the Apollo (1962)," and much better if you're a funk fan. It has a wonderful live ambient sound, as with the best live albums, you can feel and see the show through the sound. With JB, that means, a visceral experience of sweat and cries and dancing, and an audience that is screamingly his.The fun "Brother Rapp" blends into one of the best ever funk/rock performances on record: "Ain't It Funky Now." James Brown's intense vocals and squeals are matched by a Phenomenal guitar solo by Phelps (Catfish) Collins... loaded with power, funk, and a daring non-melodic break. Simply unmatched-play this loud and watch your friends' jaws drop wide open in amazement. JB plays organ, and his cool nocturnal sounds echo over the applause and whistles of the crowd. It is a great display of musical sexuality. "Georgia" slows things down a bit, but it's a very soulful and intense vocal effort by JB. The problem is the humdrum arrangement of the horns and strings. In general, the horns are not as inspired as on other records, particularly those that feature funk master Maceo Parker. In addition, the horns are not miked as well as they could have been. However, Phelps Collins' guitar makes up for the slightly disappointing horns, and brother Bootsy Collins plays a tight, loud, and imaginative bass (pre-slap funk style, but still compelling). "Bewildered," one of two non-JB composed songs on the CD, features a throwback Sam Cooke-like vocal by Brown, and some tasty bass. JB changes the dynamics well, both within and between songs: Listen to the transition between "Bewildered" and the funk anthem "Sex Machine." Bobby Byrd adds his deep, burnished voice to "Sex Machine," which features strong drumming by "Jabo" Starks and "Tiger" Martin and funkified rhythm guitar by Hearlon "Cheese" Martin. There is absolutely astonishing jazz/funk guitar work from Phelps, which makes this a masterpiece. This is just one of several songs that alone make the album indispensable.As if announcing that he's into a new bag, JB devotes only 90 seconds to a medley of "Poppa's Got a Brand New Bag," " I Got You (I Feel Good)" and I Got the Feelin,'" before Bootsy lays down a compelling bass riff on the 5 minute funk-dance song, "Give it Up or Turnit a Loose." Then it's almost six minutes of the greatest sexist song of them all: "It's a Man's Man's Man's World," where he famously mixes male braggadocio with a well-intended (?) paean to females ("...but it wouldn't be nothin' without a woman or a girl"). It's one of his best performances of this song, with a fabulous tension-building lead-in from JB and Bobby Byrd. The crowd goes wild.The concert seems to end with "Please, Please, Please (2:09)" but, after Byrd goes through the credits, JB finishes with "Super Bad," an extremely funky "Soul Power," and the political "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved" (the latter featuring Phelps' guitar). "Super Bad" features some great tenor sax by St. Clair Pinckney; one wishes there were more of him on the album. James Brown directs both the band and the ecstatic listeners with controlled abandon throughout. An album to play often and loud; it ranks with "Foundations of Funk (a two-record set with great work by Maceo Parker)" and "Live at the Apollo." Note: The liner notes list personnel but only briefly describe this electrifying night. A must for JB fans and anyone with an interest in the birth of the funk. Get it!"

AIN'T IT FUNKY NOW!!!

M. Allen Greenbaum | 04/01/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you only buy one James Brown album ever, LET IT BE THIS ONE. This is the single disc that will show you why James Brown is considered the greatest live act, bar none. I own every James Brown release prior to Soul Syndrome (1980), and I listen to Love Power Peace more than all of the others combined! On a sultry night in Paris, 1971, the monster heavy funk was born. You too can be there in spirit by checking out this concert album. The original JB's are featured on this one, and you will soon realize why people refer to them as the "originals." Whenever people ask me which James Brown album they should buy first, I always recommend this album, because the VERY BEST VERSIONS of all of Brown's MAJOR FUNK CLASSICS are right here. Do not buy a lame "greatest hits" collection! "Soul Power," "Sex Machine," "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved," "Super Bad," and "Give It Up or Turnit A Loose" are all transformed into over twenty minutes of raw funk power fusion at the conclusion! The introduction, "Brother Rapp/Ain't It Funky Now?," spontaneously started parties when I was at college. This is the only album that I have ever owned that caused people to come over and beg me to play it for them! If you don't LOVE this album, you just don't get the James Brown Experience."

Best Live Bomb of JB and His Greatest Funk Band

doomsdayer520 | Pennsylvania | 10/20/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is the best live recording that I have found from James Brown's prime funk period, with the greatest lineup of musicians in the JB's. This one has a slight advantage over the more common live disc **Sex Machine** which was recorded around the same time. That one also has some incredible performances, but has a disjointed feel because it was compiled from multiple shows, and some of the tracks have cheesy fake applause tacked on. In contrast, **Love Power Peace** is the long-lost soundboard recording of a single, distinct show, and you can feel the sheer continuous energy of the performance. The liner notes state that this show was so hot that a woman from the crowd came up on the stage and stripped naked, and nobody wanted to stop her. I can believe it.The powerful band on this disc include two drummers (one of which is the immortal Jabo Starks) working in unison and delivering the phattest beats possible; a 19 year-old Bootsy Collins, already laying down the superhuman grooves that would make him one of the most influential bassists of any genre; and Bootsy's brother Catfish screaming bloody murder on lead guitar. Mainman MC Bobby Byrd lays down the law with a steady supply of YEAH's and GET ON UP's. James is his usual bad self, screaming and strutting at his all time best, and making sure the non-English speaking crowd understands completely (the true funk is multilingual, of course). Sometimes James forgets the words, but no problem; everyone can understand the GOOD GOD's that he utters instead. Close your eyes and you can almost see James dancing, making the crowd go insane during every musical jam laid down by the band.Highlights include "Ain't It Funky Now" in which Catfish takes two entire minutes to drive the head-trippinest guitar solo of all time into your brain; and James's call-and response screaming with the crowd to introduce "It's a Mans Mans Mans World." The entire band delivers such tight, flawless, and relentless grooves in "Sex Machine," "Give it Up or Turnit A Loose," "Super Bad," and "Soul Power" that you'd swear these guys weren't even human! Superhuman, for sure."